For the last few weeks, my colleagues and I have talked extensively about employee motivation and a particular book that details this discussion, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. One of those colleagues actually beat me to the punch on part of this blog, but as we’ve talked as a group, one area that I keep coming back to was the hypothesis that many people are driven intrinsically by the “brain candy” they derive from their daily job.

Such a phenomenon occurs with IT start ups. Brain “food” is often more critical to the people who work for such companies than the potential for stock options and even personal wealth creation. Late night and long hours are not filled with dread, rather the opportunity to work on something exciting and to contribute to a grander vision. Employees are energized by the work. Galvanized to push on regardless of any short term sacrifices and often, loyal to the core. Google is frequently used as an example of such an environment (though maybe not as much, recently, if you read some of the exit reports of departed employees).  Not uncommonly, most start ups skew towards a more twenty something demographic.  This youthful workforce, often fueled by Red Bull and Starbucks during long hours, invests emotionally in what they’re building which motivates them to push on. But what happens to that passion or motivation as personal goals become more important for our career? And what about the change that occurs once you hit your mid 30’s?