Driven to Distraction? Why not Drive instead?

A couple of weeks back I wrote up a brief book review about DRIVE, Dan Pink's latest book. The review was never published, so I've graciously repurposed it here...

Turns out everything I thought I knew about self-motivation, motivating workers and wringing the most out of staff is, apparently, a load of so-last-century rubbish. Drive takes the way we currently motivate our workforce (and ourselves), combines our malfunctioning value system (business, personal) with computer operating systems – which is a clever and easily relatable analogy – and turns the whole lot on its head.

According to Drive, the common carrot-and-stick methods of incentivizing staff with cash and tangible rewards is old school and no longer in keeping with our true and recently re-discovered value system - the system of being purposely-driven vs. profit-driven. Drive seems to be serendipitously timed as we enter a new decade where we're searching for real answers and better ways of living and doing things that really matter - we can make a difference, with real purpose that gives us satisfaction in our working and personal lives – that’s what drives us, get it?

What makes Pink's book different to other motivational-genre books is that it's not at all preachy. Instead, he makes us question what we've been doing with just enough scientific citations to make his reasoning and questioning credible. If anything though, it's a little light on case studies - he could have afforded some more in-depth research to solidify this volume as a must-read for every CEO and manager.

For me, as a small business owner who has been practicing old-school carrot and stick tricks for 15 years with varied success, I’m looking forward making my current business and staff proverbial guinea pigs for Motivation 3.0, using Drive's toolbox as a guide. Check back with me in 6 months to see how we're doing. But first I need to find out if I'm Type I or Type X. And no wisecracks thanks.

To learn more about the book, visit Pink's site at http://www.danpink.com/drive.

Happy Driving!

After a two-week hiatus, a soundbite alert...

Let's start off with what's wrong with Americans? Blame Oprah, she did it.. She's apparently turned us into a nation of whiney little pussies who feel no remorse for their actions because really, there are no consequences any more.. Well, not many.

Take someone for a ride on national TV and you'll be welcomed into The Apprentice Hall of Fame. And getting pregnant 5 times or more seems to guarantee at least one season of a self-titled reality show, plus a cover or two on OK!

And, if you're caught cheating, it's off to rehab for a good spanking and telling off, followed by several thousand mea culpas and a kiss-n-make-up session.. Isn't that how it's always been done in Italy? Glynnis MacNicol's post on Mediaite is insightful, but why does everything always get dragged into the political cesspool? Read the comment after MacNicol's post...

My two weeks off proved that sometimes silence really is golden.

Hi, I Am Sad. What's Your Name?

Sorry, but I can't find another word to describe the following but Sad. Sad as in it is sad that anyone would want to check their Facebook status while having sex, or sad that anyone could be having such bad sex in the first place. Unless, of course, you felt compelled to Tweet about your experience. But couldn't you wait until AFTER you were finished? That's called having manners.

Apparently,'net addiction is at a new level: users update from bed, dinner'.You can read the entire post in ars technica.

See ya, off to update my status and look at my blackerry for the 73rd time since 5.03am...

Tweet and Televise Your Abortion?

The story in Newsweek "Outing Abortion, From Town Halls to Twitter" is a couple of couple of weeks old (03/03/10), so way dated in our news cycle, yet the heated arguments about abortion will never go away. Certainly not now we can televise and tweet about abortion as they happen in real time right before our eyes. TMI OVERLOAD.

If Twitter and social media have democratized the internet, what have they done for the abortion movement? Apparently, they are being used as vehicles to "desensitize" the issue... When we can watch a woman induce a DIY abortion on YouTube, it's clear we have turned the very ugly corner on privacy, sensibility and what's fit for general consumption.

Sayonara, So Long, Goodbye!

A short take on how one company killed America's love affair and its decades-long quest to be the best car brand - in just a few short months. Business is business is business. Except that the way companies do business in every country can be vastly different. Yes, even in our "global" marketplace.

Cultural nuances and traditions have a direct impact on management and leadership styles, affecting workforce attitudes and performance, from the top down and bottom up. Toyota's spectacular fall from grace puts the spotlight on how a number of Japanese cultural traits -- things like gokuhi, uchi-soto, gaijin -- helped propel its PR nightmare. In English, these terms roughly translate to secrecy, suspicion of foreignness, pride and insecurity -- none of which are particularly PR friendly or conducive to reputation-building, nor endearing to a nation consumed by transparency and openness.

Our way is not always the right way
One of the first things a marketer is supposed to learn is to know thy customer. Barring its first American flop in 1958, Toyota seemed to know its customers very well. The company pioneered just-in-time manufacturing, became the darling of the auto industry, and was embraced by American consumers wholeheartedly. At the same time, Toyota's reserve and intense pride seemed to reinforce the image (correctly or not) of the Japanese -- always striving for perfection - which up until a few years ago served the carmaker very well.

But alas, that pride -- and arrogance I would add -- is what finally got in the way of Toyota understanding its customers. In an era where customers control so much of the conversation, Toyota forgot the golden rule of know thy customers.

Read the rest on Media Post.

iPad iPad in my hand, who is the fairest tablet in the land?

“Mirror mirror on the wall” now reads “iPad iPad in my hand"... First day pre-orders rounded up to 120,000 for the iPad. Nice... Make that 120,001 with my order.

If the iPhone moved the needle on the smartphone market and mobile advertising, publishers and content pushers will be rubbing their hands with absolute glee. My take is that the iPad will spur the pay-for-content movement –- finally –- and help re-write the playbook on why quality content should not be free.

Now Here's Some Change You Can Believe In

Now Here's Some Change You Can Believe In - Michelle Obama takes on childhood obesity

Overweight and unhealthy kids have been three decades in the making. I know, I was one of them – and that was way back when we still had PE and played on the streets after school and on weekends. TV was a treat and reading was something we did for entertainment - imagine!!! Today, billions of kids are exposed to crappy, unhealthy food, almost zero exercise and a life of online everything. As parents today, most of us are guilty of having too little time to make sure our kids get enough exercise or making sure they're eating the best and most nutritious food we can give them.. I am guilty of this too.

So kudos to Michelle Obama for taking on this cause on behalf of America's children. It's not their fault they are obese when we feed them with rubbish everyday.. It's not their fault they're overweight when schools serve sugary junk food in the cafeterias.

And the best thing is that Congress won't get a chance to screw this up. That you can believe in!!

Sign up to support Let's Move and help American children (and us parents)re-establish a healthy relationship with food, exercise and healthy living again.