Recently, it seems as if I've been seeing discussions of motivation show up nearly everywhere I turn: in books I'm reading on management, in online discussion groups, even in the sports pages (in Chicago, it's common for sportswriters to doubt the motivation of the members of our many losing teams). Much of what I see merely reiterates commonly accepted notions. Of course, some of these commonly accepted ideas are contradictory, so that's what keeps the publishers of management books in business.

Some say that a manager can never motivate an individual because motivation comes from within. Others say that managers are the best source of motivation. They cite successful sports coaches and celebrity CEOs to make their case. The more I read and the more I think about it, the more I have come to believe that everybody is right. Sometimes.

The truth is, no one really knows what motivates us. Several theories have been proposed, the most famous being Maslow's hierarchy of needs. But it's just a theory and very little research has ever been done to test it. Several alternative theories are equally attractive and seem to explain people just about as well.

Here's what I think about motivation, at least right now, followed by some ways to help your business.

1. All the theories say we have numerous needs. Motivation is the drive to satisfy these needs.

2. The only needs that appear in all the theories are these two: bonding with others and relating to others.

3. We all respond to several motivating factors simultaneously and to opposing ones under different circumstances.

4. Fear of consequences is not a lasting motivator. Eventually fear is overridden by some other emotion.

5. Hope may be the most powerful motivator of all.

6. Some of us respond to contradictory motivators at the same time. For example, someone with a taste for adventure and a desire for safety might travel to exotic countries but spend many hours planning that travel.

7. No single-minded effort to motivate a company's workforce will ever work well for long.

8. Rewards alone have little motivational power. Their value lies exclusively in how they are seen by the people who receive them.

As a manager, you can try these approaches based on the eight statements above:

The subject of motivation is a bit like the subject of the golf swing: everybody has his own theory and teaching method. Most of them work well enough at least some of the time. The key to succeeding with either is adapting the best ideas to your own circumstances. Golf advice for a very tall person wouldn't provide much help for someone who is barely five feet tall. If your company operates with a family-like closeness, then it just won't work to set up highly competitive individual contests between your salespeople. Similarly, if your company is thriving as a chaotic hive of creativity, then trying to change behaviors through bureaucratic orderliness will fail spectacularly.