A while back I wrote about Alfie Kohn’s book Punished By Rewards, which makes the case – based on a thorough review of the science – that using a “carrot and stick” rewards-based approach is ineffective in a wide range of settings.

Recently, author Dan Pink has picked up this baton and published the book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. Pink also made a 20-minute presentation on this topic to a US audience which is available via www.TED.com. (TED is a great resource, sharing ‘ideas worth talking about’ in a simple and accessible format). If you don’t have time to read the book it’s well worth taking time to hear Pink’s clear and succinct case for intrinsic motivation. At the heart of Pink’s message is the observation that what science knows is not what business is doing.

In case you’d like to explore further, here’s a link to an on-line interview with Pink about his book which also offers a link to Pink’s presentation: Blog – Just Ask Leadership, Executive Coaching – CO2Partners: Dan Pink – Interview on Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us