Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink - Book Report/Review Example

Pink’s book Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us, is a business book which is the most informative book about motivation that I have ever read. The book promotes critical thinking and creativity by encouraging people to think beyond the common motivation techniques of reward and punishment. The unmistakable clarity of the author and chronological advancement of the corporate world is presented through the introduction of Motivation1.0 which he describes as the early times when the behavior of the people reflected the goal to survive. As time progressed and the corporate world advanced, there was Motivation 2.0 which is an era characterized by successful application of reward and-punishment system of motivation which is also known as extrinsic motivation where people worked hard to escape punishment or to be rewarded. Although this system of motivation has been used for the longest time in the business world to steer performance ahead, the business world has changed a lot and it no longer has the same effect. As such, it fails to address the behavioral traits of the human labor. At this point, Pink introduces Motivation 3.0 which is “intrinsic motivation”. In his new science of motivation, Pink retaliates the experiment performed by Harry F. Harlow professor of Psychology with the example of the Monkeys solving puzzles. Harlow concluded that monkeys that solved puzzles without expecting any food rewards were very fast and accurate compared to those who solved with food expectations. This is because the monkeys who did not expect anything were doing it for the enjoyment and satisfaction of it and by their own choice, which is the intrinsic motivation. While Pink does not entirely dismiss the effectively of the Carrot-and-Stick Approach, he presents the flaws in the approach but acknowledges its applicability in the highly controlled, unchallenging and routine tasks. Pink proposes three pillars of Motivation 3.0 which should be implemented as a new way of motivating people. The pillars are; autonomy, mastery and purpose. Autonomy deals with the desire people have to be in control of directing their own lives and this goes for their own work too. As such, Pink proposes that people work with a sense of choice and volition at home, in school or at the corporate level. A sense of autonomy in one’s work promotes persistence, psychological well-being, less burnout, higher productivity and better grades in school. When workers are given autonomy in their workplace, they become very motivated and direct their actions towards results-oriented activities. They control their time, their schedules and place of work as long as results are achieved. Mastery relates to the urge of people to desire getting better every time in something they hold important. As such, mastery in the workplace implies that workers will get motivated to get better at their jobs as long as it matters to them. The idea here is to ensure that workers are presented with optimal experiences which are challenging but based on the abilities of the workers. The challenges should not be too easy or too hard. Mastery should be seen as something which is improvable and demands deliberate practice, grit and efforts. Purpose is another pillar of the proposed Motivation 3.0 which implies that people year to do something which they perceive to be of a greater good and bigger that they are as individuals. This gives people meaning in whatever they do which is concerned to be the basic human motivation. While human beings want to be happy, they always search of a reason to make them happy. As such, Pink suggest that people will be motivated if they do something that matters, and do it well and lastly, d it for the greater cause. This mean that businesses should not focus primarily on profit maximization, but to ensure worker satisfaction through motivation derived from achievement of a purpose. This way, businesses will indirectly realize greater profits. Pink has used very practical examples and illustrations in this book in a way that makes it very practical to apply in businesses when trying to motivate employees. My take is that companies which pay their employees well enough so that they have no reason to complain money-wise, should look for other creative ways to motivate their employees instead of using the traditional reward-based system which has rater been outdated in this business era. People want to exercise their autonomy and control their work space, they want to be self-directed, be their own masters, and do something which has a greater good, not just for their personal improvement but for something bigger that they are. I therefore feel that the application of Motivation 3.0 in school, work or other scenarios will be effective in making work enjoyable, increasing people’s happiness and improving work engagement which in turn make the world a better place. The pillars proposed by Pink with regards to Motivation 3.0 are very significant to me as I feel that my career can be revamped by focusing on the three pillars of motivation. The most important pillar I believe is purpose. It will be great for me to realize satisfaction out of my career for something that does not only benefit me, but also other people in a scenario that is greater than myself. This allows me to be creative and connect widely in order to achieve divergent thinking to solution achievement as opposed to the myopic route involved in reward-based system of seeking results. After reading the book, I hope to embrace and implement Motivation 3.0 in my career in order to have a rewarding and satisfying career which will in turn make me happy and contented. Through Pink’s book, I will be able to evaluate the parts of my life that require effective and creative way of yielding results which are more intrinsic. I also hope to steer my work works into greater heights by using Pink’s propositions to identify the behaviors which are likely to result in greater productivity and performance if modified. As such, we are able to develop our sense of worth, connectedness and fulfillment as a group. References Pink, D.H. (2009). Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us. Riverhead Books: New York. Read More