Daniel Pink offers a revolutionary way to look at motivation that turns the hierarchical system of corporate and government management upside its head -- as well it should.

This is a bestselling book, and for good reason.

Pink explores "the science of motivation (you know the ol' `Carrot and Stick') and totally flipping it on its head given the fact that the nature of work is changing so dramatically.

The FACT is (and his narrative ties together a ton of substantive research to back this up) that when we are faced with a task that requires creative and the proverbial "out of the box" thinking, we are going to perform less remarkably and inefficiently when there is a specific reward laid out in front of us.

Instead, he introduces us to the underlying principles of Motivation 3.0, as he calls it (1.0 is the basic survival motivation, 2.0 is the carrot and stick that is the hallmark of most of management science and was appropriate for an era that is leaving us.)

Motivation 3.0 assumes that our base level of needs are addressed (i.e. you need a fair wage), but that once you get to that point, what brings out breakthrough performance and results are three key components that emanate from a person's Intrinsic Motivation.

1. Autonomy-do we have the control to make our own decisions?
2. Mastery-do we possess the desire to continually improve in our chosen area?
3. Purpose-does it all make sense to us a in cosmic sense? Do we believe that what we are doing makes sense and has meaning?

If you are asking yourself how you motivate your employees, your students, your community or your partners, you need to take Dan's work into account.

There's a huge disconnect between how we think we should motivate others and how we all are actually motivated.

Drive helps you understand what that is and, equally importantly, tells you what you can do about it."




"Pink continues his mastery of researching big concepts to provide king sized insights, bite sized gems, and life changing tools. Wrapping this quick read with great humor, metaphors and inspiration richer and deeper than any self-help book, he crystalizes trends ahead of others for those yearning to maximize human resources or hoping to make their next day a better one. Drive is required reading for any grad student, CEO, or "nervously employed" worker seeking words and hope to explain why adapting to constant changing is the only constant. Pink's Free Agent Nation, A Whole New Mind, Johnny Bunko and now Drive are the most useful books I've read in terms of taking control of one's career, strengths, and situation since What Color is Your Parachute. Marcus Buckingham, Steven Covey and Tom Peters moved career management to a new level. Drive puts readers further down the road with greater wit, style and speed."

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