Linchpin by Seth Godin and Drive by Daniel Pink - Two Books, One Message

Maybe it's because I read both at about the same time. But Seth Godin's book Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? and Daniel H. Pink's Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us are eerily similar in the overall message. This is no accident. We are moving toward a more intrinsically motivated world of work and their simultaneous parallel messages are a sign of a growing trend.Both Godin and Pink agree that in this new world of work, intrinsic rewards, such as enjoyment of the task at hand or creating joy, will far outweigh the influence of extrinsic rewards including money and perks. In fact, many will pursue their life work for no pay or low pay just to gain these intrinsic rewards. Pink refers to this as Motivation 3.0.Examples given by Pink include open source projects such as Wikipedia and Linux in which contributors do not get paid, but may be rewarded by the sheer joy of doing the work or by knowing they have contributed to the community in some way. Similarly, Godin says that the reward is in creating and sharing your art, whether it be visual arts, music, a perfect recipe, or a great stock tip.So have these Theory I workers (Pink's term for those who are "intrinsically" motivated) taken vows of poverty? Here is where the authors have slightly different approaches. Pink believes that those who pursue their work for no pay or low pay may do so to enhance their reputations in the community and sharpen their skills, thereby making them more employable and sought after.Godin, in a somewhat related way, also discusses how creating and sharing art can enhance influence, but looks at it as Circles of Gifts. In the first circle, you share art with your family, friends, co-workers, and those close to you. The second circle is your circle of commerce which includes your customers who pay for your art. The growing third circle which includes your followers, fans, and "friendlies"--including social media spheres--is where your new source of revenues will be generated. And your third circle will grow based on the quality and quantity of art you share.The one question that kept droning through my head while I'm reading both books is, "Will everyone want to be intrinsically motivated?"Pink recognizes that there will be mundane tasks for which rewards and punishment compensation schemes will work in the short term, but which will fail miserably in the long run. More enlightened education focusing on intrinsic rewards, as opposed to extrinsic motivators such as test scores, and employment that includes emotionally satisfying work will foster higher performing societies and organizations. He suggests that "scaffolding" efforts will be needed to help employees transition from controlled work environments into those with greater autonomy and intrinsic rewards. Otherwise they'll struggle.A bit more pessimistically, but practically, Godin recognizes that there will always be people who want maps and checklists. He describes them a "factory workers," no matter if they hammer away at steel or a keyboard, who want to be told what to do. Surprisingly, he also suggests that high-performing "linchpins" take advantage of this fact and hire plenty of these folks who are willing to cheaply surrender their labor to achieve the linchpin's grander goals.While I do think we should all work towards providing and pursuing more purposeful employment, there will always be work for those who do not wish to expand their horizons or influence. Linchpins who can hire according to employees' particular motivations and the tasks at hand--and have realistic expectations for both intrinsically and extrinsically workers--will be most successful in the brave new world of Motivation 3.0. seuss book collection sets cat hat