Why do we do the things that we do? It is an important question for those of us interested in helping teams and organizations become more effective at what they do. Daniel Pink writes a fascinating book, Drive, dispelling the notion of carrot-stick motivation models most commonly used in today's business world, and instead urges us to appeal to intrinsic motivations. Citing both scientific studies and real-world research, Pink makes a compelling case for three elements. Autonomy -- the freedom to have some level of control over what work we do and how we do it; Mastery -- the opportunity to become really good at something; and Purpose -- being a part of something bigger than ourselves to which we feel strongly connected.

A great fit for the agile principle of self-organizing teams, this enlightening view of intrinsic motivation goes a long way toward understanding why some teams and organizations thrive while others merely survive. As an additional bonus, Pink also provides strategies and suggestions for leveraging these motivations to improve both ourselves and our organizations.

You can also watch Dan talk about the book in this short video