Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us.
Pink, Daniel H. -- Library Journal, 10/20/2009
Riverhead: Penguin Group (USA). Jan. 2010. c.272p. illus. index. ISBN 978-1-59448-884-9. $26.95. PSYCH
Management guru Pink, who first made a name for himself with the New York Times best seller A Whole New Mind, elaborates on some decades-old motivational studies indicating that subjects will work more persistently to master an interesting task rather than to gain a reward. On the basis of these well-known research results, he builds a theory of the ideal organization, one based on autonomy, mastery, and purpose, to which end he offers a “tool kit” of self-tests, suggestions, further readings, discussion questions, aphorisms, and various summaries of the book itself (including a Tweetable version). Readers also get accounts of businesses that are taking findings on motivation to heart. Verdict If you’re the sort of person who’s jazzed by management seminars and team-building exercises that include a lot of bullet points, you’ll love this book—it’s Staff Development Day in a box. There are a lot of you out there, so plan accordingly.—Mary Ann Hughes, formerly with Neill P.L., Pullman, WA
