“Drive: The Surprising Trust About What Motivates Us” by Daniel Pink
This summer I had an opportunity to read a great book entitled, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink. Pink’s book explores and debunks several myths about what drives human behavior, and hebuilds a strong case for why we as leaders and managers need to better understand what motivates people and not just rely on economic motivators.
For example one commonly held belief is that ifwe provide larger extrinsic incentives, then people will perform better. This belief turns out to be true for simple, mechanical tasks. However, itis not true when motivating people aroundcomplex tasks that demand more conceptual reasoning. His researchindicates thatperformance andoutcomes are largely driven byproviding people with autonomy, enabling them to be experts, and creating a sense of purpose. In other words, when thinking about motivating others we as leaders should ask ourselves 1)have we created an environment where people have autonomy; 2) are we enabling peopleto develop and master their skills; and 3)have we communicated a strong sense of purpose –or why we are doing what we’re doing. Pink’s findingsare simple, and powerful.
Publisher’s Notes
The New York Times bestseller that gives readers a paradigm-shattering new way to think about motivation from the author of When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing
Most people believe that the best way to motivate is with rewards like money—the carrot-and-stick approach. That’s a mistake, says Daniel H. Pink (author of To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Motivating Others). In this provocative and persuasive new book, he asserts that the secret to high performance and satisfaction-at work, at school, and at home—is the deeply human need to direct our own lives, to learn and create new things, and to do better by ourselves and our world.
Drawing on four decades of scientific research on human motivation, Pink exposes the mismatch between what science knows and what business does—and how that affects every aspect of life. He examines the three elements of true motivation—autonomy, mastery, and purpose-and offers smart and surprising techniques for putting these into action in a unique book that will change how we think and transform how we live.