Pile On Motivation

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Category: Book review

  • Nikolai Vavilov and his just cause

    Nikolai Vavilov was a renowned Soviet agronomist , botanist & geneticist who had a vision of creating a bank of plant seeds to protect the world from famine and similar disasters due to the unavailability of crops and plant seeds.

    His vision became the “just cause” which got his fellow doctors so engaged that even during the emergency situation in Leningrad they were prepared to protect the seed bank at the cost of their lives.

    At a time wherein during the Nazi invasion in Leningrad , starvation forced people consume zoo animals , cats , dogs these followers of Vavilov gave their lives trying to protect the seed bank because they were drawn by the larger vision of Vavilov.

    By means of this example , Simon Sinek very aptly proves why “just cause” is a cornerstone of playing infinite games.

  • Importance of a just cause in an infinite game

    Just cause is a vision which has not been realized but a cause that is worthy enough for believers to even be ready to sacrifice their lives.

    The goal of an infinite fame is not to win but to keep playing for the future realization of something bigger than ourselves.

    Hence the importance of the just cause especially to a leader to keep the followers engaged.

    Thus an organization which enables the employees to work for a just cause are ones where employees end up loving their jobs.

    Simon Sinek makes a mention of this in his book titled “The Infinite Game”.

  • Making the most of your “mentor” – Tips from “Barking Up The Wrong Tree”

    The author Eric Barker makes a mention of some of the following key points to get the best out of a chosen mentor

    1. Be A worthy pupil
    2. Follow up with them and keep in touch
    3. Study them really hard
    4. Do not waste time of a mentor asking questions Google can answer for you
    5. Do Acts that Make them Proud

     

  • Building social “networking” skills – Takeaways from “Barking Up The Wrong Tree”

    Some of the key tips mentioned by author Eric Barker are as follows:

    1. Start With The Friends That You Already Have
    2. Find the “Superconnectors” who are experts at networking and would help you network and reach out to prospective friends
    3. Invest time and budget to make long lasting relationships
    4. Always follow up with friends from time to time
    5. Join social networking , WhatsApp groups to increase your reach

  • Are “If-Then” rewards good for instilling creativity?

    Dan Pink in his book “Drive” makes a mention of the fact that “if-then” rewards better known as carrot/stick awards can be detrimental when it comes to instilling creativity and doing right brain oriented tasks.

    Hence these rewards must be used with caution mostly for the purpose of getting done “left brain” oriented mundane tasks by making use of an external driver e.g. money.

  • Have you ever heard about “Type X” and “Type I” personalities?

    Dan Pink in his book “Drive” makes a mention about these two types of personalities.

    Type X – People who are driven by eXtrinsic motivation e.g. “if-then” rewards to get their job done.

    Type I – People who are Intrinsically motivated by a non-monetary overarching purpose to make a difference in their daily lives.

    In the modern conceptual age , we should all strive to move towards a Type I personality to attain fulfillment.

     

  • “Left Brain” work vs “Right Brain” Work – Motivation drivers

    Dan Pink makes a mention of the different drivers for motivation for these two categories of work.

    Right brain work – For e.g. work needing autonomy and creativity needs intrinsic motivation as the driver and leads to reduction in productivity if driven by money.

  • “Carrot Stick” driven motivation vs “Intrinsic”?motivation – Interesting takeaways from Dan Pink’s “Drive”

    Carrot stick based motivation kills creativity and focuses absolutely in the short term to satisfy selfish motives.

    Intrinsic motivation which cares for an overarching purpose rather than being driven by money , nurtures creativity and stands the test of time.

    Once the sense of purpose is realised human brain loves intrinsic motivation to achieve fulfilment.

  • Biological urge , reward & punishment as motivational factors – How relevant are these in the modern age?

    Intrinsic motivation wherein challenge I’m being able to a piece of work and joy in sharing it with others does motivate human beings in the modern era.

    Look at Apache , Linux , Hadoop , git etc. and related communities where participants are engrossed in participating in sharing ideas and we can understand the power of intrinsic motivation as a major driver in the modern age.

    This necessitates shifting focus from traditional modes of motivational factors.

  • MSN Encarta vs Wikipedia – Changing human motivation drivers

    “Drive” by Dan Pink uses this example very aptly to prove that historical economical principles that place rewards and punishment as a very important factor for motivation falls flat when it comes to “intrinsic motivation” as a major driver in the modern age open source frameworks for e.g. Wikipedia ,Apache etc. where contributors feel intrinsically motivated without feeling the need of money.