In 1943, an American psychologist named Abraham Maslow published a very important paper based on his studies of healthy and successful people like Albert Einstein. He wanted to know what separated these individuals from others — how were their drives and motivations different from their peers. Maslow observed that many of the day-to-day priorities for these people were different — they did not need to spend their time worrying about where to get food and how to stay safe, and so they were able to spend their time on bigger goals and needs. Maslow’s “hierarchy of needs” as it became known defined a natural order and progression of human needs. Can his reasoning be applied to organizations as well as people?
In 1943, an American psychologist named Abraham Maslow published a very important paper based on his studies of healthy and successful people like Albert Einstein. He wanted to know what separated these individuals from others — how were their drives and motivations different from their peers. Maslow observed that many of the day-to-day priorities for these people were different — they did not need to spend their time worrying about where to get food and how to stay safe, and so they were able to spend their time on bigger goals and needs. Maslow’s “hierarchy of needs” as it became known defined a natural order and progression of human needs. Can his reasoning be applied to organizations as well as people?
