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All 16 learnings · one per slide
Drive
Daniel H. Pink, in bytes
16 key learnings on what really motivates people: autonomy, mastery and purpose.
16 learnings · ~40 sec eachSwipe →
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Drive, in bytes
16 key learnings from Daniel Pink's book on motivation, arguing that carrots and sticks often fail for creative work. Each takes about 40 seconds to read. Swipe, use the arrows, or your keyboard.
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Learning 1 · Introduction
Wikipedia vs Encarta
Example
Microsoft paid experts to write Encarta. Wikipedia relied on unpaid volunteers. Wikipedia won, and Encarta closed.
The idea
Pink uses this to show people do great work for reasons other than money.
Takeaway
Intrinsic motivation can beat financial rewards.
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Learning 2 · Part 1
Motivation 1.0, 2.0, 3.0
The idea
Pink describes an operating-system upgrade: 1.0 was survival, 2.0 is rewards and punishments, 3.0 is intrinsic motivation.
Example
Most workplaces still run on 2.0: bonuses, targets and penalties.
Takeaway
Modern work needs a modern operating system.
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Learning 3 · Part 1
When Carrots Backfire
The idea
Rewards can help for simple, mechanical tasks but can hurt performance on creative, complex ones.
The evidence
In versions of Karl Duncker's candle problem, people offered cash often took longer to find the creative solution.
Takeaway
Match the motivator to the kind of work.
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Learning 4 · Part 1
Seven Deadly Flaws
The idea
Pink lists ways extrinsic rewards backfire: they can extinguish intrinsic motivation, reduce performance, crush creativity, crowd out good behaviour, encourage cheating, become addictive and foster short-term thinking.
Spot it
A bonus scheme that makes people hit the number by any means.
Takeaway
Rewards have hidden costs.
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Learning 5 · Part 1
Play Becomes Work
The evidence
In a study Pink cites, children who were promised a reward for drawing later chose to draw less in their free time.
The idea
Rewarding an enjoyable activity can turn it into a chore.
Takeaway
Be careful rewarding what people already love.
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Learning 6 · Part 1
Fair Pay First
The idea
Pay people fairly and adequately to take money off the table, then focus on deeper motivators.
Example
Underpaid staff will focus on pay no matter how interesting the work.
Takeaway
Fair pay is a baseline, not the motivator.
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Learning 7 · Part 1
'Now That' Rewards
The idea
If you reward creative work, prefer unexpected 'now that you've done this' rewards over 'if you do this, then' deals.
Example
A surprise team dinner after a great launch.
Takeaway
Recognition after the fact keeps motivation intrinsic.
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Learning 8 · Part 1
Type I and Type X
The idea
Type X behaviour is fuelled by external rewards; Type I by the satisfaction of the activity itself.
Example
A programmer who codes on weekends for fun shows Type I behaviour.
Takeaway
Type I behaviour is learned, not fixed.
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Learning 9 · Part 2
Autonomy
The idea
People want control over their task, their time, their technique and their team.
Example
Atlassian's 'FedEx days' let engineers work on anything for 24 hours, producing fixes and new ideas.
Try this
Give someone ownership of how a task is done, not just what.
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Learning 10 · Part 2
Results-Only Work
The idea
Some companies judge people only on results, not on hours or location.
Example
Pink describes Best Buy's experiment with a Results-Only Work Environment.
Takeaway
Trust adults to manage their own time.
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Learning 11 · Part 2
Mastery
The idea
The desire to get better at something that matters. It requires a growth mindset, effort and deliberate practice.
Example
Goldilocks tasks, neither too easy nor too hard, keep people in flow.
Try this
Give someone a stretch task just beyond their current skill.
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Learning 12 · Part 2
Mastery Is an Asymptote
The idea
You can approach mastery but never fully reach it, which is part of its appeal.
Example
Great musicians keep practising scales throughout their careers.
Takeaway
Enjoy getting better, not arriving.
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Learning 13 · Part 2
Mastery Is Grit
The idea
Pink draws on Angela Duckworth's research showing persistence predicts achievement.
Example
West Point cadets who persisted through tough training were the grittier ones, not always the most talented.
Takeaway
Mastery takes sustained effort.
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Learning 14 · Part 2
Purpose
The idea
People are most motivated when they serve something larger than themselves.
Example
Organisations that frame goals around customers or society, not just profit.
Try this
Ask your team: what's our purpose beyond profit?
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Learning 15 · Part 2
Purpose Maximisers
The idea
Pink sees a rise in organisations that pursue purpose alongside profit.
Example
Using 'we' language and policies that let staff contribute to causes.
Takeaway
Purpose attracts and keeps talent.
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Learning 16 · Toolkit
Your Sentence
The idea
Pink suggests summing up your life in one sentence, and each evening asking whether you were better than yesterday.
Example
'She raised four kids who became happy, healthy adults.'
Reflect
What's your sentence?
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All 16 learnings complete
That’s all 16 learnings.
Autonomy, mastery and purpose. Which of the three is missing from your work right now?
Abhay Kumar JaiswalFCA · PMP® · Workday Financeabhayjaiswal.com
Summaries in my own words. Read the book for the full stories.
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Summaries are written in my own words for learning. Read Drive by Daniel H. Pink (2009) for the full stories. More Books in Bytes