“Encore! Encore!”

Daniel Pink’s A Whole New Mind is a tough act to follow. DRIVE is a superb second act – you won’t want to overlook this book.

There is a plethora of new science that Pink shares in his typically talented way that is easily digestible by the lay-person and professional alike. This volume is filled with myth busting, mind rearranging stories – backed by solid research. Consider the following:

“Rewards can deliver a short-term boost-just as a jolt of caffeine can keep you cranking for a few more hours. But the effect wears off-and, worse, can reduce a person’s longer-term motivation to continue the project.” P. 8. Emphasis is mine.

“Too many organizations – not just companies, but governments and non-profits as well – still operate from assumptions about human potential and individual performance that are outdated, unexamined, and rooted more in folklore than in science. They continue to pursue practices such as short-term incentive plans and pay-for-performance schemes in the face of mounting evidence that such measures usually don’t work and often do harm. Worse, these practices have infiltrated our schools, where we ply our future workforce with iPods, cash, and pizza coupons to” incentivize” them to learn. Something has gone wrong.” P.9 – Emphasis is mine.

There are simply dozens and dozens of myth-busting gems in this book. Business persons, policy wonks and educators would be wise to read this volume carefully. Listen to Pink:

“For artists, scientists, inventors, schoolchildren, and the rest of us, intrinsic motivation – the drive do something because it is interesting, challenging, and absorbing – s essential for high levels of creativity. But the “if-then” motivators that are the staple of most businesses often stifle, rather than stir, creative thinking. As the economy moves toward more right-brain, conceptual work – this might be the most alarming gap between what science knows and what business does.” P.46

This book is a set of blueprints and a toolbox for becoming all that one might become.

I highly recommend it.