Drive, The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink

Post date: Jan 17, 2018 8:17:25 PM

Book

Review

This informative book puts forward an alternative vision for successful workplace management which provides opportunities for 'autonomy, mastery and purpose'. He describes the old 'carrot and stick' approach to management as an outdated system (software version 2.0 from the industrial age), and synthesises research in the field of motivation to inform his new system: (upgrade to version 3.0). Motivation 2.0 assumes work is repetitive and mundane, and not intrinsically enjoyable, therefore requiring extrinsic rewards to motivate workers to be more productive. But the workplace has changed and many jobs now require problem solving skills, and are the most likely source of our ''optimal experiences' (or 'flow' – as described by Csikszentmihalyi). 'If-then' rewards actually turn off intrinsic motivation and can transform an interesting task into a drudge or, worse still, bring about such intense focus on the end result that people will take potentially harmful short cuts to get there more quickly.

“The very presence of goals may lead employees to focus myopically on short-term gains and to lose sight of the potential devastating long-term effects on the organization.” (p.57)

Daniel Pink does not simply state the benefits of intrinsic rewards and the dangers of extrinsic rewards, he also examines and explains the circumstances in which this is not the case.

In Part II Pink explores his 3 elements for successful and satisfying work: autonomy, mastery and purpose. Autonomy, or self-determination, is about having control over where, when and how one's work is done. Mastery is about continual improvement towards expertise through work that is challenging yet achievable – and often people will experience complete absorption in work where they are seeking mastery. We all need to feel that our work has purpose – and Pink quote Max Anderson, who says (p139) 'business leaders “must find ways to infuse mundane business activities with deeper, soul stirring ideals, such as honor, truth, love, justice, and beauty.”

“The science shows us that those typical 20^th Century carrot-and-stick motivators… [are] effective only in a surprisingly narrow band of circumstances, that 'if-then' rewards… not only are ineffective in many circumstances, but also can crush the high-level, creative, conceptual abilities that are central to current and future economic and social progress. The science shows that the secret to high performance… [is] our deep-seated desire to direct our own lives, to extend and expand our abilities, and to live a life of purpose.” (p.145)

In Part III Pink presents a tool-kit for putting his ideas into action in a variety of contexts: Individuals, organisations, groups , helping kids. He also provides a reading list , and a summary of his 6 big thinkers.

Academic interest:

Drive is fully referenced, and well structured, giving plenty of information within the main text and in notes to meet the needs of the academic audience.

Practitioners:

This book relates to workplace motivation and is relevant to CEOs, senior managers, middle managers and individuals.

Self-helpers:

There is some information for people who wish to examine how to improve their personal working situation, and some insights. However, this book is most suited to those in a position to effect organisational change, or examine the theory of effective management.

Best Bits

The outdated carrots and sticks approach to motivation can have an unexpected, negative effect:

“...rewards …. can transform an interesting task into a drudge. They can turn play into work.” (p.37)

....'in the wrong situations (inherently interesting, creative, or noble tasks)… ' “if-then” rewards usually do more harm than good. By neglecting the ingredients of genuine motivation – autonomy, mastery, and purpose – they limit what each of us can achieve.' (p.49)

Pink compares the old system of motivation (2.0) with his proposed updated system 'motivation 3.0':

“Goals that people set for themselves and that are devoted to attaining mastery are usually healthy. But goals imposed by others – sales targets, quarterly returns, standardized test scores, and so on – can sometimes have dangerous side-effects.” (p.50)

“The problem with making an extrinsic reward the only destination that matters is that some people will choose the quickest route there, even if it means taking the low road.” (p.51)

“When the reward is the activity itself – deepening learning, delighting customers, doing one's best – there are no shortcuts. The only route to the destination is the high road.” (p.51)

Experiments into motivation in a variety of areas including business, education, medicine, sports, and exercise led to the conclusion:

'Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected to one another. And when that drive is liberated people achieve more and live richer lives.' (p.73)

About the author

Daniel Pink is a well known in the USA and has often appeared on TV there. He has previously held several positions in politics and government and from 1995 to 1997 he was chief speech-writer to Vice President Al Gore.

For the last six years, London-based Thinkers 50 named him as one of the top 15 business thinkers in the world, and his TED Talk on the science of motivation is one of the 10 most-watched TED Talks of all time, with more than 19 million views. He has also written six books - his newest, When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing was published in January 2018. His other books include A Whole New Mind (2008) and To Sell is Human (2014).