I recently participated in a Random Act of Kindness (ROAK) for the Belen Echandia Sub Forum in the Purse Forum. My wonderful buddy sent me Drive by Daniel H Pink, a book I’ve been looking forward to since I saw Kathy Sierra mention it on Twitter.  Once I received Drive, I knew it had to be the book I read for March!

Drive’s subtitle is The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us.  The book explores a type of motivation beyond the normal reward/punishment system (Motivation 2.0), a Motivation 3.0.  Pink points out that if basic needs are met, Motivation 2.0 can actually harm instead of help the very things it’s trying to accomplish.

Motivation 2.0 worked when it was created because of the type of work being done.  People needed to comply and Motivation 2.0 excels in that situation.  Now, a lot of work requires problem solving, creativity and willingness to experiment.  Motivation 3.0 seeks and allows for engagement, which fits the current environment.

Pink provides examples from some companies that are embracing Motivation 3.0.  Three of the big names are Zappos, Best Buy, and 3M.  Zappos empowers their employees to provide make the customer happy.  Best Buy operates a Results Oriented Work Environment (ROWE) in some areas that allows their employees to determine where and when they work best.  3M provides their technical staff with time to work on a project of their choosing.  One of these projects resulted in Post-In Notes, one of my favorite products!

Motivation 3.0 is 3 basic elements: autonomy, mastery and purpose.  Pink dedicates a chapter to each and discusses them at length.  The end of the book a toolkit for Type I (his type of Motivation 3.0 person).  The toolkit provides 9 strategies for finding your motivation.

I really loved the book.  It’s one of those books you don’t want to put down, but you know you have to let it sit so you can absorb the information.  I took me almost 3 weeks to read the content of the book, and I’m still reading through the toolkit and thinking about it.  A lot of the Motivation 2.0 not working and Motivation 3.0 recommendations made sense to me.  I don’t work at a company that embraces Motivation 3.0, but I can see some ways my management has implemented portions of it (and I’m sure without having read this book).  If you want to learn more about motivation, I suggest getting Drive!