A quick reflection on the book Drive, by Daniel Pink
In Daniel Pink’s latest book, Drive, he talks about the self determination theory (or SDT for short and in keeping with the “reductionism” trend). It turns out there is a global network of researchers working on this theory based on human needs. The big finding - quoted directly from the book – is that “Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined and connected to one another.” Further, the book states that when that drive is liberated, “people achieve more and live richer lives.”
I thought about this claim and reflected on past projects that I have been involved with and further, looked at the “flow” of these projects. “Flow”, by the way, is another concept that Dan discusses in the book and that he challenges us to analyze in ourselves; how best do we achieve this flow and how can we enhance it, that is.
I did this and found some interesting insights. My flow was severely restrained when I encountered breaks in communication - and I will go further and say - breaks in connectedness. For me, breaking that feeling of collaborative connectedness did have adverse impacts on the flow of my innovation project. The second instance where flow was impacted was when I had to restrain my determination in the face of unresponsive structures such as legal processes. (We all agree that legal structures are needed, but we have to also agree that it is not the most flexible or creative Eco-systems out there, especially when it concerns developing new business models.)
Drive is a good read and it has some practical exercises for us to work with and for us to discover our drive. The overarching insight for me, however, is that the book reflects my personal opinion that in the primal/rational “blueprint” we humans are, we are a lot more primal than rational.
I thought about this claim and reflected on past projects that I have been involved with and further, looked at the “flow” of these projects. “Flow”, by the way, is another concept that Dan discusses in the book and that he challenges us to analyze in ourselves; how best do we achieve this flow and how can we enhance it, that is.
I did this and found some interesting insights. My flow was severely restrained when I encountered breaks in communication - and I will go further and say - breaks in connectedness. For me, breaking that feeling of collaborative connectedness did have adverse impacts on the flow of my innovation project. The second instance where flow was impacted was when I had to restrain my determination in the face of unresponsive structures such as legal processes. (We all agree that legal structures are needed, but we have to also agree that it is not the most flexible or creative Eco-systems out there, especially when it concerns developing new business models.)
Drive is a good read and it has some practical exercises for us to work with and for us to discover our drive. The overarching insight for me, however, is that the book reflects my personal opinion that in the primal/rational “blueprint” we humans are, we are a lot more primal than rational.
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