Today's blog is from the "on the nightstand" file...

I was going to title this post "Required Reading for Entrepreneurs," but the more I think about it, this book is really good information for just about everyone.  Parents, managers, coaches, teachers, even self-employed people can definitely use the information in Dan Pink's newest book, "Drive."

The concept of the book is that all of the things we think motivate people (even ourselves) are wrong, because the world has shifted and motivational tactics haven't moved with the times.  The carrot-and-stick no longer apply, because most of us are doing tasks that require creativity and freedom, and (as he outlines with data and anecdotes) our normal mechanisms for motivation are designed primarily to get mindless, repetitive tasks done.

My mind was blown from the first chapter, and of course, as a parent, I was re-thinking my position on chore rewards

The philosophy Pink describes dovetails nicely with our corporate efforts to hire self-motivated people, as opposed to drones who need external motivation (because hey, that doesn't work anyway).  Carol Harnett wrote an excellent column for HR Executive magazine in which she matches up our recent benefits change with Pink's motivation discussion (see the full article here).

Incidentally, Pink's blog is a must-read as well; it's chock full of useful nuggets and interesting stories.