DRIVE
The book deals with the question if external rewards (beloning) and punishment ( straf) motivatate people to do
things.
Daniel Pink explains WHEN and WHY external rewards and punishments fail (falen) and HOW we can use intrinsic
motivators (intrinsieke motivatie – dit wil zeggen motivatie die je uit jezelf haalt) to get the results we want.
-1950: psychology researcher Harry Harlow gave monkeys mechan
ical puzzles to solve (oplossen). They were not taught HOW to do it. But they figured it out by themselves. The
monkeys did not get a reward for solving the puzzles ( no food- no water – no extra sleep). They kept on solving
the puzzles FOR FUN ( uit plezier).
When the researcher gave the monkeys raisins (druiven) as a reward (beloning) for solving the puzzle the
opposite happened and the monkeys got worse in solving the puzzle.
RESULT: firs result in psychology that external reward and punishment does not automatically mean a better or
a worse performance. The monkeys solved the puzzle because it made them feel good, it gave them ‘intrinsic
motivation’.
-1969- EDWARD DECI psychology student worked a bit further on the idea of people needing intrinsic motivation
to perform tasks and in his study he discovered that wen you reward people with cash as an external reward,
they LOSE intrinsic motivation in the task they have to do. These rewards are only helpful on short-term as a
boost, but reduce (verminderen) people’s long-term motivation.
- According to this scientist people are CURIOUS to learn and want to explore their capacities – this is what will
motivate them on the long term ( niet geld of andere belongingen zal mensen op lange termijn motiveren om
een taak vol te houden, wel de eigen motivatie om bij te leren en de eigen talenten uit te spitten)
-in short there are 3 drives:
-biological drive : internal( biologische drijfveer- komt van binnenuit)
- reward and punishement: external (iemand belooft jou iets of straft jou dus het is extern)
- intrinsic motivation: internal ( de motivatie die in jou zit om iets te doen)
CHAPTER 1 RISE AND FALL OF MOTIVATION
-50 000 years ago: human behaviour: people only tried to survive – this was the ONLY drive ( getting food-trying
to stay alive,…) that guided our behaviour
We call this MOTIVATION 1.0- it was simple until more complex societies (gemeenschappen) evolved
(ontstonden)
An operating system purely based upon the biological drive was no longer adequate or enough. Humans are
more than the sum of our biological urges. (Mensen zijn meer dan de som van hun biologische noden).
The biological drive was still important but anew drive arose: to seek reward ( op zoek naar beloning) and avoid
punishment ( en het ontwijken van straf). We call this new operating system: MOTIVATION 2.0
1
,The use of this second drive has been important for the ECONOMIC PROGRESS during the last 2 centuries ( for
ex. Industrial Revolution, steam engines, railroads (trein), … but also for the work of engineer FREDERICK
WINSLOW TAYLOR ( early 1900) who worked with reward/punishment.
The MOTIVATION system 2.0 worked well for a long time: reward the good and punish the bad ( beloon het
goede en bestraf het slechte)
But this system was narrow-mined (bekrompen) and compared humans to horses : when you hold a carrot on
stick/ or prick it with a sharp stick, you get the horse moving in the right direction .
20th century: the economy grew and became more complex and people developed more sophisticated skills (
meer ontwikkelde talenten)- MOTIVATION 2.0 got some resistance ( tegenstand)
-1950 ABRAHAM MASLOW/ DOUGLAS MC GREGOR: people have higher drives than rewards and punishments
(er zijn andere dingen die mensen motiveren dan beloning en straf)- this refined (verfijnde) the operating system
and a new one was developed MOTIVATION 2.1 and implemented (toegepast) into the business world but also
this model has its flaws ( gebreken) and we need a complete new one
THE 3 MAIN PROBLEMS OF MOTIVATION 2.0
1°)HOW WE ORGANIZE WHAT WE DO
- Open source : this new way of organizing does not ban extrinsic rewards ( beloning van buitenaf
- People who get involved in open source organization often do this to sharpen their skills or talents ( om
zichzelf uit te dagen of hun talenten aan te scherpen) which often leads to MORE POWER, MORE
CREATIVITY
- Open source depends on INTRISIC MOTIVATION ( je doet dit omdat je jezelf wil uitdagen, niet voor het
geld, want het is onbetaald)
- They do this for the fun of the challenge (voor het plezier van de uitdaging)
- MOTIVATION 2.0 has no room for these impulses, so we need another operating system which has room
for these impulses
2°)HOW WE THINK ABOUT WHAT WE DO
- DANIEL KAHNEMAN Nobel Prize believed that economics was the study of HUMAN economic
BEHAVIOUR
- People no longer are motivated solely (enkel) or mainly (vooral) by external incentives (beloningen)
3°) HOW WE DO WHAT WE DO
- As Frederick Winslow Taylor said: work consists of mainly simple not even interesting tasks, the only
way to make people do them is to give them an incentive and monitor them carefully. In 1900 this was
true – nowadays, this is less true.
- For some people, work indeed remains routine, but for a another very large group, work is an interesting
challenge ( interesante uitdaging)- this type of work does not correspond wirth the assumptions of
MOTIVATION 2.0 ( het werk van groep 2, de mensen die hun werk leuk en uitdagend vinden, strookt
niet met wat beweerd wordt in MOTIVATION 2.0)
- Behavioral scientists divide what we do on the job in 2 categories:
- Algorithmic: you follow instructions that lead to 1 single conclusion: (bv aan de kassa zitten en scannen)
- Heuristic: you have to experiment to find a solution – there is no single solution ( er zijn meerdere
oplossingen, je moet experimenteren tot je de oplossing vindt): (bv een reclamespot maken)
For algorithmic work: external rewards ( both carrots and sticks = beloningen en straffen) can work but NOT
for heuristic work. Heuristic work really needs the third drive which is the INTRINSIC MOTIVATION, the
2
, principle of creativity. Carrots and sticks do not work for heuristic work and have a negative effect on
creativity.
Nowadays work has become less routine and more enjoyable, more creative, this did not do any good for
MOTIVATION 2.0 which system believed strongly that work is NOT enjoyable (leuk)
EXAMPLE VOCATION VACATION: when you pay to work at another job during your holiday just for the
experience (je betaalt veel geld tijdens je vakantie om ergens anders te gaan werken, gewoon voor de
ervaring)
: it proves you don’t only work for something in return ( je werkt niet alleen om er iets voor terug te krijgen)
MOTIVATION 2.0/ 3 PROBLEMS
- It does not match with the new business models, how they are organizing, because nowadays, people
are intrinsic motivated purpose maximizers ( vandaag de dag zijn mensen gemotiveerd vanuit zichzelf
en streven doelen na), not only extrinsic motivated profit maximizers ( mensen willen niet enkel winst
nastreven)
- We are human beings who can think for themselves, not robots
- A growing number of people likes their job, is creative and self – directed , before we had more jobs
that were routinous
Pink explains in this chapter that the traditional ways we try to motivate people- through rewards ( like money)
and punishments ( line job-loss) – are outdated or no longer modern. He calls this OLD system: MOTIVATION 2.0.
It was a very good working system in the past when most jobs were simple, routine and repetitive. In the old
days, people just followed orders and productivity boosted in companies by basic rewards and punishments. Pink
compares this to ‘carrots and sticks’ – seduce someone with a reward to get him to move or threaten him with
punishment if he doesn’t.
But things have changed. Now work needs more and more creative thinking, and we can not find that in
MOTIVATION 2.0. That is why Pink says we need an upgrade of the system to MOTIVATION 3.0, which is based
on INTRINSIC MOTIVATION, doing a job because it matters to you, because you enjoy it, because you think it is
meaningful.
Research that supports this idea: Harry Harlow (1940), observed monkeys solving puzzles without getting a
reward, the just enjoyed doing it. This suggested there is a 3rd drive in humans ( beyond biological needs and
external rewards) : the drive to learn and create.
Edward Deci (1970) found that when people were paid for something they already liked, they became LESS
interested in the job later. RESULT: REWARDS CAN RUIN THE MOTIVATION IF THE ACTIVITY WAS ALREADY
ENJOYABLE.
Pink also explains MOTIVATION 1.0 which was all about survival of the human being ( eating, sleeping, staying
safe). Then MOTIVATION 2.0 came, which used control to guide behaviour. This system was useful in companies
with clear rules, if you broke the rules ( like stealing money or food), you were punished.
But now, society has evolved again. ( meer ontwikkelt). Creativity and self-directed work has become more and
more important. MOTIVATION 2.0 is no longer enough as a system ( they tried to fix it with MOTIVATION 2.1 like
flexible schedules and casual dress codes, but this still did not fix the problem – people still were not motivated)
Douglas Mc Gregor believes it is important to give people more responsibility and freedom in their jobs, things
that lean into intrinsic motivation.
3
The book deals with the question if external rewards (beloning) and punishment ( straf) motivatate people to do
things.
Daniel Pink explains WHEN and WHY external rewards and punishments fail (falen) and HOW we can use intrinsic
motivators (intrinsieke motivatie – dit wil zeggen motivatie die je uit jezelf haalt) to get the results we want.
-1950: psychology researcher Harry Harlow gave monkeys mechan
ical puzzles to solve (oplossen). They were not taught HOW to do it. But they figured it out by themselves. The
monkeys did not get a reward for solving the puzzles ( no food- no water – no extra sleep). They kept on solving
the puzzles FOR FUN ( uit plezier).
When the researcher gave the monkeys raisins (druiven) as a reward (beloning) for solving the puzzle the
opposite happened and the monkeys got worse in solving the puzzle.
RESULT: firs result in psychology that external reward and punishment does not automatically mean a better or
a worse performance. The monkeys solved the puzzle because it made them feel good, it gave them ‘intrinsic
motivation’.
-1969- EDWARD DECI psychology student worked a bit further on the idea of people needing intrinsic motivation
to perform tasks and in his study he discovered that wen you reward people with cash as an external reward,
they LOSE intrinsic motivation in the task they have to do. These rewards are only helpful on short-term as a
boost, but reduce (verminderen) people’s long-term motivation.
- According to this scientist people are CURIOUS to learn and want to explore their capacities – this is what will
motivate them on the long term ( niet geld of andere belongingen zal mensen op lange termijn motiveren om
een taak vol te houden, wel de eigen motivatie om bij te leren en de eigen talenten uit te spitten)
-in short there are 3 drives:
-biological drive : internal( biologische drijfveer- komt van binnenuit)
- reward and punishement: external (iemand belooft jou iets of straft jou dus het is extern)
- intrinsic motivation: internal ( de motivatie die in jou zit om iets te doen)
CHAPTER 1 RISE AND FALL OF MOTIVATION
-50 000 years ago: human behaviour: people only tried to survive – this was the ONLY drive ( getting food-trying
to stay alive,…) that guided our behaviour
We call this MOTIVATION 1.0- it was simple until more complex societies (gemeenschappen) evolved
(ontstonden)
An operating system purely based upon the biological drive was no longer adequate or enough. Humans are
more than the sum of our biological urges. (Mensen zijn meer dan de som van hun biologische noden).
The biological drive was still important but anew drive arose: to seek reward ( op zoek naar beloning) and avoid
punishment ( en het ontwijken van straf). We call this new operating system: MOTIVATION 2.0
1
,The use of this second drive has been important for the ECONOMIC PROGRESS during the last 2 centuries ( for
ex. Industrial Revolution, steam engines, railroads (trein), … but also for the work of engineer FREDERICK
WINSLOW TAYLOR ( early 1900) who worked with reward/punishment.
The MOTIVATION system 2.0 worked well for a long time: reward the good and punish the bad ( beloon het
goede en bestraf het slechte)
But this system was narrow-mined (bekrompen) and compared humans to horses : when you hold a carrot on
stick/ or prick it with a sharp stick, you get the horse moving in the right direction .
20th century: the economy grew and became more complex and people developed more sophisticated skills (
meer ontwikkelde talenten)- MOTIVATION 2.0 got some resistance ( tegenstand)
-1950 ABRAHAM MASLOW/ DOUGLAS MC GREGOR: people have higher drives than rewards and punishments
(er zijn andere dingen die mensen motiveren dan beloning en straf)- this refined (verfijnde) the operating system
and a new one was developed MOTIVATION 2.1 and implemented (toegepast) into the business world but also
this model has its flaws ( gebreken) and we need a complete new one
THE 3 MAIN PROBLEMS OF MOTIVATION 2.0
1°)HOW WE ORGANIZE WHAT WE DO
- Open source : this new way of organizing does not ban extrinsic rewards ( beloning van buitenaf
- People who get involved in open source organization often do this to sharpen their skills or talents ( om
zichzelf uit te dagen of hun talenten aan te scherpen) which often leads to MORE POWER, MORE
CREATIVITY
- Open source depends on INTRISIC MOTIVATION ( je doet dit omdat je jezelf wil uitdagen, niet voor het
geld, want het is onbetaald)
- They do this for the fun of the challenge (voor het plezier van de uitdaging)
- MOTIVATION 2.0 has no room for these impulses, so we need another operating system which has room
for these impulses
2°)HOW WE THINK ABOUT WHAT WE DO
- DANIEL KAHNEMAN Nobel Prize believed that economics was the study of HUMAN economic
BEHAVIOUR
- People no longer are motivated solely (enkel) or mainly (vooral) by external incentives (beloningen)
3°) HOW WE DO WHAT WE DO
- As Frederick Winslow Taylor said: work consists of mainly simple not even interesting tasks, the only
way to make people do them is to give them an incentive and monitor them carefully. In 1900 this was
true – nowadays, this is less true.
- For some people, work indeed remains routine, but for a another very large group, work is an interesting
challenge ( interesante uitdaging)- this type of work does not correspond wirth the assumptions of
MOTIVATION 2.0 ( het werk van groep 2, de mensen die hun werk leuk en uitdagend vinden, strookt
niet met wat beweerd wordt in MOTIVATION 2.0)
- Behavioral scientists divide what we do on the job in 2 categories:
- Algorithmic: you follow instructions that lead to 1 single conclusion: (bv aan de kassa zitten en scannen)
- Heuristic: you have to experiment to find a solution – there is no single solution ( er zijn meerdere
oplossingen, je moet experimenteren tot je de oplossing vindt): (bv een reclamespot maken)
For algorithmic work: external rewards ( both carrots and sticks = beloningen en straffen) can work but NOT
for heuristic work. Heuristic work really needs the third drive which is the INTRINSIC MOTIVATION, the
2
, principle of creativity. Carrots and sticks do not work for heuristic work and have a negative effect on
creativity.
Nowadays work has become less routine and more enjoyable, more creative, this did not do any good for
MOTIVATION 2.0 which system believed strongly that work is NOT enjoyable (leuk)
EXAMPLE VOCATION VACATION: when you pay to work at another job during your holiday just for the
experience (je betaalt veel geld tijdens je vakantie om ergens anders te gaan werken, gewoon voor de
ervaring)
: it proves you don’t only work for something in return ( je werkt niet alleen om er iets voor terug te krijgen)
MOTIVATION 2.0/ 3 PROBLEMS
- It does not match with the new business models, how they are organizing, because nowadays, people
are intrinsic motivated purpose maximizers ( vandaag de dag zijn mensen gemotiveerd vanuit zichzelf
en streven doelen na), not only extrinsic motivated profit maximizers ( mensen willen niet enkel winst
nastreven)
- We are human beings who can think for themselves, not robots
- A growing number of people likes their job, is creative and self – directed , before we had more jobs
that were routinous
Pink explains in this chapter that the traditional ways we try to motivate people- through rewards ( like money)
and punishments ( line job-loss) – are outdated or no longer modern. He calls this OLD system: MOTIVATION 2.0.
It was a very good working system in the past when most jobs were simple, routine and repetitive. In the old
days, people just followed orders and productivity boosted in companies by basic rewards and punishments. Pink
compares this to ‘carrots and sticks’ – seduce someone with a reward to get him to move or threaten him with
punishment if he doesn’t.
But things have changed. Now work needs more and more creative thinking, and we can not find that in
MOTIVATION 2.0. That is why Pink says we need an upgrade of the system to MOTIVATION 3.0, which is based
on INTRINSIC MOTIVATION, doing a job because it matters to you, because you enjoy it, because you think it is
meaningful.
Research that supports this idea: Harry Harlow (1940), observed monkeys solving puzzles without getting a
reward, the just enjoyed doing it. This suggested there is a 3rd drive in humans ( beyond biological needs and
external rewards) : the drive to learn and create.
Edward Deci (1970) found that when people were paid for something they already liked, they became LESS
interested in the job later. RESULT: REWARDS CAN RUIN THE MOTIVATION IF THE ACTIVITY WAS ALREADY
ENJOYABLE.
Pink also explains MOTIVATION 1.0 which was all about survival of the human being ( eating, sleeping, staying
safe). Then MOTIVATION 2.0 came, which used control to guide behaviour. This system was useful in companies
with clear rules, if you broke the rules ( like stealing money or food), you were punished.
But now, society has evolved again. ( meer ontwikkelt). Creativity and self-directed work has become more and
more important. MOTIVATION 2.0 is no longer enough as a system ( they tried to fix it with MOTIVATION 2.1 like
flexible schedules and casual dress codes, but this still did not fix the problem – people still were not motivated)
Douglas Mc Gregor believes it is important to give people more responsibility and freedom in their jobs, things
that lean into intrinsic motivation.
3
