Why Motivating People Doesn't Work . . . and What Does: The New Science of Leading, Energizing, and Engaging Paperback – February 27, 2017

I was fortunate to have been given a physical copy of this book. Most often, I either listen to audio books or read via Kindle. This is relevant to this review because I was so moved by Susan’s book that I purchased it on Kindle and Audible. As I do with other keeper books, I'll read and apply these concepts to my business.I work in Cybersecurity and my focus is on illuminating the human element of cybersecurity. The title of this book intrigued me and I found myself curious about Susan’s constructs and concepts. What I found in the book was a sizeable amount of research backed information. Susan’s perspective on motivation is refreshingly different.I read this book from the viewpoint of a CEO of a small business and found my mind connecting to elements of my personal life along the way.When I talk to business owners about the value of maintaining momentum and reputation, I am referring to business attributes that can be positively and negatively impacted by motivation. Technology does not ignore policy or make decisions based on emotion, people do.Susan’s points and guidance on autonomy, relatedness, and competence strike the bullseye for executives looking for ways to minimize cybersecurity risk. These are fundamental facets of high momentum companies.From a personal perspective, I found the book touched upon several of the reasons why my weight was all over the place (mostly up) over the last 25 years. The sections of the book addressing anti-drive theory were eye opening for me personally and professionally.Reading about self-regulation and mindfulness brought the point home. The primary reason I’ve been able to shed 60+ pounds is that I accidentally discovered these concepts through trial and error, error, error.This book does not contain odd and wacky ways to make this easy. As with so many elements of life and business, many things are simple, not easy.Other reviewers who commented about repetitiveness should strive to realize that we all connect with examples from books on our own terms. Some readers connect with the first example, while others connect with later examples. This is an overlooked reason why repetition is such an effective teaching aid.Grab this book and give it a read – You’ll find value, I did!

My takeaway from this book echoes many of the other reviews except for this: I wanted examples of conversations that bosses could have with employees. It's one thing to tell me what and why I need to do something. I wanted the actual language to do that, a script that I could tailor to my needs.I bought this book to address a situation with someone who is not an employee or direct report of mine. I was hoping to find words, as well as the thinking, that would encourage a young person who is making critical life decisions. I didn't find ideas that will help me do that today.In Fierce Conversations, Susan Scott (no relation) did an excellent job of giving step-by-step directions on how to have difficult conversations and gave examples of what language to use in doing so. That book provides an excellent template for doing what the author advocates.Susan Fowler's book would be so much stronger if she had done the same. Perhaps we will get that in a revised edition or on her website.

I finally finished this book and it has given me another fresh perspective on how to further understand the people around me, especially my team.The book provides a great and easy to follow guide on how to go through a conversation that explores the quality of motivation of people. I've followed the guide in my own way, and it has opened up quite a number of interesting insights as well as comments from my team. It's a great tool to further understand others.Although before I use it on others, I try it on myself as well, just so I can understand where I'm coming from and learn how to shift my outlook into a more optimal one.The more difficult part though, and one that I feel is not shared thoroughly in this book is how to facilitate that shift of outlook. The author explains it as if it is easy, although I hope there were some examples of difficult scenarios as well.Overall, I really liked this easy to digest book on the most recent discovery of motivational science. The people I share it with enjoy it too. So it's totally a win-win scenario for you and the people around you.

I've had this book on my desk or close by on my bookshelf at work since I bought it back in 2014. Motivation is such an important topic at work and leaders are always looking for ways to motivate their team members. Susan Fowler turns that idea on its head by reminding leaders that true motivation comes from within. In some ways that might seem obvious, but as Fowler points out, most of us are conditioned to expect and use "outside" motivators like reward or punishment to keep people interested in getting the job done. What Fowler reminds us--and why I keep this book close by--is that there is a better way which includes finding personal purpose and meaning in the task--whatever it is. Using real-life examples Fowler shows us that looking at basic human needs such as creating autonomy, improving relatedness, and building competence will yield a higher quality and sustainable motivation more than what she calls "junk food" extrinsic motivators. This is a great book that you'll enjoy the first time you read and, if you're like me, turn back to time and again for a refresher.