Drive

We’ve long believed that people respond only to rewards or punishments—a notion that underpinned industrial-age management. Pay a bonus if employees achieve a goal; apply penalties if they miss the target. But real human motivation is more nuanced. In puzzling experiments, animals and people found enjoyment simply in solving problems or doing certain tasks, even with no reward attached. Researchers discovered that these forms of pleasure and curiosity are both very real and very powerful.

For decades, though, conventional wisdom clung to the idea that carrots and sticks worked best. Many of our work structures, from performance reviews to commission-based plans, reflect this. Yet as economies shifted from routine labor to more creative, conceptual tasks, a purely external reward system started showing serious cracks. It often narrowed our focus and diminished the kind of inventive thinking we now need.

This summary offers a new lens, helping us see why engagement depends on intrinsic motivation. Specifically, it spotlights autonomy—our desire to shape our activities; mastery—our urge to keep getting better at something that matters; and purpose—our longing to be part of something bigger than ourselves. These factors, working together, can propel individuals and organizations to accomplish extraordinary things.

Think of this as an invitation to revisit how we work and live. Unlike old carrot-and-stick methods, tapping into autonomy, mastery, and purpose taps into what genuinely inspires us. Over the next pages, we’ll see how these elements come together, why they matter deeply in modern workplaces, and how to integrate them into our own lives more effectively.

Originally, we survived by fulfilling basic drives: eat when hungry, run when threatened, seek shelter to rest. This biological imperative—Motivation 1.0—got us through the earliest chapters of human existence. But as societies advanced, we needed more elaborate organization. Hence, a second form of motivation took hold: the reward/punishment system that shaped behavior through fear or gain.

Under this Motivation 2.0 model, people respond predictably to bonuses, promotions, and performance reviews. Their behavior is governed by external signals—what researchers call extrinsic motivators. This approach was well-suited for factory work or routine tasks: show up, do the clockwork duties, then receive payment. Yet the moment tasks become more inventive or less defined, issues arise.

In the past century, we’ve witnessed a shift away from simple, repeatable jobs toward roles demanding creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving. Cognitive and conceptual tasks are now widespread. The old system’s logic—pay more, get more—doesn’t align neatly with tasks that rely on fresh ideas. Sometimes, extra pay narrows attention, discourages risk-taking, and even undermines deeper engagement.

This realization nudged researchers to examine the power of intrinsic motivation—an inner drive to do something because it’s fulfilling or meaningful. Puzzle experiments and real-world examples like open-source software (where volunteers code for free) underscore that we’re not purely fueled by external rewards. Instead, we flourish when we can pursue interesting challenges, enjoy our progress, and feel a sense of contribution.