"Drive" by Daniel H. Pink

He is a trained lawyer and economist.  He has published books such as "A Whole New Mind" and "Free Agent Nation".  The premise of his book "Drive" is that today's management practices, which  he calls Motivation 2.0, need a new operating system.  Like our computers whose operating systems are upgraded more frequently than we would prefer, Mr. Pink asserts that modern day management needs an upgrade to Motivation 3.0.

This new operating system introduces new concepts such as R-O-W-E which translates into Results Only Work Environment.  There is a local company, Meddius, based in Charlottesville that is cited for its R-O-W-E practices in "Drive".  For more information on Meddius, click here. 

Mr. Pink rails against modern day managers who control, manipulate, exploit, coerce, and intimidate their direct reports in pursuit of higher productivity or self gain.  He believes that if Andrew Carnegie and/or John D. Rockfeller were to come back to life today, they would see very little change from the management techniques practiced when they were alive.

Mr. Pink further asserts that behavioral science has the knowledge and information to foster better management in today's businesses.  It is just that business is far behind the science and has not embraced a much needed upgrade. 

According to Mr. Pink, the key for today's managers is to hire the best people possible and get out of their way.  It is incumbent upon today's managers to foster in these employees the necessary purpose, provide them autonomy, and encourage mastery. 

What I really like about Mr. Pink's book is that he spent the last few chapters recommending additional books that encompass Motivation 3.0 principles, individual mastery recommendations, and organizational mastery exercises.

Now it is onto "A Whole New Mind" which discusses the skills need to work effectively in today's Information Age.  Hopefully, it will be as insightful as "Drive".