Drive

The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

By: Daniel H. Pink

Narrated by: Daniel H. Pink

Length: 5 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

The New York Times best seller that gives listeners a paradigm-shattering new way to think about motivation from the author of When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing.

Most people believe that the best way to motivate is with rewards like money - the carrot-and-stick approach. That's a mistake, says Daniel H. Pink (author of To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Motivating Others). In this provocative and persuasive new book, he asserts that the secret to high performance and satisfaction - at work, at school, and at home - is the deeply human need to direct our own lives, to learn and create new things, and to do better by ourselves and our world. Drawing on four decades of scientific research on human motivation, Pink exposes the mismatch between what science knows and what business does - and how that affects every aspect of life. He examines the three elements of true motivation - autonomy, mastery, and purpose - and offers smart and surprising techniques for putting these into action in a unique book that will change how we think and transform how we live.

©2009 Daniel H. Pink (P)2009 Penguin

Critic reviews

"Pink makes a convincing case that organizations ignore intrinsic motivation at their peril." (Scientific American)

"Persuasive...Harnessing the power of intrinsic motivation rather than extrinsic remuneration can be thoroughly satisfying and infinitely more rewarding." (Miami Herald)

"These lessons are worth repeating, and if more companies feel emboldened to follow Mr. Pink's advice, then so much the better." (Wall Street Journal)

Brilliant, with a lot regurgitated material.

I found it hard to follow much of this book having read most of the books pink cites. If you are not up to date on a lot of mid set books, then this is a decent synopsis. I patently disagree with several of his examples as case studies because they use very faulty logic. Comparing the ability of a Harvard MBA to that of a poor indian farmer fails in so many ways. In that he cited the work correctly yes, I agree, but the work is myopic and fails on many levels as do most authors who use case studies to bring about broad sweeping generalities about society. This is a decent read and cites some very profound and amazing work.

Repetitive

Would you listen to Drive again? Why?

Yes, because there were snippets that were extremely valuable.

Would you recommend Drive to your friends? Why or why not?

Yes, because I think too many people are motivated by the wrong reasons and they then motivate others ineffectively.

Any additional comments?

Good just repeated the message a number of times

Excellent book!

This book and the theories involved should be mainstream and emulated by more than just business!

Rethinking human nature

on this new approach Too Human management Missouri enlightening! It is nice to see that more businesses are embracing this new methodology.

Connects the science and reasoning to strategy

I'm a manager for a fast growing start-up. This book, even though written many years ago, is very relevant to connecting the "why" a lot of practices in a restults driven workplace are effective. It was well worth my time to learn this and how to reinforce this mindset/culture as we continue to scale our organization.

One of my top recommendations

Out of the hundreds and hundreds of books I've read, this would be one of the top ten I most frequently cite and recommend to people. It's quite interesting and useful for everyone to better understand themselves, but is vitally important for anyone in a management position. Focus on helping people thrive and want to do their best, instead of chasing them with carrots and sticks. I've always maintained that trust and respect are essential.

The author points out three main aspects of motivation: Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose. Autonomy means freedom ovver your work. It might mean that you have control over where you work, when you work, what you work on, who you work with or who you work for. Having some degree of control tends to make people happier. Mastery means we want to be challenged. We want to learn and grow and not get stuck in a boring rut. And Purpose, of course, means that we feel our work has some value. Not every job has to be curing cancer, but you should feel like your work has some use. I remember once when I worked six months of 60 hour weeks on a project that was canceled. That was an upsetting experience. Sure, I got paid whether the work was used or not, but I realized how much it bothered me for my work to have no value.

I feel like when I read this as a physical book years and years ago that there was more detail in some sections, but that could be me just misremembering.

Anyway - really interesting book. Learn more about how to work with yourself and others. Do yourself a favor and get this book now.

inspiring and enlightening

if you find your leadership needs a shot in the arm, this is an excellent book

It will challenge you to rethink "motivation"!

Scientific research background details are sometimes overwelming and dificult to stay focused on but the story is worth it! I enjoyed the fresh view on looking motivation in the mirror! I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to improve their effectiveness and communication skills.

Excellent! Inspirational!

Encouraging for anyone who has children, works with people, or even volunteers. Pink effectively delivers the idea.

Awesome book!

This is a great read! Gained a lot of useful info to take to my organization. Do yourself a favor and listen to this book