Yesterday I finally got around to watching this incredible animated video by Dan Pink, author of Drive who explains, in a highly visual and entertaining way, what science knows about incentives and awards and what the business seems to keep ignoring time and time again.

In his own words his book and this video is “a paradigm-shattering look at what truly motivates us and how we can use that knowledge to work smarter and live better”.

You may think it’s incentives that’s primarily monetary but actually it’s not what you think. The secret to high performance and satisfaction is “the deeply human need to direct our own lives, to learn and create new things, and to do better by ourselves and our world.”

I know in my life this has been very much the case. It’s never been about more money, otherwise I’d have risen up the corporate ladder to increase my salary and benefits until I could go no further. And then what?

Well nothing, unless I was driven by purpose, by valuing what I do, by having the freedom to do what I love and making a difference in the lives of others and in this world.

I’d highly recommend you taking 10 minutes over your morning coffee to watch, learn and apply it to your business, your team and your relationships.

What motivates you most?