Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink. This is another enjoyable read and consider myself a fan of Dan’s writing. I very much enjoyed reading When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing and A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future.
Drive’s core message is effective motivation is not by money, the old carrot and stick approach. Rather Dan asserts the true secret to achieving high performance is our own human need to control our lives. Many current business systems built long ago around the carrot-and-stick motivation does more harm than good as it turns out.
Dan shows in other words how science leads the way based upon three essential elements: Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose. For some reason my acronym for this PAM in reverse….but it works for me.
Above all, Drive outlines that Autonomy is our desire to direct our own lives. Mastery is our urge to be even better at something that matters to us. Purpose is our desire work in the service of something bigger than ourselves.
Motivation 3.0, the upgrade from current 2.0 (as defined by Dan) is necessary for the smooth functioning of twenty-first-century business. success in v.3.0 also requires Type I behavior: “which concerns itself less with the external rewards an activity brings and more with the inherent satisfaction of the activity itself.” He elaborates that for both professional and personal success we need to move ourselves and our co-workers from Type X to Type I.
Consider the following, why do some forgo retirement and continue working? Maybe they found all three in the company and do not want to be forced to walk away based on a fixed number of work days.
Still not convinced to read this book? Drop by your favorite used bookstore and thumb through the end of the book where Dan writes a very brief chapter overview — should convince you to pick it up!
TED Talk | Daniel H. Pink Drive
The Aspen Institute | Daniel Pink: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
The WGBH Forum | Daniel Pink: “Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us”
The RSA Conference | Dan Pink – Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us