The secret to high performance and satisfaction can be found in Daniel Pink’s new offering, Drive. Pink suggests that true motivation comes from three distinct elements – autonomy, mastery and purpose. Autonomy – the desire to direct our lives; Mastery – the urge to get better and better at something that matters; and Purpose – the yearning to do what we do in the service of something bigger than ourselves. The book contains many suggestions and techniques for putting these elements into practice.
Pink asks a simple question that every organization should be asking. If people don’t know why they are doing what they’re doing, how can you expect them to be motivated to do it?