Conventional wisdom says that if you want to get more out of an employee, you can incent them with money or stuff; OR, you can threaten to fire them.  Conventional wisdom further says that the good old fashioned ‘Carrot and Stick’ model is the only sure way to get people to do things.  It turns out conventional wisdom is mostly wrong, at least when it comes to motivating people today.  External motivators (positive and negative) are nowhere near as effective as internal motivators.  This is what Daniel Pink’s book ‘Drive’ is all about.

The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us:  Based on decades of research and scientific studies, there’s an obvious mismatch between what science and research tells us and what businesses actually do when it comes to motivating employees.