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Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us Paperback – Illustrated, April 5, 2011

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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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Pink makes a convincing case that organizations ignore intrinsic motivation at their peril."
-Scientific American

"Persuasive . . .Harnessing the power of intrinsic motivation rather than extrinsic remuneration can be thoroughly satisfying and infinitely more rewarding."
-Miami Herald

"These lessons are worth repeating, and if more companies feel emboldened to follow Mr. Pink's advice, then so much the better."
-Wall Street Journal

"Pink is rapidly acquiring international guru status . . . He is an engaging writer, who challenges and provokes."
-Financial Times

"Pink's ideas deserve a wide hearing. Corporate boards, in fact, could do well by kicking out their pay consultants for an hour and reading Pink's conclusions instead."
-Forbes

"Pink's deft traversal of research at the intersection of psychology and economics make this a worthwhile read-no sticks necessary."
-SEED

"[Pink] continues his engaging exploration of how we work."
-Inc. Magazine

"Pink's a gifted writer who turns even the heaviest scientific study into something digestible-and often amusing-without losing his intellectual punch."
-New York Post

"A worthwhile read. It reminds us that those of us on the right side of the brain are driven furthest and fastest in pursuit of what we love."
-Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Pink's analysis--and new model--of motivation offers tremendous insight into our deepest nature."
-Publishers Weekly

"Important reading...an integral addition to a growing body of literature that argues for a radical shift in how businesses operate."
-Kirkus

"Drive is the rare book that will get you to think and inspire you to act. Pink makes a strong, science-based case for rethinking motivation--and then provides the tools you need to transform your life."
-Dr. Mehmet Oz, co-author of YOU: The Owners Manual

About the Author

Daniel H. Pink is the author of four provocative books -- including the long-running New York Times bestseller, A Whole New Mind, and the #1 New York Time bestseller, Drive. His books have been translated into 33 languages.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

INTRODUCTION
The Puzzling Puzzles ofHarry Harlow and Edward Deci

In the middle of the last century, two young scientists conductedexperiments that should have changed the world— but did not.Harry F. Harlow was a professor of psychology at the Universityof Wisconsin who, in the 1940s, established one of the world’s firstlaboratories for studying primate behavior. One day in 1949, Harlowand two colleagues gathered eight rhesus monkeys for a two- weekexperiment on learning. The researchers devised a simple mechanicalpuzzle like the one pictured on the next page. Solving it requiredthree steps: pull out the vertical pin, undo the hook, and lift thehinged cover. Pretty easy for you and me, far more challenging for athirteen- pound lab monkey.

Harlow’s puzzle in the starting (left) and solved (right) positions.

The experimenters placed the puzzles in the monkeys’ cages toobserve how they reacted— and to prepare them for tests of theirproblem- solving prowess at the end of the two weeks. But almostimmediately, something strange happened. Unbidden by any outsideurging and unprompted by the experimenters, the monkeys beganplaying with the puzzles with focus, determination, and what lookedlike enjoyment. And in short order, they began figuring out how thecontraptions worked. By the time Harlow tested the monkeys ondays 13 and 14 of the experiment, the primates had become quiteadept. They solved the puzzles frequently and quickly; two- thirds ofthe time they cracked the code in less than sixty seconds.

Now, this was a bit odd. Nobody had taught the monkeys howto remove the pin, slide the hook, and open the cover. Nobody hadrewarded them with food, affection, or even quiet applause whenthey succeeded. And that ran counter to the accepted notions of howprimates— including the bigger- brained, less hairy primates knownas human beings— behaved.

Scientists then knew that two main drives powered behavior. Thefirst was the biological drive. Humans and other animals ate to satetheir hunger, drank to quench their thirst, and copulated to satisfytheir carnal urges. But that wasn’t happening here. “Solution did notlead to food, water, or sex gratification,” Harlow reported.1But the only other known drive also failed to explain the monkeys’peculiar behavior. If biological motivations came from within,this second drive came from without— the rewards and punishmentsthe environment delivered for behaving in certain ways. This wascertainly true for humans, who responded exquisitely to such externalforces. If you promised to raise our pay, we’d work harder. If youheld out the prospect of getting an A on the test, we’d study longer.If you threatened to dock us for showing up late or for incorrectlycompleting a form, we’d arrive on time and tick every box. But thatdidn’t account for the monkeys’ actions either. As Harlow wrote, andyou can almost hear him scratching his head, “The behavior obtainedin this investigation poses some interesting questions for motivationtheory, since significant learning was attained and efficient performancemaintained without resort to special or extrinsic incentives.”What else could it be?

To answer the question, Harlow offered a novel theory— whatamounted to a third drive: “The performance of the task,” he said,“provided intrinsic reward.” The monkeys solved the puzzles simplybecause they found it gratifying to solve puzzles. They enjoyed it.The joy of the task was its own reward.

If this notion was radical, what happened next only deepened theconfusion and controversy. Perhaps this newly discovered drive—Harlow eventually called it “intrinsic motivation”— was real. Butsurely it was subordinate to the other two drives. If the monkeyswere rewarded— with raisins!— for solving the puzzles, they’d nodoubt perform even better. Yet when Harlow tested that approach,the monkeys actually made more errors and solved the puzzles lessfrequently. “Introduction of food in the present experiment,” Harlowwrote, “served to disrupt performance, a phenomenon not reportedin the literature.”

Now, this was really odd. In scientific terms, it was akin to rollinga steel ball down an inclined plane to measure its velocity—only to watch the ball fl oat into the air instead. It suggested thatour understanding of the gravitational pulls on our behavior wasinadequate— that what we thought were fixed laws had plenty ofloopholes. Harlow emphasized the “strength and persistence” of themonkeys’ drive to complete the puzzles. Then he noted:It would appear that this drive . . . may be as basic and strongas the [other] drives. Furthermore, there is some reason tobelieve that [it] can be as efficient in facilitating learning.2

At the time, however, the prevailing two drives held a tight grip onscientific thinking. So Harlow sounded the alarm. He urged scientiststo “close down large sections of our theoretical junkyard” andoffer fresher, more accurate accounts of human behavior.3 He warnedthat our explanation of why we did what we did was incomplete. Hesaid that to truly understand the human condition, we had to takeaccount of this third drive.

Then he pretty much dropped the whole idea.Rather than battle the establishment and begin offering a morecomplete view of motivation, Harlow abandoned this contentiousline of research and later became famous for studies on the scienceof affection.4 His notion of this third drive bounced around the psychologicalliterature, but it remained on the periphery— of behavioralscience and of our understanding of ourselves. It would be twodecades before another scientist picked up the thread that Harlowhad so provocatively left on that Wisconsin laboratory table.In the summer of 1969, Edward Deci was a Carnegie Mellon Universitypsychology graduate student in search of a dissertation topic.Deci, who had already earned an MBA from Wharton, was intriguedby motivation but suspected that scholars and businesspeople hadmisunderstood it. So, tearing a page from the Harlow playbook, heset out to study the topic with the help of a puzzle.

Deci chose the Soma puzzle cube, a then popular Parker Brothersoffering that, thanks to YouTube, retains something of a cultfollowing today. The puzzle, shown below, consists of seven plasticpieces— six comprising four one- inch cubes, one comprising threeone- inch cubes. Players can assemble the seven pieces into a few millionpossible combinations— from abstract shapes to recognizableobjects.

The seven pieces of the Soma puzzle unassembled (left) and then fashioned into one ofseveral million possible configurations

For the study, Deci divided participants, male and female universitystudents, into an experimental group (what I’ll call GroupA) and a control group (what I’ll call Group B). Each participated inthree one- hour sessions held on consecutive days.

Here’s how the sessions worked: Each participant entered a roomand sat at a table on top of which were the seven Soma puzzle pieces,drawings of three puzzle configurations, and copies of Time, The NewYorker, and Playboy. (Hey, it was 1969.) Deci sat on the opposite endof the table to explain the instructions and to time performance witha stopwatch.

In the first session, members of both groups had to assemble theSoma pieces to replicate the configurations before them. In the secondsession, they did the same thing with different drawings— onlythis time Deci told Group A that they’d be paid $1 (the equivalentof nearly $6 today) for every configuration they successfully reproduced.Group B, meanwhile, got new drawings but no pay. Finally,in the third session, both groups received new drawings and had toreproduce them for no compensation, just as in session one. (See thetable below.)

The twist came midway through each session. After a participanthad assembled the Soma puzzle pieces to match two of the threedrawings, Deci halted the proceedings. He said that he was going togive them a fourth drawing—but to choose the right one, he neededto feed their completion times into a computer. And— this being thelate 1960s, when room- straddling mainframes were the norm anddesktop PCs were still a decade away— that meant he had to leavefor a little while.

On the way out, he said, “I shall be gone only a few minutes, youmay do whatever you like while I’m gone.” But Deci wasn’t reallyplugging numbers into an ancient teletype. Instead, he walked toan adjoining room connected to the experiment room by a one- waywindow. Then, for exactly eight minutes, he watched what peopledid when left alone. Did they continue fiddling with the puzzle,perhaps attempting to reproduce the third drawing? Or did they dosomething else— page through the magazines, check out the centerfold,stare into space, catch a quick nap?

In the first session, not surprisingly, there wasn’t much differencebetween what the Group A and Group B participants did duringthat secretly watched eight- minute free- choice period. Both continuedplaying with the puzzle, on average, for between three and ahalf and four minutes, suggesting they found it at least somewhatinteresting.

On the second day, during which Group A participants were paidfor each successful configuration and Group B participants were not, theunpaid group behaved mostly as they had during the first free- choiceperiod. But the paid group suddenly got really interested in Soma puzzles.On average, the people in Group A spent more than five minutesmessing with the puzzle, perhaps getting a head start on that thirdchallenge or gearing up for the chance to earn some beer money whenDeci returned. This makes intuitive sense, right? It’s consistent withwhat we believe about motivation: Reward me and I’ll work harder.Yet what happened on the third day confirmed Deci’s own suspicionsabout the peculiar workings of motivation— and gently calledinto question a guiding premise of modern life. This time, Deci toldthe participants in Group A that there was only enough money topay them for one day and that this third session would therefore beunpaid. Then things unfolded just as before— two puzzles, followedby Deci’s interruption.

During the ensuing eight- minute free- choice period, the subjectsin the never- been- paid Group B actually played with the puzzlefor a little longer than they had in previous sessions. Maybe theywere becoming ever more engaged; maybe it was just a statisticalquirk. But the subjects in Group A, who previously had been paid,responded differently. They now spent significantly less time playingwith the puzzle— not only about two minutes less than duringtheir paid session, but about a full minute less than in the firstsession when they initially encountered, and obviously enjoyed, thepuzzles.

In an echo of what Harlow discovered two decades earlier, Decirevealed that human motivation seemed to operate by laws that rancounter to what most scientists and citizens believed. From the officeto the playing field, we knew what got people going. Rewards—especially cold, hard cash— intensified interest and enhanced performance.What Deci found, and then confirmed in two additionalstudies he conducted shortly thereafter, was almost the opposite.“When money is used as an external reward for some activity, thesubjects lose intrinsic interest for the activity,” he wrote.5 Rewardscan deliver a short- term boost— just as a jolt of caffeine can keepyou cranking for a few more hours. But the effect wears off— and,worse, can reduce a person’s longer- term motivation to continue theproject.

Human beings, Deci said, have an “inherent tendency to seekout novelty and challenges, to extend and exercise their capacities,to explore, and to learn.” But this third drive was more fragile thanthe other two; it needed the right environment to survive. “Onewho is interested in developing and enhancing intrinsic motivationin children, employees, students, etc., should not concentrate onexternal- control systems such as monetary rewards,” he wrote in afollow- up paper.6 Thus began what for Deci became a lifelong questto rethink why we do what we do— a pursuit that sometimes puthim at odds with fellow psychologists, got him fired from a businessschool, and challenged the operating assumptions of organizationseverywhere.

“It was controversial,” Deci told me one spring morning fortyyears after the Soma experiments. “Nobody was expecting rewardswould have a negative effect.”

This is a book about motivation. I will show that much of whatwe believe about the subject just isn’t so— and that the insights thatHarlow and Deci began uncovering a few decades ago come muchcloser to the truth. The problem is that most businesses haven’tcaught up to this new understanding of what motivates us. Too manyorganizations— not just companies, but governments and nonprofitsas well— still operate from assumptions about human potential andindividual performance that are outdated, unexamined, and rootedmore in folklore than in science. They continue to pursue practicessuch as short- term incentive plans and pay- for- performance schemesin the face of mounting evidence that such measures usually don’twork and often do harm. Worse, these practices have infiltrated ourschools, where we ply our future workforce with iPods, cash, andpizza coupons to “incentivize” them to learn. Something has gonewrong.

The good news is that the solution stands before us— in thework of a band of behavioral scientists who have carried on the pioneeringefforts of Harlow and Deci and whose quiet work over thelast half- century offers us a more dynamic view of human motivation.For too long, there’s been a mismatch between what scienceknows and what business does. The goal of this book is to repair thatbreach.

Drive has three parts. Part One will look at the fl aws in ourreward- and- punishment system and propose a new way to thinkabout motivation. Chapter 1 will examine how the prevailing viewof motivation is becoming incompatible with many aspects of contemporarybusiness and life. Chapter 2 will reveal the seven reasonswhy carrot- and- stick extrinsic motivators often produce theopposite of what they set out to achieve. (Following that is a shortaddendum, Chapter 2a, that shows the special circumstances whencarrots and sticks actually can be effective.) Chapter 3 will introducewhat I call “Type I” behavior, a way of thinking and an approach tobusiness grounded in the real science of human motivation and poweredby our third drive— our innate need to direct our own lives, tolearn and create new things, and to do better by ourselves and ourworld.

Part Two will examine the three elements of Type I behavior andshow how individuals and organizations are using them to improveperformance and deepen satisfaction. Chapter 4 will explore autonomy,our desire to be self- directed. Chapter 5 will look at mastery,our urge to get better and better at what we do. Chapter 6 willexplore purpose, our yearning to be part of something larger thanourselves.

Part Three, the Type I Toolkit, is a comprehensive set of resourcesto help you create settings in which Type I behavior can fl ourish.Here you’ll find everything from dozens of exercises to awakenmotivation in yourself and others, to discussion questions for yourbook club, to a supershort summary of Drive that will help youfake your way through a cocktail party. And while this book ismostly about business, in this section I’ll offer some thoughts abouthow to apply these concepts to education and to our lives outside ofwork.

But before we get down to all that, let’s begin with a thoughtexperiment, one that requires going back in time— to the days whenJohn Major was Britain’s prime minister, Barack Obama was a skinnyyoung law professor, Internet connections were dial- up, and a blackberrywas still just a fruit.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Riverhead Books (April 5, 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1594484805
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1594484803
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1140L
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.91 x 0.6 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #6,281 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #76 in Motivational Management & Leadership
- #130 in Leadership & Motivation
- #213 in Success Self-Help

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Daniel H. Pink

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Daniel H. Pink is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of seven books -- including his latest, THE POWER OF REGRET: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward. His books have sold millions of copies around the world, been translated into forty-two languages, and have won multiple awards. He lives with his family in Washington, DC.

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Customers find the book engagingly written by experts and consider it a must-read for managers and executives, praising its wit and intelligent presentation. They appreciate its value, with one customer noting how it can increase profitability in business, and they like the additional reading list at the end. The book receives mixed feedback about its length, with some finding it short while others consider it too long. Customers disagree on the effectiveness of its motivational theories, with some noting how it extinguishes intrinsic motivation.

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605 customers mention "Readability"540 positive65 negative

Customers find the book highly readable and engagingly written by experts, describing it as an eye-opener and a must-read for today's management.

"...For most of recent history, coal has been the cheapest, easiest, most efficient resource. But coal has two downsides...." Read more

"...It promotes great conceptual understanding, better grades, enhanced persistence at school and in sporting activities, higher productivity, less..." Read more

"...It's an easy read. It's an important read and it will open you up to some very interesting research and science behind motivation...." Read more

"...Overall, this book is very insightful and an easy read - recommended." Read more

564 customers mention "Insight"528 positive36 negative

Customers find the book provides great descriptions of what motivates us and is helpful, with one customer noting it includes good examples of studies.

"...previously published research from a variety of fields, synthesize and coordinate the data and present the findings to a lay audience in a way that..." Read more

"...activities, higher productivity, less burnout, and greater levels of psychological well-being. In addition, autonomous people impact the workplace...." Read more

"...highlighting, with multiple examples, that this isn't new, it's well researched and the evidence holds true in the face of how we think about rewards..." Read more

"...Overall, this book is very insightful and an easy read - recommended." Read more

28 customers mention "Value for money"25 positive3 negative

Customers find the book worth every penny, with one mentioning how it can increase profitability in business.

"...For most of recent history, coal has been the cheapest, easiest, most efficient resource. But coal has two downsides...." Read more

"...This chapter alone was worth the price of the book. All the rest is an excellent bonus." Read more

"...That section alone is worth the price of the book." Read more

"good buy" Read more

16 customers mention "Wit"16 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's wit and intelligent writing style, noting its great humor.

"...They also know that he has a wise, witty, fun, and fast way to take some of us who are stuck . . ...." Read more

"...'s book DRIVE: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, to be a thoughtful, helpful, and encouraging read...." Read more

"...research and many psychologists' analysis. Pinks writing is filled with wit, humor, and great examples that makes reading this book enjoyable...." Read more

"Daniel pink is an amazing speech writer, marketer, and entertainer. His book’s have that feel to them...." Read more

9 customers mention "Effectiveness"9 positive0 negative

Customers find the book effective, with one mentioning it works well for life.

"...Nevertheless, the book is one of the best works I have seen that brings all the research and examples together in a coherent fashion to make a..." Read more

"A good analysis of why work and life can often seem disengaging and what to do to get back on track...." Read more

"...In terms of readability and effectiveness, I'd recommend "It's Okay to be the Boss" over this one 1000 times...." Read more

"...with children to motivate themselves (rather than me) and they work very well. This book is well written and organized...." Read more

8 customers mention "Reading list"8 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the additional reading list at the end of the book.

"...He provides a great reading list of 15 essential books to encourage and promote a healthy environment for autonomy, mastery, and purpose...." Read more

"...It also includes a reading list that informs much of what Mr. Pink discussed earlier in the book and a quick bio on "Seven Business Thinkers Who..." Read more

"...this material also very useful, particularly to the extent it cites additional reading, consultants, etc. that provide more on the topic...." Read more

"...The book closes with a reading list, examples of six business leaders who "get it," a recap of his book (even in 140 character "twitterese") and a..." Read more

15 customers mention "Length"9 positive6 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book's length, with some finding it short while others consider it too long.

"...The book is short yet powerful. I recommend it." Read more

"...his book to represent all sides on each of his points, it would be too long, unreadable, not enjoyable, an academic book, not a business book, and..." Read more

"...The book is brief, easy to read, and might be rather helpful if you are new to the concepts...." Read more

"...It’s got great content but it could be dramatically shortened if only they’d distilled the novel a little before publishing...." Read more

15 customers mention "Motivation"6 positive9 negative

Customers have mixed views on the book's motivational content, with some appreciating its focus on intrinsic rewards while others note that it extinguishes intrinsic motivation and makes presumptions about motivational drives.

"...states the flaw of the carrot/stick method is that it extinguishes intrinsic motivation. “..." Read more

"...This is a terrific reward system that promotes job ownership and satisfaction...." Read more

"...The book is not a how-to for motivation or a book that sets out to define motivation in all its parts by a majority of experts...." Read more

"...The concepts of intrinsic vs. extrinsic rewards are extremely valuable and I have used them in my conversations and day-to-day life regularly...." Read more

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Alan L. Chase
A Must Read and Game Changer for Life-long Learners and Leaders
Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2010
Verified Purchase

Some books for me are "game changers." All of Malcolm Gladwell's books fall into this category: "Tipping Point," "Blink" and "Outliers." Frans Johansson's "The Medici Effect" prompted me to organize two leadership gatherings: The White Rhino Intersection and Intersection 2.0. Daniel Pink's latest book, "Drive," belongs in this same category. I love what Gladwell said about Pink's book: "I spent as much time thinking about what this book means as I did reading it." Well said; I have had the same response.

To regular readers of The White Rhino Report, Pink is no stranger. I wrote effusively about his earlier book, "A Whole New Mind."

I recently offered a link to a TED talk that summarizes the most salient points of "Drive."

Having been thoroughly mesmerized and intrigued by the "Drive" video, I wondered if I needed to read the book. I am glad I chose to take that additional step. The video serves as an excellent appetizer and introductory tool, but the main nutrient's can be found in the book.

Pink's genius is his ability to take previously published research from a variety of fields, synthesize and coordinate the data and present the findings to a lay audience in a way that does not "dumb down" the content or the significance of the discoveries. He takes the "what," and turns it into a powerful "so what?".

In discussing what motivates individuals and teams in almost any setting, Pink describes two types of motivation: Type X (extrinsic) and Type I (intrinsic).

"Type I behavior is a renewable resource. Think of Type X behavior as coal, and Type I behavior as the sun. For most of recent history, coal has been the cheapest, easiest, most efficient resource. But coal has two downsides. First, it produces nasty things like air pollution and greenhouse gases. Second, it's finite; getting more of it becomes increasingly difficult and expensive each year. Type X behavior is similar. An emphasis on rewards and punishments spews its own externalities. And 'if-then' motivators always grow more expensive. But Type I behavior, which is built around intrinsic motivation, draws on resources that are easily replenished and inflict little damage. It is the motivational equivalent of clean energy: inexpensive, safe to use, and endlessly renewable." (Page 80)

He goes on to describe what lies at the heart of Type I behavior and the underlying motivations. He issues what amounts to a manifesto for change.

"Ultimately, Type I behavior depends upon three nutrients: autonomy, mastery, and purpose. Type I behavior is self-directed. It is devoted to becoming better and better at something that matters. and it connects that quest for excellence to a larger purpose. Some might dismiss notions like these as gooey and idealistic, but the science says otherwise. The science confirms that this sort of behavior is essential to being human - and that now, in a rapidly changing economy, it is also critical for professional, personal, and organizational success of any kind. So we have a choice. We can cling to a view of human motivation that is grounded more in old habits than in modern science. Or we can listen to the research, drag our business and personal practices into the twenty-first century, and craft a new operating system to help ourselves, our companies, and our world work a little better. It won't be easy. It won't happen overnight. So let's get started." (Pages 80-81)

As the author continues to sketch out the components of what he calls Motivation 3.0 - a large quantum leap beyond the traditional Motivation 2.0 that fueled the Industrial Revolution - he describes four aspects of autonomy.

"And what a few future-looking businesses are discovering is that one of these essential features is autonomy - in particular, autonomy over four aspects of work: what people do, when they do it, how they do it, and whom they do it with. As Atlassian's experience shows, Type I behavior emerges when people have autonomy over the four T's: their task, their time, their technique, and their team." (Pages 93-94)

In discussing the importance of "Purpose" as a factor in motivation, Pink's work comes close to the themes of the book "Half Time - Moving from Success to Significance," by Bob Buford, which I reviewed in this space a few months ago:

These themes are also resonant with Rick Warren's best-seller, "The Purpose Driven Life."

The demographic time bomb that is my generation of Baby Boomers presents an interesting dilemma and opportunity occasioned by our anticipated increased longevity.

"Upon comprehending that they could have another twenty-five years, sixty-year-old boomers look back twenty-five years - to when they were thirty-five - and a sudden thought clonks them on the side of the head. 'Wow. That sure happened fast,' they say. 'Will the next twenty-five years race by like that? If so, when I am going to do something that matters? When am I going to live my best life? When am I going to make a difference in the world?'

Those questions, which swirl through conversations taking place at boomer kitchen tables around the world, may sound touch-feely. But they're now occurring at a rate that is unprecedented in human civilization. Consider: Boomers are the largest demographic cohort in most western countries, as well as in places like Japan, Australia and New Zealand. . . In America alone, one hundred boomers turn sixty every thirteen minutes. When the cold front of demographics meets the warm front of unrealized dreams, the result will be a thunderstorm of purpose the likes of which the world has never seen." (Pages 132-133)

In my observation, the impact is even more dramatic than that which Pink describes. In my role as a career coach, life coach, recruiter and mentor to many emerging leaders, men and women are beginning to ask the "purpose question" at increasingly younger ages. This bodes well for our future, and will force companies to address this issue if they hope to survive and to attract and to retain top talent.

The purpose dynamic has another aspect to it. In the absence of working for a higher purpose, Type X high achievers - the classic "Type A" personalities - work longer and longer hours to achieve material success and promotion. The result is burnout and dissatisfaction.

"One of the reasons for anxiety and depression in the high attainers in that they're not having good relationships. They're busy making money and attending to themselves, and that means that there's less room in their lives for love and attention and caring and empathy and the things that truly count." (Page 144)

In the title of this review, I call this book a "Must Read," yet the book is not for everyone. I recommend it to you only if you meet the following criteria:

* You are a life-long learner who is willing to learn new facts and to change your thinking and behavior in accordance with these new insights.
* You are in a position of leadership - in a company, in the military, in a family, in a school, in an organization - in which you need to and desire to create an environment of work and learning that maximizes autonomy, mastery, and purpose.
* You want to make a positive difference in the world and in the lives of those whom you influence.

If this is you, then order this book now, devour it, breath it, taste it, smell it, talk about it and live it. And then pass it on to the next generation of Type I leaders.

Enjoy the drive . . . and the journey!

Al

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David Phillips
The Drive to Thrive
Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2010
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Carrots and sticks are so 20th century. We need to understand the drive to thrive in the 21st century. That's my twitter summary of Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink.

Summary
There is a great disconnect between what we practice in business - and I will add, in life - and what science is telling us in the area of motivation. The current model of motivation is carrots or sticks, money or termination. If-then rewards actually extinguish intrinsic motivation and diminish performance, crush creativity, and reduce good behavior. They also motivate people into behavior we do not want to see happen: unethical behavior, additions, and short-term thinking.

While carrots and sticks are not the best motivators, they are not all bad, however. They can be effective for rule-based routine tasks that are not very interesting and do not demand much creative thinking, though their motivation is minimal.

Science, however, shows us that we need to upgrade our operating system to motivation 3.0.

The new OS has three essential elements: autonomy, mastery, and purpose.

Autonomy "involves behaving with a full sense of volition and choice." Motivation is different from independence. It is not the go-it-alone individualism of the American West. It means acting with a choice, meaning we can be both autonomous and happily interdependent with others. And more importantly, this is a human concept, not a Western one.

Autonomy has a powerful effect on performance. It promotes great conceptual understanding, better grades, enhanced persistence at school and in sporting activities, higher productivity, less burnout, and greater levels of psychological well-being. In addition, autonomous people impact the workplace. A study by Cornell University demonstrated that businesses that offered autonomy grew at four times the rate of non-autonomous businesses and had one-third the turnover.

The opposite of autonomy is control. Control leads to compliance; autonomy leads to engagement. Engagement leads to mastery, the desire to get better at something that matters. For the tasks of the 21st century, an inquiring mind and willingness to experiment to find a fresh solution is required. That means the ability to have autonomy over our tasks, techniques, team, and time. This all works to allow people to be engaged in their tasks and to master them.

Autonomous people working toward mastery perform at very high levels. But those who do so in the service of some greater objective can achieve even more. The most deeply motivated people connect their desires to a cause larger than themselves.

Thoughts
I really enjoy the writings of Daniel Pink. He assembles complicated research and makes it accessible to the masses. I appreciate how Pink makes the research in the areas of motivation easy for those who are not scientists to understand. In fact, in Drive, he does a magnificent job.

Much of the background for this book comes from the research of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a Hungarian psychology professor, who emigrated to the United States at the age of 22. Now at Claremont Graduate University, he is the former head of the department of psychology at the University of Chicago and of the department of sociology and anthropology at Lake Forest College. He is noted for his work in the study of happiness and creativity, but is best known as the architect of the notion of flow and for his years of research and writing on the topic. He is the author of many books and over 120 articles or book chapters. Martin Seligman, former president of the American Psychological Association, described Csikszentmihalyi as the world's leading researcher on positive psychology.

I do a lot of church planter assessments and one of the things we look for is intrinsic motivation. This allows us to see what will keep them going when things get tough. It also allows us to determine if money is a primary motivator. Drive provides us with the research behind the importance of this needed tool for church planting. And for ministry in the 21st century as well.

Drive is also a marker for entrepreneurial ministry. And entrepreneurialism in general.

The book is easy to read despite its topic. It makes good use of emerging research. But it's a very practical book as well. At the end of the book, Pink provides a toolkit. In it, he provides strategies for awakening motivation for individuals, parents, educators, and businesses. He provides a great reading list of 15 essential books to encourage and promote a healthy environment for autonomy, mastery, and purpose. He also provides a discussion guide to get the discussion started.

This is a fabulous book, and will be effective for leaders and followers alike. Whether you are a pastor, small group leader, or business person, this will help motivate those you lead and even help you understand yourself better.

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Destiny Jay
10/10 Great read
Reviewed in Canada on July 3, 2024
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10/10 Great read

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Uday Reddy
Helps you to know and MANIPULATE your DRIVE!
Reviewed in India on June 15, 2021
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Why this book is eye-opening –
1. It talks about different types of drive.
2. It explains which type of drive is helpful in the present world.
3. It explains the best to compensate employees.
4. It talks about giving praise the correct way.
5. It talks how the ancient methods of rewards and punishments can be harmful.
6. It provides you guidelines on how to effectively motivate yourself and others to achieve ones goals.
The long version -

We all have ‘drive’. It's that hidden feeling within us, which makes us do things which we must do. It is equivalent to motivation, but drive is what gives rise to motivation.

The book was eye-opening, in terms of exploring what drives people and how to manipulate that drive to do better work. The writing style is smooth, there weren't too many studies bombarding me in every chapter, but just enough to prove the point. I took away many great things from this book.

The author classifies drive into 3 different types. He argues that the 2nd category of drive has helped us in the industrial era but clinging onto that type of drive in the present generation, is sure to be a recipe for disaster. He explains what sparked the shift from type-2 drive to type-3 drive. He talks about how we destroy the creativity in children, by offering them rewards, and how an employee's morale gets destroyed due to improper compensation. The book offers great advice on how to compensate employees, how to offer praise the correct way, and how to spark creativity in children by changing the way we encourage them. He talks about how in some instances, rewards can be detrimental.

In the present world, where we are rewarded for absolutely anything, thinking back about what motivates us, that deep hidden voice that pushes us to do what must do, is something that we all must do. The book breaks many myths about motivation and shows you a way use and manipulate your drive to accomplish your goals.

Read the BOOK!

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Maryam
Consigliato!
Reviewed in Italy on January 10, 2023
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Tanti spunti interessanti che hanno reso la lettura molto piacevole

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B. Eric
De la motivation extrinsèque vers la motivation intrinsèque
Reviewed in France on October 2, 2010
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Daniel Pink s'est appuyé sur les travaux de scientifiques comme Alfie Kohn, Deci,... Le but de ce livre est de réduire le gap qu'il y a entre les connaissances et apports de la science et le comportement des entreprises dans la gestion de ses collaborateurs et leaders. Daniel Pink nous explique pourquoi bien souvent les méthodes traditionnelles de management ne fonctionnent pas dans notre monde et freinent la créativité pourtant normalement au centre de la croissance future de notre vielle Europe. Ce livre nous aide à créer un environnement favorisant la motivation intrinsèque que ce soit dans notre milieu professionnel ou dans l'éducation de nos enfants, de nos étudiants.

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Abdul r.
Not for those who value literature more than classroom studies
Reviewed in the United Arab Emirates on March 21, 2021
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More of a scientific matter having no literal value

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Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us Paperback – Illustrated, April 5, 2011

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5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read and Game Changer for Life-long Learners and Leaders

4.0 out of 5 stars The Drive to Thrive

Top reviews from other countries

5.0 out of 5 stars 10/10 Great read

5.0 out of 5 stars Helps you to know and MANIPULATE your DRIVE!

5.0 out of 5 stars Consigliato!

5.0 out of 5 stars De la motivation extrinsèque vers la motivation intrinsèque

2.0 out of 5 stars Not for those who value literature more than classroom studies

A Must Read and Game Changer for Life-long Learners and Leaders

The Drive to Thrive

10/10 Great read

Helps you to know and MANIPULATE your DRIVE!

Consigliato!

De la motivation extrinsèque vers la motivation intrinsèque

Not for those who value literature more than classroom studies