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Drive - Part 3: Purpose

 This is the continuation of the review of "Drive" by Daniel Pink .


The first two legs of the Motivation 3.0 tripod, autonomy and mastery, are essential. But for proper balance we need a third leg, purpose, which provides a context for its two mates. Autonomous people working toward mastery perform at very high levels. But those who do so in the service of some greater objective can achieve even more. The most deeply motivated people —not to mention those who are most productive and satisfied—hitch their desires to a cause larger than themselves

Motivation 2.0 which is profit driven can only take you so far. Everyone has a threshold when it comes to making money. Once the threshold is surpassed, the more money you make, the less happy you are. Motivation 3.0 doesn’t reject profits but places a great emphasis on purpose. We see the first stirrings of this new purpose motive in three realms of organizational life—goals, words, and policies

It’s very important to have goals that are larger than us. If we are pursuing goals that are larger than life and make an impact to the community at large, we will have a greater desire to see them through. It’s not all about making money as you can only go so far if money is your motivator. Their goal is to pursue purpose and to use profit as the catalyst rather than the objective.


Thanks for reading all the way to the end. If you have any feedback, please let me know in the comment section. See you next time!

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