Pink begins the book by framing human motivation around the established drives of biology (including hunger, thirst and sex) and responding to rewards and punishments. Over the past several decades, scientists have been investigating the dynamics behind a third drive, intrinsic motivation. Some businesses have begun to incorporate this drive into how their organizations are managed and run, but many have been slow to adopt a shift. Pink believes that the gap between science and business needs to be closed to improve individuals lives and companies success.Societies have evolved. Motivation 1.0 is only about survival, which is tied to the biological drive. Motivation 2.0 revolves around external rewards and punishments, which was effective for jobs that required routine tasks to be completed. Version 2.0 doesn’t cut it for the types of jobs that most people in our society currently have. Motivation 3.0 is needed to get the most productive results from workers who are doing right-brained work involving creativity and problem-solving. Motivation 3.0 depends less on external rewards and more on work being done because of the intrinsic satisfaction of working on the activity. This results in greater personal fulfillment and professional success which ultimately leads to better health, higher performance and greater overall well-being. A creative person thrives on enjoyment-based intrinsic motivation when they are allowed to work on a project that is interesting, challenging and absorbing.Pink believes that autonomy, mastery and purpose is needed to create the ideal environment for people to do their best work. Giving people autonomy over what they do, when they do it, who they do it with, and how they do it gives them the ability to focus solely on their work instead of what others will think if they leave early for a doctor’s appointment. Mastery creates people who are engaged and helps them to succeed at challenging activities, which ultimately helps them to develop their careers. Purpose, the desire to contribute to something greater than ourselves, is part of our human nature. Maximizing purpose alongside increasing profit is key to Motivation 3.0.

This book caused me to think about my own working experiences in a creative field. I agree with his assessment that creativity and innovation excels when intrinsic motivation is the driver. It would seem that the need for autonomy, mastery and purpose would change depending on the individual’s career stage and goals. All three do seem to play a significant role in allowing intrinsic motivation to flourish but I question whether all three are equally important to people. Pink’s perspective also seems to apply more to the younger generation that expects to gain more from a job than simply a paycheck.
Kristine Ng