Essential motivational theory reading

Absolutely brilliant! A must for anyone interested in motivational theory. Pink et al review the previous research behind motivational theory ('sticks and carrots') and demonstrate why this is no longer appropriate for changes in the type of work that our society and business now needs and can, in many circumstances, result in poorer performance. The authors then review the research base over the last ten years, pointing to three main factors (autonomy, mastery and purpose) that research has demonstrated effect type I (intrinsic) motivation, with examples from business. The authors helpfully suggest some techniques you might employ in yuour own organisation to tap into type I motivation.

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27 people found this helpful

TOC

Book TOC:

Part One - A New Operating System

CHAPTER 1 - The Rise and Fall of Motivation 2.0
CHAPTER 2 - Seven Reasons Carrots and Sticks (Often) Don’t Work . . .
CHAPTER 2A - . . . and the Special Circumstances When They Do
CHAPTER 3 - Type I and Type X


Part Two - The Three Elements

CHAPTER 4 - Autonomy
CHAPTER 5 - Mastery
CHAPTER 6 - Purpose

Part Three - The Type I Toolkit

Type I for Individuals: Nine Strategies for Awakening Your Motivation
Type I for Organizations: Nine Ways to Improve Your Company, Office, or Group
The Zen of Compensation: Paying People the Type I Way
Type I for Parents and Educators: Nine Ideas for Helping Our Kids
The Type I Reading List: Fifteen Essential Books
Listen to the Gurus: Six Business Thinkers Who Get It
The Type I Fitness Plan: Four Tips for Getting (and Staying) Motivated to Exercise
Drive: The Recap
Drive: The Glossary
The Drive Discussion Guide: Twenty Conversation Starters to Keep You Thinking ...

FIND OUT MORE—ABOUT YOURSELF AND THIS TOPIC

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Review:

Common motivators
Usual motivators are reward and punishment. Carrot and the stick.

Research results
Money as a drive works on tasks based on process/protocol (step 1,2,3...complete).
Once the task involves higher than rudimentary cognitive skills, extra money as reward not only doesn't increase but it lowers performance.

Whereas for stepped tasks the blinkers focus the worker. The person's attention is now on the money, not the task they need to find a solution for. The blinkers become a total enemy of creative problem solving.


Commitment and bonds
Childcare centre has some parents running late so imposes fines after 10 minutes late. The rate of lateness doubles. Parents no longer see not getting to the centre on time as breaking the bond with their kids carer, not being nice. Instead its a purely financial transaction, something else to buy.


Enter the game of autonomy and challenge
At Attlassian, their entitled "FEDEX days", the company gives employees a 24 hour challenge. Employees can do what they like, however they like, with whoever they like. Only requirement is next day they present it over drinks, cake and pizza.

Redgate, scrapped sales bonuses. Instead they pay people a fair sum. Full attention on the task/job.

Zappos, call centre, revamped how a call centre is run. Usually staff turnover of 100% on year on year (like a lightbulb2). Zappos instead of timing/automatising/scripting their staff's response, offered money for new trainees to leave if they wished, then gave staff autonomy to resolve customer issues. They ended up with the highest ratings of customer satisfaction. (Supposition is increase of staff autonomy and sense of belonging and importance)


Freeware/Wikipedia - based on people's donations of time and effort. Sometimes considerable compared to people's existing day jobs, and they are doing same or more effort on their limited discretionary time, for free.

Google 20%. Many of their great ideas is a product from Google's freedom to allow their staff to work on their own project 20% of their work time. E.g. GMail, Google News.


Key points from the research, people want:

Crude incentives negatively affect performance
Autonomy, self-direction, augments the sense of self worth and fosters progress,
Collaboration, Game (3. is personal thoughts)
Challenge and Mastery,
Purpose.


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13 people found this helpful

Good insight, makes you think

Delivered by the author with a strident style, this book made me think about motivation and how I might apply some ideas in the workplace. There are some sweeping assertions in the book, and a few logical leaps, but the main points are well argued and compelling. Well worth a listen.

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Short-term inspiration

I enjoyed listening to Daniel H Pink on my drive to work and found the audiobook to be motivational while I was listening to it. However his inspiration has worn off somewhat a few weeks later. There were some interesting insights in there and I’m sure my approach to life has changed since listening to the book. Great to have the author narrating his own work. I'll certainly be listening to it again.

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9 people found this helpful

Why do I do what I do?

A short book on how motivation for work has changed over time and what you can do to leverage that drive in your favour. Daniel Pink is a competent narrator and knows his subject matter, delivered in an easy going style. The book is structured so that the ideas that are introduced can be acted upon. There are some bullet point action lists, quick recaps of chapters and well stocked list on further reading books.

I enjoyed it and hope to test the section that applies to personal career development, bringing up intrinsically motivated kids and some further reading particularly Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.

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6 people found this helpful

Facinating and mind bending in a good way

I have almost finished this book. It keeps pushing idea's and probable thruths into my mind and in a very easy and likeable way. My perspective was to find some better motivation for my work. It certainly fulfilled my needs.

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Fantastic Listen!

I heard about Dan Pink at work via a Ted Talk on Youtube. That talk appears to be a summation of his book. His theories on motivation are explained in very easy to understand terms, using very well described examples and studies. It's a great tale of what can and does motivate us and why we're driven (or not) to do achieve or act. He consistently pushes home reasons why the carrot and stick approach only works for so long and why it works for some people and not others. He cites examples of how organisations benefit from making use of this understanding, often inherently, with how they treat their staff. Autonomy and mastery or two areas he keeps highlighting as the new way to generate motivation within companies, groups and organisations. An excellent listen.

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6 people found this helpful

poor

there's about a chapter worth of material here. very much from the point of view of getting people to do stuff. doesn't really expand to personal drive. repeatedly quotes fast magazine and experiments I've heard about many times prior. the last 40 minutes are particularly bad. uninspiring, with little substance.

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4 people found this helpful

Its not surprising & taken mainly from other books

Feels more like a book report on other people's work, studies and books and doesn't really offer anything original.

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4 people found this helpful

Shows how to make work and life engaging

What did you like most about Drive?

It had a clear framework to understand the author's point - that current motivation methods are broken and how to motivate myself and others without the Carrot and the Stick.

Who was your favorite character and why?

N/A - nofiction

Which character – as performed by Daniel H. Pink – was your favourite?

N/A - nofiction

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. I listened to it while driving - the Rolling University, as Zig Zigglar puts it.

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4 people found this helpful