This may be my favorite book so far this year. I have enjoyed the associated RSA youtube video for years, but I confess I had not recognized the book was available. While researching discussions on motivation for my own book, I came across “Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us” by Daniel H. Pink. Within the first minute of listening (I’m a big fan of using Audible during my commute like lots of folks) I was engaged. As a matter of coincidence, my leadership team and I are discussing how we can improve talent retention, a topic with which this concept dovetails perfectly.
At a high level, Mr. Pink discusses three “operating systems”, as he calls them, that describe how managers approach motivating their organizations. He initially explores these three types as understandings of how humans are motivated in general. He then captures how companies 100 years ago, 40 years ago, and today have used the three types of motivation to lead their staff. Those three are Survival, Extrinsic, and Intrinsic motivations.
David’s next major topic explores the key pieces in Motivation 3.0, the modern, intrinsic motivation approach that he’s advocating we use with “knowledge workers”. Those pieces are Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose. I don’t feel that I’m giving away anything here, as the real insights come from reading the details of how he positions this triad of intrinsic motivation.
This book has tons of meat and very little potatoes. I felt like I gained new ideas and gained tactical insights that I can try with my organization (and my children). I give it a 5 star rating, because I enjoyed it end to end. It also felt very well edited, focused, and moved from topic to topic without redundancy. Also Daniel has a great voice and does an excellent job narrating this book.
I tend to listen or read business or technical books all the time. You can see…
… more of my Audible book reviews here.
… more of my Kindle/Paperback reviews here.
… books I have authored here. (Except the scripture book, not mine.)