Character First the Magazine

What Drives You?

by Loren Paulsson on May 02, 2010 | photography by Jerry Bauer

Daniel H. Pink’s narrative style and his conversations with his sources make Drive an absorbing read—and a persuasive call to rethink common assumptions.

Pink reviews a conventional understanding of human motivation, starting with the initial drive to survive and evolving into a desire to gain certain benefits and avoid losses. He argues this model doesn’t explain why open source Wikipedia beat out Microsoft Encarta, and he cites a growing body of evidence that traditional extrinsic rewards can reduce creativity, encourage unethical shortcuts, and dampen long-term thinking.

In order to bridge the gap between management practice and actual human behavior, Pink turns to Edward Deci and Richard Ryan’s three elements of motivation—which Pink calls “autonomy,” “mastery,” and “purpose.”

For Pink, autonomy means “acting with choice.” He sees it as the fundamental element in the motivation equation and perhaps the one over which supervisors have the most influence. And he’s quick to point out it isn’t just a western thing.

He also challenges readers to rethink how they measure potential—theirs and others’. Those who want to achieve mastery must approach challenges as opportunities to improve, embrace the pain required, and realize they will always have room for improvement.
“The most deeply motivated people…hitch their desires to a cause larger than themselves,” Pink says. And though he doesn’t discuss what makes a particular purpose satisfying, he does challenge readers to ask the question.

The 50-page “Toolkit” section will prove helpful for parents who want to give their kids a head start, supervisors who care how they affect colleagues, and anyone who, like this reviewer, has to get better…just because the job is worth doing.

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Comments

  • I was recently reminded of this article by an interesting interview on the radio: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127352130. Don Ariely, author of "The Upside of Irrationality," discusses what really motivates us to do great work -- and bigger bonuses often don't have the desired effect.

    The most profound part to me was the account of an experiment they performed where they compensated people for work, but actively destroyed the meaningfulness of that work. The effects were about what you might expect: money wasn't enough to keep people going.

    Posted by Jonathan Camenisch, 02/06/2010 11:41am (2 years ago)

  • Wow...this is true. I definitely work the hardest when I believe in what I'm doing and see value in the work...not just my reward for doing the work. Good thoughts, Loren.

    Posted by Robert Greenlaw, 07/05/2010 9:05am (2 years ago)

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