Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us – in conversation with author Dan Pink

Posted by: Krishna De | Posted on: January 7th, 2010 | 23 Comments | Posted in: Book Reviews

NOTE: I am giving away my copy of this book which I was sent by Dan Pink’s publisher– scroll down to the bottom of the article if you want to discover how to be in with a chance to win it – and I promise it is as good as new!

I recently received a copy of Dan Pink’s new book ‘Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us’ and today had the opportunity to speak to him direct thanks to my good friend Elizabeth Marshall. What a thrill to be able to speak to such a well known author.

The first part of ‘Drive’ covers a review of research about the science of motivation and talks about when to use ‘carrot and stick motivators’ and when they don’t work. Dan suggests that if a member of your team is undertaking a simple task then using a ‘carrot’ to motivate will be more effective is we also offer a rationale for why the task is necessary, acknowledge that the task is boring and then allow people to complete the task in their own way.

One of the interesting reflections for me in  this area is working with an organisation where all the people are volunteers. I work with a number of non profit organisations where people are gifting their time and the one thing that I have realised is that there are dramatic differences between those organisations in how to people want to connect. One organisation I can think of is very efficient and we get a lot done by the volunteer board – the other organisation has a group of individuals on the volunteer board who all need much more personal recognition, affirmation and face to face contact. As a leader in my experience it’s important to therefore not just take into account the individual team member but the ecosystem or culture in which they operate.

The second part of the book covers a new approach to motivation which Dan defines as:

Autonomy – the desire to direct our own lives in the areas of the task we are undertaking, the time when we do so, the technique we employ to get the task done and the team we work with

Mastery – the desire to get better at something that matters. Dan talked in our conversation about the open source movement as an example of this where a community develop a product or service, make it the best it can be and then make it available to the community to use, build upon and further enhance.

Purpose – the impulse to want to be part of something larger than ourselves. Dan discussed the fact that in today’s uncertain economic climate it is even more imperative to determine our purpose and had has a terrific question that he encourages we ask ourselves: ‘Was I better today than yesterday’. just asking ourselves that one question and then acting on our observations I know could make a huge difference in our achieving our fullest potential.

The third and I have to declare my favourite part of the book is practical toolkit which has been developed with different sections for organisations, parents and educators and individuals.

In the book there is also a link to a free online assessment on Dan’s website for readers of the book – this is available from the 10 January 2010.

Dan has an extensive speaking tour taking place at the moment – he will be in the UK during the week of the 25 January 2010.

However if you want to have the opportunity to connect to Dan before then, I recommend that you register for a FREE teleseminar that Elizabeth will be hosting with Dan on the 12 January at 1pm Eastern Time (6pm in Ireland/UK) where they will be discussing the three drives that truly motivate us to do great work, build great businesses and make a significant impact in the world. You can register for the call HERE.

You purchase your own copy of ‘Drive’ in all the online retailers – and watch out yes there is a dramatically different cover for the UK and US versions of the book.

And you can watch Dan giving a talk at TED here about what motivates us:

HOW TO WIN A COPY OF DRIVE BY DAN PINK

If you would like to win my copy of ‘Drive’ here’s what to do – just tell me in 150 words or less:

1. what one thing you are planning to do to make sure that you are motivated to deliver your business goals in 2010

AND

2. what one thing you plan to do in 2010 to get the best out of the people you work with i.e. so that they are motivated.

Go ahead – over to you – just leave your comments below. Entries to be in by midnight Ireland/UK time on Friday 15 January 2010.