Will I love Drive?

I love this book because it challenges us to think about what motivates people and how we can get the best out of ourselves and those around us.

Pink suggests, based on a lot of research, that having a clear purpose, learning new things that matter to us, and having autonomy to take initiative are the three most important things that “drive” us, and while there might be more to the equation, this is a great place to start in unlocking our potential.

This book is a really powerful summation of much contemporary research on motivation, but it picks out what is truly crucial to help you in the workplace. It should be no surprise to learn, as Pink says, that “We find that financial incentives ... can result in a negative impact on overall performance", but it is nevertheless.

The style of writing is pacy and exciting, as befits a New York bestseller, and I also like this because its model closely approximates to the research that I think is truly compelling, but which is not universally accepted: namely, that there are… show more.

Finally, someone has revealed the truth about what really motivates people.

Pink challenges traditional motivational techniques and sheds light on the key drivers of high performance. My clients complain a lot about their employees, and often it’s because they don’t understand them as well as they think they do. I’m grateful to have people like Daniel Pink out their sharing the insights people need to become better bosses who can lead better teams.

Really good read. 

Getting the most from yourself and others requires an intrinsic understanding of why people do what they do.

And this book describes a framework that is both actionable and incredibly easy to understand. By showing how all of us desire autonomy, mastery, and purpose, we can reflect on what brings meaning to our lives and our work.

As a leader, you can map this framework into the goals and objectives that you set with your staff, and you won’t believe the difference.

Daniel Pink is a terrific author who draws on his former experience as a lawyer to build his case in his books. 

What I love about Drive is how Pink explains the mistake we made trying to motivate people incorrectly. He examined the elements of true motivation, which he considers autonomy, mastery, and purpose. 

Although curiosity sparks motivation, it is critical to learn the things that motivation impacts if you can ignite that spark.

In addition to the book, I’ve seen Pink deliver a talk at a conference on how we are wired as humans.

Similar to First, Break All the Rules, he shares some fascinating psychological studies and then goes on to outline how to use this knowledge to motivate and manage our teams.