Daniel Pink’s book Drive, the surprising truth that motivates us shatters traditional thinking on motivation.
It’s a good read presenting an interesting theory regarding 1st world motivation. What is the top motivation for humans? Money right? Surprisingly, according to Pink’s research Money as a motivator isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
According to Pink, Conceptual Workers are motivated by 3 basic factors:
- Purpose – A belief people are motivated to do work that contributes to something meaningful and important
- Autonomy – Be managed by results versus rigid adherence to meaningless rules and regulations
- Mastery – The ability to gain skills and knowledge
It’s an interesting theory, well worth thinking about. But for sales… I wouldn’t throw out commissions and bonuses. Daniel Pink makes the case that in many cases cash bonuses can be harmful to performance. He makes a convincing case for that. He just doesn’t make a case on how to motivate a salesperson to make their number.
It is my belief, based on no empirical data that commissions, bonuses still have their place as do Purpose, Autonomy, and Mastery.
Watch the video, it’s engaging, funny, and thought-provoking.
Want to talk about your team and how we can work together to ensure they are motivated? Schedule a sample executive coaching session now.
