[.ca] Intrinsic Motivation at Work: Building Energy and Commitment (ISBN 1576752380)

This book rings true:
None of the books I've read on modern management and personal fulfillment cut to the core of what REALLY matters like this one does. Reading it felt like looking inside myself - at the way I work and what I think about my job - and finally making sense of it. I have no doubt that this book will have a huge impact on my work performance and satisfaction, and it will also make me a much better team player and leader. And, at around 100 pages, Dr. Thomas includes what matters (in an easy-read style) without wasting any of your time.

Steven E. Severy, Chairman of the Board, MDS, Inc.:
"Intrinsic Motivation at Work" is a must read for anyone responsible for managing people. This small book is in reality a giant guide book to help move us from just hanging the carrot out there for employees to chase, to giving them both a bit in their teeth and a hand on the reins.

Highly Recommended!:
Kenneth W. Thomas presents a model for using intrinsic motivation in the workplace to assure a more committed, self-managed workforce. He advocates leading for meaningfulness, choice, competence, and progress. He emphasizes the need to use this approach to give employees the greater independence and decision-making authority they need as bureaucratic management models break down. While many of these themes are presented in other books on leadership, motivation, training and worker empowerment, Thomas pulls them together in a well-organized, clearly written presentation that gives readers clear directions. The succinct style of writing is easy to understand, even though it is directed toward the serious reader. We \o...\c recommend this book to executives, managers, trainers and management consultants, as well as to employees, who will find helpful ideas for exercising greater self-management.

Great Lessons for Increasing Motivation and Effectiveness!:
This book deserves more than five stars. Prior to Intrinsic Motivation at Work, management books often referred to the need for intrinsic motivation or sources of thta motivation (such as an inspiring purpose or interesting work). This book takes those isolated thoughts and connects them into a systematic method of improving overall motivation by increasing internal motivation and connecting with external sources of motivation. This book will be a landmark in the field of human resource management for decades to come. The book contains many helpful elements to help you understand its message. One that I particularly liked was the management tale. In one connected example, it showed how management attention has shifted in the last 120 years from making people perform more effectively at predefined tasks (the rational approach as defined by scientific management) to creating passion and fulfillment from work, by focusing on the emotional side of a person. You get an overview of management practice and theory in very small and easy-to-digest doses. For example, one of my favorite sentences was "So the executives crafted Vision Statements that emphasized Contribution to Customers and Quality . . . but often \othey\c rang hollow in time -- like unkept promises." The author distills the relevant sources of intrinsic motivation into meaningfulness, choice, competence, and progress. These ideas are nicely developed in several dimensions. For example, it is explained how these affect the worker (or associate, if you prefer that term). You also find out what the leader or manager has to do to help create those factors for the worker. Then, the author also exposes how the four areas are connected in a system of postive (or potentially negative) feedback. Further, you are given five elements of each one to develop. Basically, the model calls for the meaningful purpose of the organization as the starting point. The next step is to give people a choice of actions to implement that purpose. Then activities are performed, and these are monitored for the competency shown (which may generate the need for better choices to pursue the object or to enhance the competency of those involved). After the activities are completed, you also look for progress and relate this back to the original purpose and your choices for fulfilling that purpose. The book goes on the explain how to integrate intrinsic and external sources of motivation so that they reinforce one another. There are several points to keep in mind when considering this book. First, you will get even better results if the organization picks a meaningful purpose that offers the potential for more intrinsic motivation. Some purposes have more potential to be accomplished and some are more exciting to more people. I find that most people latch onto an organizational purpose with too little consideration of the alternatives. Second, any on-going organization has a perceived purpose that attracts and retains employees now. You should find out what that is before changing it. My experience has been that you get better results by building upon that assumed purpose than by striking off in a totally new direction. Third, simplification (see Simplicity) is a related thought process that should be employed with this one. A lot of demotivation along intrinsic lines follows errors in making things too complicated and difficult. Although this book is about work, its principles apply just as well to volunteer activities. I suggest that you share the book with those you volunteer with and then discuss how to employ its lessons to fulfill your empowering purposes.

A win win management book.:
"Intrinsic Motovation at Work" is a must read for anyone responsible for managing people. This small book is in reality a giant guide book to help move us from just hanging a carrot out there for employees to chase, to giving them both a bit in their teeth and a hand on the reins.