Dan Pink on Motivation

Abstract

Dan Pink argues against the classical school of extrinsic motivation which is based on earning rewards and avoiding punishment and is used in most business operating systems. According to Pink classical reward systems fail with increasing task complexity and can have a negative impact on performance. It is therefore necessary for businesses to acknowledge these findings and move towards a system based on intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation occurs when the motivation to perform a behavior or engage in an activity is based on an outcome which can be either positive or negative. Pink uses the analogy of “carrots and sticks”, implicating that good performance will be rewarded, while low performance will be punished. Even though this external attempt to motivation might work for simple, routine tasks, the findings presented by Pink show that with increasing task complexity, this form of motivation yields decreased performance. Intrinsic motivation on the other hand arises from within and involves performing a behavior or engaging in an activity for the sake of itself. A person might simply enjoy a certain activity or see it as an opportunity to explore, learn, and actualize potentials. There is a mismatch between what science knows and what businesses continue to do. Business operating systems are still mainly build around extrinsic motivators such as promotions, bonuses, reprimands, layoffs, etc. In order to properly address 21st century challenges a new approach based on intrinsic motivation will yield higher performance. According to Pink an updated business operating system revolves around Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose. This approach acknowledges recent trends like outsourcing and automation and the subsequent changes in the nature of our jobs, which are becoming more complex and increasingly demand cognitive skills.