Drive (2009), To Sell is Human (2012) | Daniel Pink
Drive (2009)
Three or four years ago, I stumbled upon one of the
most watched videos in TED’s YouTube page. The talk was about Motivation by Dan
Pink. In the talk he makes a case about Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivations,
and why there is a disconnect in what science knows and what business does.
The earliest model of motivation was built on survival; the
2nd on extrinsic desires to seek reward and avoid punishment; the 3rd
on intrinsic desire.
Described much deeper in the book, the operating system for
business; aptly called Management, relied on the second, that people are motivated
to seek reward and avoid punishment. If you want to produce more output, you
give bigger bonuses or set more stringent policies; the old carrot and stick. Given
the advancements in science and research that notion no longer holds up for the
current situation. A study showed that giving bigger bonuses only worked for
simple mechanistic tasks. If it required a creative solution, a monetary reward
had the opposite effect. People aren’t doing the same work people did decades
ago and the amount of tasks we tackle that require creative solutions and not a
single process path are increasingly changing in volume. Hence, Daniel Pink
argues that intrinsic motivation has heavier value than extrinsic ones. This he
splits into three elements: Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose
Autonomy ascribes to being able to act within one’s own
volition and choice. This is further broken down into having autonomy on the
task, time, technique and team.
Mastery is about achievement and the urge to get better. Additional
arguments given are works by Carol Dweck on Growth Mindset, Angela Duckworth on
Grit, and with mastery being an asymptote, something that can never be perfected;
the joy is in the work.
Purpose is about the desire to contribute to something
bigger than ourselves.
To Sell is Human (2012)
Early on Dan Pink writes we’re all selling in some form or
another.
Why?
Because of the rise of entrepreneurship, small enterprises
to be exact; the need for established companies to have people with a new set
of skills; and the rise of education and healthcare sector.
Pink also writes that the old model of selling is becoming
obsolete because the availability of information is now different as it was the
last decades. Old persuasion tactics will not pan out. Once there was information
asymmetry and only the seller knew the information, now information can be
easily accessible.
How?
The old model of sales relied on the notion that one has to
be Always Be Closing. And that to sell is a zero-sum game. In an age where
information is much more equally available, that model is outdated. In this the
new elements are Attunement, Buoyancy and Clarity.
Attunement is being able to take perspective, harmonize and
sync up with other people. To better attune with other people, Pink lists: (1)
Lessen your power. Assume that you’re not the one with power. (2) Use your head
as much as your heart. Perspective-takers do better than Empathizers. (3) Mimic
strategically: Light touching. (Best way to start a conversation: ask “Where
are you from?”)
Buoyancy is being able to stay afloat amidst an ocean of
rejection; Resilience basically. Here Pink writes what to do before, during and
after an event. [Before or In Preparation] He advises to adopt an interrogative
self-talk. [During] To manage the positivity ratios in interactions. [After] To
adopt a positive explanatory style.
Clarity is being able to help others see their situations
and identify problems they may not realize they have. Here Pink writes that
Problem Finding is more important than Problem Solving. One way to have clarity
is to contrast it with another. A couple frames to provide clarity are below.
- Less: Limit choices, something discussed in the Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz, and the decoy effect. People buy less when too many options are presented.
- Experience: People report having better satisfaction with experiences than with material purchases.
- Label: Assigning a label has an effect to outcomes. This is something studied heavily by Robert Cialdini in his book, Pre-Suasion.
- Blemished: Telling a minor negative detail can enhance the likelihood of a sale but only after major positive details are presented first. This is again somehow related to work by Cialdini. To properly invoke authority, one needs Trustworthiness.
- Potential: Emphasize potential rather than achievement.
To enhance
clarity, Pink writes to give people an off-ramp. Provide a clear way on how people
can get things done. (Another clarity tool: Ask to locate on a scale of 1-10
how ready to be moved a person is, and then ask why it’s not a lower number.)
What?
In this part,
Pink writes on what to do. He splits it into three: Pitch, Improvise and Serve
The purpose of a Pitch isn’t to move others to adopt your idea; the purpose is
to begin a conversation. Here he
lists six:
- One Word Pitch – sticks the most
- Question Pitch – Interrogative statements are better than declarative statements, but only use them when your arguments are strong
- Rhyming Pitch – Aphorism. These increase processing fluency
- Subject Line Pitch – The most effective subject lines invoke its utility, curiosity or specificity, but do not overlap
- Twitter Pitch – 140 characters or less. Best kinds of tweets are questions, or ones that provide information
- Pixar Pitch – Once upon a time __(set up problem)__. Every day, __(how problem affects)__. One day__ (set up action)__. Because of that __(effect of action)__ Because of that __ (effect of action)__. Until finally, __(resolution to the problem).
(In terms of
order, go first when you’re the incumbent, and last if you’re the challenger.
Granular numbers are judged as more credible than coarse numbers)
Improvise is
built upon some Improvisation rules of theatre/comedy. Which are to Hear offers
– really listen. Yes And. And to make you partner look good.
Serve
invokes to improve other people’s lives. To do this it has to be personal and
purposeful. (Treat everyone as you would your grandmother).
