RSA Animate: Drive, The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
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Autonomy, Mastery, Purpose
This lively RSA Animate, adapted from Dan Pink's talk at the RSA, illustrates the hidden truths behind what really motivates us at home and in the workplace.
This lively RSA Animate, adapted from Dan Pink's talk at the RSA, illustrates the hidden truths behind what really motivates us at home and in the workplace.
Jun 2, 2010 10:11 PM
Re: Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us
Very nice presentation, but it stays within pretty short term time horizons. I'd like to see the results of some long-term studies that show the drivers of motivation in projects that last a long time.
I know that I'm personally the burn-out king. Like the 24-hour example in this, I love to smash into a new project headfirst with everything I have. I'll usually get great results in a short time (especially in the initial creative phase), which sets a pace that never lasts. Before long, I'm kicking my own ass for not being able to keep up the progress, which usually sets me up for a nasty face-plant, productivity-wise. Then deadlines get missed, everything seems to take ten times as long as it should (if it happens at all), and I start wishing that a meteor would just fall on my head and put me out of my misery.
Anybody else sympathize with this, or am I just the town freak?
I know that I'm personally the burn-out king. Like the 24-hour example in this, I love to smash into a new project headfirst with everything I have. I'll usually get great results in a short time (especially in the initial creative phase), which sets a pace that never lasts. Before long, I'm kicking my own ass for not being able to keep up the progress, which usually sets me up for a nasty face-plant, productivity-wise. Then deadlines get missed, everything seems to take ten times as long as it should (if it happens at all), and I start wishing that a meteor would just fall on my head and put me out of my misery.
Anybody else sympathize with this, or am I just the town freak?
Re: Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us
Sounds like you're an ENTP:
"ENTPs are less interested in developing plans of actions or making decisions than they are in generating possibilities and ideas. Following through on the implementation of an idea is usually a chore to the ENTP. For some ENTPs, this results in the habit of never finishing what they start. The ENTP who has not developed their Thinking process will have problems with jumping enthusiastically from idea to idea, without following through on their plans. The ENTP needs to take care to think through their ideas fully in order to take advantage of them."
"ENTPs are less interested in developing plans of actions or making decisions than they are in generating possibilities and ideas. Following through on the implementation of an idea is usually a chore to the ENTP. For some ENTPs, this results in the habit of never finishing what they start. The ENTP who has not developed their Thinking process will have problems with jumping enthusiastically from idea to idea, without following through on their plans. The ENTP needs to take care to think through their ideas fully in order to take advantage of them."
By: HeadMannaKiosk
Re: Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us
Thanks for the reply, HMK. You're close, but not quite. What I didn't mention is that even when I'm burned-out, I will generally still work through it, at the price of mental anguish. It's a very self-destructive habit of mine. I'm currently several years into my own business venture that threatens wild success and abysmal failure every day, and, yes, I am the product conceiver and (barf) primary developer.
I'm not really a big subscriber to these personality labels, but I can see where they are useful for industrial psychs needing to diagnose personality conflicts. Not all of the following pertains to me, and I'm not going to say what, but overall, it's fairly accurate.
"To outsiders, INTJs may appear to project an aura of "definiteness", of self-confidence. This self-confidence, sometimes mistaken for simple arrogance by the less decisive, is actually of a very specific rather than a general nature; its source lies in the specialized knowledge systems that most INTJs start building at an early age. When it comes to their own areas of expertise -- and INTJs can have several -- they will be able to tell you almost immediately whether or not they can help you, and if so, how. INTJs know what they know, and perhaps still more importantly, they know what they don't know.
"INTJs are perfectionists, with a seemingly endless capacity for improving upon anything that takes their interest. What prevents them from becoming chronically bogged down in this pursuit of perfection is the pragmatism so characteristic of the type: INTJs apply (often ruthlessly) the criterion "Does it work?" to everything from their own research efforts to the prevailing social norms. This in turn produces an unusual independence of mind, freeing the INTJ from the constraints of authority, convention, or sentiment for its own sake.
"INTJs are known as the "Systems Builders" of the types, perhaps in part because they possess the unusual trait combination of imagination and reliability. Whatever system an INTJ happens to be working on is for them the equivalent of a moral cause to an INFJ; both perfectionism and disregard for authority may come into play, as INTJs can be unsparing of both themselves and the others on the project. Anyone considered to be "slacking," including superiors, will lose their respect -- and will generally be made aware of this; INTJs have also been known to take it upon themselves to implement critical decisions without consulting their supervisors or co-workers. On the other hand, they do tend to be scrupulous and even-handed about recognizing the individual contributions that have gone into a project, and have a gift for seizing opportunities which others might not even notice."
I'm not really a big subscriber to these personality labels, but I can see where they are useful for industrial psychs needing to diagnose personality conflicts. Not all of the following pertains to me, and I'm not going to say what, but overall, it's fairly accurate.
"To outsiders, INTJs may appear to project an aura of "definiteness", of self-confidence. This self-confidence, sometimes mistaken for simple arrogance by the less decisive, is actually of a very specific rather than a general nature; its source lies in the specialized knowledge systems that most INTJs start building at an early age. When it comes to their own areas of expertise -- and INTJs can have several -- they will be able to tell you almost immediately whether or not they can help you, and if so, how. INTJs know what they know, and perhaps still more importantly, they know what they don't know.
"INTJs are perfectionists, with a seemingly endless capacity for improving upon anything that takes their interest. What prevents them from becoming chronically bogged down in this pursuit of perfection is the pragmatism so characteristic of the type: INTJs apply (often ruthlessly) the criterion "Does it work?" to everything from their own research efforts to the prevailing social norms. This in turn produces an unusual independence of mind, freeing the INTJ from the constraints of authority, convention, or sentiment for its own sake.
"INTJs are known as the "Systems Builders" of the types, perhaps in part because they possess the unusual trait combination of imagination and reliability. Whatever system an INTJ happens to be working on is for them the equivalent of a moral cause to an INFJ; both perfectionism and disregard for authority may come into play, as INTJs can be unsparing of both themselves and the others on the project. Anyone considered to be "slacking," including superiors, will lose their respect -- and will generally be made aware of this; INTJs have also been known to take it upon themselves to implement critical decisions without consulting their supervisors or co-workers. On the other hand, they do tend to be scrupulous and even-handed about recognizing the individual contributions that have gone into a project, and have a gift for seizing opportunities which others might not even notice."
Re: Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us
It is logical, isn't it, that your results are great in the early creative phase, when your focus is on solution and the objective of your project. Creative flow of energy meets resistance when your focus shifts from the exhilarating solution game to the self-punishment you mete out in response to ... what? Deadlines? Notice it is here that you slow down.
Stop with the self-punishment. It steps on your toes of freedom, and maintains some false idea of an outside authority who knows better. Its YOUR idea. Who's telling you when it has to be finished? Nothing is ever done. There is as much time as you give it, so allow as much as you need. Forget the pace that the initial phase had. Each phase will set its own schedule. Relax. Find the aspects of each phase that you can appreciate, or try to remember the exciting reasons you started in the first place and focus there, until you feel the creative juice start flowing again, and you WANT to move forward. That's how inspiration works, man.
Yes, you are the town freak. But you're also, like, the mayor or something.
Stop with the self-punishment. It steps on your toes of freedom, and maintains some false idea of an outside authority who knows better. Its YOUR idea. Who's telling you when it has to be finished? Nothing is ever done. There is as much time as you give it, so allow as much as you need. Forget the pace that the initial phase had. Each phase will set its own schedule. Relax. Find the aspects of each phase that you can appreciate, or try to remember the exciting reasons you started in the first place and focus there, until you feel the creative juice start flowing again, and you WANT to move forward. That's how inspiration works, man.
Yes, you are the town freak. But you're also, like, the mayor or something.
By: bushbaby
Re: Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us
Thanks for that.
No, not the mayor. More like the goofy rogue deputy. Imagine Gomer Pyle as interpreted by Kevin Smith. (Actually, looking at the UrbanDictionary entry for "Gomer Pyle" looks like material Kevin Smith would be happy to work with).
No, not the mayor. More like the goofy rogue deputy. Imagine Gomer Pyle as interpreted by Kevin Smith. (Actually, looking at the UrbanDictionary entry for "Gomer Pyle" looks like material Kevin Smith would be happy to work with).
Re: Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us
Thanks for that.
No, not the mayor. More like the goofy rogue deputy. Imagine Gomer Pyle as interpreted by Kevin Smith. (Actually, looking at the UrbanDictionary entry for "Gomer Pyle" looks like material Kevin Smith would be happy to work with).
No, not the mayor. More like the goofy rogue deputy. Imagine Gomer Pyle as interpreted by Kevin Smith. (Actually, looking at the UrbanDictionary entry for "Gomer Pyle" looks like material Kevin Smith would be happy to work with).
