Review of "Drive"

Another enjoyable read, and for someone who hasn't looked much at "intrinsic" vs. "extrinsic" motivation in the past, the basic ideas were interesting and helpful. Of course, they also fit well with my religious beliefs (that we're created in the image of our Creator to be creative beings, so we're naturally more motivated by trying to create things than by just earning money). But as with much of this "social science for the masses" kind of writing, Pink tries to make too many pieces fit into this one particular box. When I discussed this book with some experts, therefore, they pretty much trashed large sections of the book. For me, however, it was helpful, especially in trying to think through such things as merit pay, providing autonomy to employees, and how to set up a compensation system. In short, it was worth my time. You can get the really condensed version in Pink's TEDS lecture, so I would encourage people to start there.