Drive: The Surprising Truth about what motivates us by Daniel H. Pink (Audio book)
Penguin Audio, NY-USA, 2009
'Drive' begins where 'A Whole New Mind' (Pink's previous book) left us. This “business” book is based on 'human motivation' and discloses the disparity between what we already know as a science but what we actually do in reality. It contradicts the traditional extrinsic motivation and puts a convincing case in favor of intrinsic motivation. It involves more than giving out bonuses to employees or getting good grades.
In addition to the basic biological and response drives, humans have a third drive - intrinsic motivation. Pink says that, in order to succeed, business need to catch up with this drive.
Pink uses the analogy of computer OS to describe generations of 'motivation' in humans. The 1st operating system in humans was based on survival – Motivation 1.0. Its successor 2.0 was built around rewards and punishments and worked fine for routine tasks of the 20th century. But, we need to upgrade ourselves to Motivation 3.0 (which is based on internal rewards and satisfaction) to survive the 21st century.
Simply put, the book says that people will be motivated when they get:
AUTONOMY in their work.
As humans, our default setting is set to autonomous and self-directed i.e. we are Type I (intrinsically motivated) by default. But, traditional (outdated) management settings turn this setting from Type I to Type X (extrinsically motivated). To move back to Type I, people need autonomy with tasks (what), time(when), team(who) and technique (how).
MASTERY
Traditional management settings demand 'compliance' whereas our default setting is 'engagement'. Engagement in a task that leads to mastery over it. This engagement comes with FLOW. Pink says, mastery can be achieved by 3 peculiar rules:
Mind Set (that sees one's ability as infinitely improvable)
Pain (mastery requires deliberate effort and persistence)
Impossible to fully realize (which makes it frustrating and at the same time, alluring)
PURPOSE
Traditionally, businesses function with the sole purpose of profit maximization and have a purpose so long as it doesn't get in way. With Motivation 3.0, as Pink puts it, “purpose maximization is taking its way along side profit maximization”. This can be achieved through:
Goals (using profit as a means to reach the purpose)
Words (that express more than just self-interest)
Policies (that will allow employees to pursue purpose on their own terms)
I would recommend this book for people who run a business or people in the field of management. The book gives a fair idea of what motivates not just employees but people in general. It will give a new way to look at getting the best out of people and one's business in general while keeping everyone happy and content.
Penguin Audio, NY-USA, 2009
'Drive' begins where 'A Whole New Mind' (Pink's previous book) left us. This “business” book is based on 'human motivation' and discloses the disparity between what we already know as a science but what we actually do in reality. It contradicts the traditional extrinsic motivation and puts a convincing case in favor of intrinsic motivation. It involves more than giving out bonuses to employees or getting good grades.
In addition to the basic biological and response drives, humans have a third drive - intrinsic motivation. Pink says that, in order to succeed, business need to catch up with this drive.
Pink uses the analogy of computer OS to describe generations of 'motivation' in humans. The 1st operating system in humans was based on survival – Motivation 1.0. Its successor 2.0 was built around rewards and punishments and worked fine for routine tasks of the 20th century. But, we need to upgrade ourselves to Motivation 3.0 (which is based on internal rewards and satisfaction) to survive the 21st century.
Simply put, the book says that people will be motivated when they get:
AUTONOMY in their work.
As humans, our default setting is set to autonomous and self-directed i.e. we are Type I (intrinsically motivated) by default. But, traditional (outdated) management settings turn this setting from Type I to Type X (extrinsically motivated). To move back to Type I, people need autonomy with tasks (what), time(when), team(who) and technique (how).
MASTERY
Traditional management settings demand 'compliance' whereas our default setting is 'engagement'. Engagement in a task that leads to mastery over it. This engagement comes with FLOW. Pink says, mastery can be achieved by 3 peculiar rules:
Mind Set (that sees one's ability as infinitely improvable)
Pain (mastery requires deliberate effort and persistence)
Impossible to fully realize (which makes it frustrating and at the same time, alluring)
PURPOSE
Traditionally, businesses function with the sole purpose of profit maximization and have a purpose so long as it doesn't get in way. With Motivation 3.0, as Pink puts it, “purpose maximization is taking its way along side profit maximization”. This can be achieved through:
Goals (using profit as a means to reach the purpose)
Words (that express more than just self-interest)
Policies (that will allow employees to pursue purpose on their own terms)
I would recommend this book for people who run a business or people in the field of management. The book gives a fair idea of what motivates not just employees but people in general. It will give a new way to look at getting the best out of people and one's business in general while keeping everyone happy and content.
