Drive By Daniel Pink Analysis

501 Words2 Pages

Critical assessment

Author Daniel Pink argues in his book Drive- The surprising truth about what motivates us that motivation is mostly intrinsic. He defines the three categories of motivation – autonomy, mastery and purpose. For the author, “old fashioned” methods such as “carrots and sticks”, a.k.a. rewards and punishment, should not be regarded by companies, as money is the dominant factor.
Daniel Pink looks at extrinsic motivation and explains why it is wrongly treated by people. He points out that this kind of motivation is all about stimulating people’s behavior, that can be made by rewarding it financially or punishing them for not achieving their goal. When people are eager to meet a certain goal just for the end result- the financial reward, they change their focus and shift their attention. Instead of focusing on the experience of the activity that they are performing, their main thoughts will be only about the reward given after achieving their goal. Daniel Pink gives two examples of similar situations, one of them being a girl taking money for each math lesson she attends and the other being an industrial designer, promised financial reward, if he make a hit product. Both of them would definitely work hard in the short-term, focused on the awaiting reward, …show more content…

It also increases the level of engagement at the work place. The article Connect, then lead, by Amy J.C Cuddy, Matthew Kohut and John Neffinger expresses a similar stance as its focus is on the need to feel in command. It requires connecting to yourself, feeling confident, never doubting yourself and your abilities. Only then, you can connect with others and not feel like an imposter in the work

Open Document