Peak – by Chip Conley

Abraham Maslow created his ‘Hierarchy of Needs’ as a part of his Theory of Human Motivation. In Peak, Chip Conley took this theory and applied it to the real world. He broke it down to three levels; Survive, Succeed and Transform, and applied it to Employees, Customers and Investors. This is a great, simple way to think about and apply one of the biggest and most well-known psychological concepts’How great companies get their mojo from Maslow’

Peak Quotes

Khali Gibran said – “work is love made visible”. If youre on the path of living a calling and you’re in a habitat that supports that path, its true

Primer on Maslow

“The foundation of Maslow’s theory is his Hierarchy of Needs Pyramid, which presumes that ‘the human being is a wanting animal and rarely reaches a state of complete satisfaction except for a short time. As one desire is satisfied, another pops up to take its place… A satisfied need is not a motivator of behaviour”

Self Actualisation: “What a man can be, he must be”

What is a peak experience

“A peak experience – comparable to being ‘in the zone’ or in the ‘flow’ – is when what ought to be just is.”

Maslow: “They are moments of ecstasy which cannot be bought, cannot be guaranteed, cannot even be sought… but one can set up the conditions so that peak experiences are more likely, or one can perversely set up the conditions so that they are less likely”

Focus on aspirational needs

“The solution for a company that wants to ascend up the healthy pyramid is not just to diminish the negative or to get too preoccupied with basic needs but instead to focus on aspirational needs”

“Employees are looking for meaning. Customers are looking for a transforming experience. Investors are looking to make a difference with their investment”

“The tendency in psychology and in business has always been to focus on the deficits. Psychologists and business consultants look for what’s broken and try to fix it. Yet, fixing it doesn’t necessarily offer the opportunity for transformation to a more optimal state of being or productivity”