A fantastic read about our flawed perception of motivation. Daniel Pink lays out a convincing argument that the old ‘carrot & stick’ approach to incentives is dead wrong. While a rewards & punishment approach works for simple tasks, one needs intrinsic motivation based on autonomy, competence, and purpose to accomplish complex and creative tasks. This is because we psychologically want to direct our own lives, be better than what we are, and yearn to be part of something bigger than ourselves.
Overall a short tome that is well researched and written. I burned through this one fast and did not need to flip back and forth to follow the thesis and evidence.
A must-read for anyone who aspires to lead or motivate others where commitment is valued over compliance.
A book review by Chris L’Heureux
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