Early in my career, I thought people either had intrinsic motivation—or they didn’t. Then I took on the challenge of building a national branded retail channel at ClearNET, and everything changed.

Our brand promise—“The future is friendly”—became our north star. I realized that delivering a great customer experience would only happen if our teams felt connected to something bigger, driven to get better every day, and trusted with ownership.

That’s intrinsic motivation:

1. Purpose

2. Mastery

3. Autonomy

   
   

Disney became my blueprint. Their purpose—“To create happiness through magical experiences”—shapes everything they do. I knew we had to do the same.

With a strong leadership culture, an inverted org chart, and support from and our training team, we built a system that put purpose at the center. Two years in, we hit 92% employee engagement—and consistently beat our targets.

Accountability isn’t enforced. It’s inspired. And it starts with purpose.