Thank Goodness It's Monday #359

MASLOW’S HEIRARCHY

AND YOUR NEEDS (AND MINE)

The Newark Museum is the largest museum in NJ with over 80 galleries of inspiration and exploration, educational offerings, innovative family experiences, special events and musical performances.

I was born in Newark a long, long time ago. I’ve been a museum fan since my childhood and remain an enthusiastic supporter, both in the real world and via social media. And a recent Facebook post by the museum brought back old-school Marketing 101 lessons and made me consider anew some TGIM-worthy ideas I want to share. 



Abraham Maslow
(1908 - 1970)
Professor of Psychology

Here’s what the museum posted:

“A musician must make music,

an artist must paint,

a poet must write,

if he is to be at peace with himself.

What a man can be, he must be.”

~ Abraham Maslow

First, some perspective: A just-launched summer-of-2012 exhibition features the work of Romare Bearden (1911-1988) whose close connection to the musical influences of his era crossfoot nicely with the free Jazz in the Garden events the museum hosts each summer. So much so, in fact, that a Jazz Tribute to Romare Bearden with pianist and composer Geri Allen will kick things off this Thursday evening. (Details here.)

Then, early this fall, the Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival will take place across the city.  

So Maslow’s “musician… artist … poet” observation has great context. 

Now, to the TGIM point: You don’t have to have the slightest interest in music, visual art or poetry to relate with Abraham Maslow’s observation. Start by considering --

Why you know the name. Maslow's “Hierarchy of Needs.”  It’s a psychological theory he proposed in a 1943 paper "A Theory of Human Motivation." Maslow subsequently extended the idea to include his observations of humans' innate curiosity. His theories parallel many other theories of human developmental psychology, all of which focus on describing the stages of growth in humans. 

Maslow used the terms— 

Physiological needs

Safety needs

Belongingness & Love Needs

Esteem Needs

Need to Know & Understand

Aesthetic Needs

and finally

Self-Actualization

Transcendence

-- to describe the pattern that he felt human motivations generally move through.

Maslow's “Hierarchy of Needs” is often portrayed in the shape of a pyramid, with the largest and most fundamental levels of needs at the bottom, and the need for self-actualization at the top, although Maslow himself didn’t lay them out that way.

Marketing 101 refresher: Courses in marketing teach Maslow's hierarchy as one of the first theories providing a basis for understanding consumers' motives for action. 

It works like this: 

Find a need and fill it. Marketers have historically looked toward consumers' needs to define their actions in the market. If producers design products meeting consumer needs, consumers will more often choose those products over those of competitors. Whichever product better fills the void created by the need will be chosen more frequently, thus increasing sales.

What motivates you? The most fundamental and basic four layers of the pyramid contain what Maslow called "deficiency needs." Maslow's theory suggests that these most basic needs must be met before the individual will strongly desire (or focus motivation upon) the higher level self-actualization needs.

“What a man can be, he must be.” 

TGIM Takeaway: Self-actualization pertains to what a person's full potential is and realizing that potential. Maslow describes this as the desire to become more and more what one is; to become everything that one is capable of becoming.                                                            

It’s NOT “For Artists Only.” (Or “For men only” – hey, Maslow was writing nearly 70 years ago.) When applied to individuals the need is specific. For example one individual may have the strong desire to become an ideal parent. In another person it may be expressed athletically. Maybe it’s success in business or as a teacher. And, of course, in others it may be expressed creatively in words, pictures, or inventions.

Here’s the catch: To reach a clear understanding of the Self Actualization and Transcendence level, we must first not only achieve the previous levels but –

Master them. Easier said than done? 

You bet. But there are fortunate developments that work to our advantage.

If you’re reading this, you’re well on your way. We live in a time and place and society where, despite evolving economic conditions we may view as challenging, our “Deficiency Needs” are not overwhelming. If you’ve got a roof over your head, food in your refrigerator, and a place to sleep, you are, by some estimates, “richer” than 75 percent of the world. Got money in the bank, your wallet and some spare change in your pocket? You’re among the top 8 percent of the world’s wealthy.

So we’ve got a good jump on having the Maslow fundamentals covered and can concentrate on the top tiers. 

Here’s one proven-in-action way:

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Surround yourself with success.

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: Maslow studied what he called “exemplary people” such as Albert Einstein, Jane Addams, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Frederick Douglass. We can do the same. 

And with all our 21^st Century advantages and connected-ness, we can do it far more easily than any group before us.

So what are you waiting for? I hope this TGIM gives us a good start at becoming more and more of both what we are and what we are capable of becoming.

It may not be poetry, but I know I’m feeling more at peace with myself. 

Geoff Steck   
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

P.S. It’s interesting to think of how a museum – especially one in a time and place as my Newark Museum – plays a vital role in filling needs deficiencies and stimulating the desire to move on and achieve more. That's what a great museum like Newark does. And I bet there’s an equivalent institution near you. My TGIM vote: Check it out, visit, “Friend” it up, and support it.