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Driven: How Human Nature Shapes our Choices
A touchstone for understanding how we behave on the job
"This is a stimulating and provocative book in bringing together important ideas from different fields, and, thereby, giving us a whole new slant on 'human nature.'" --Edgar H. Schein, Sloan Fellows Professor of Management Emeritus and Senior Lecturer, MIT
In this astonishing, provocative, and solidly researched book, ...more
"This is a stimulating and provocative book in bringing together important ideas from different fields, and, thereby, giving us a whole new slant on 'human nature.'" --Edgar H. Schein, Sloan Fellows Professor of Management Emeritus and Senior Lecturer, MIT
In this astonishing, provocative, and solidly researched book, ...more
Hardcover, 300 pages
Published
October 15th 2001
by Jossey-Bass
(first published September 30th 2001)
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Here's the book in a nutshell: "we think there are 4 drives that drive all human behavior, and other people should do the research to see if it's true. Also, if it *is* true, here's how it applies to GM, HP, and the Russian and Irish economies". The rest of the book reads as a summary of popular science books and how they could reinforce the authors' ideas.
In general, this is pseudoscience put together by two Harvard Business School professors and strongly smacks of confirmation bias: the autho ...more
In general, this is pseudoscience put together by two Harvard Business School professors and strongly smacks of confirmation bias: the autho ...more
The idea of summarizing what drives us humans is actually interesting and the authors did quite a good job. The concept they develop is clear and made me think a lot about how people I know and/or myself act sometimes. The first part (describing each drive and trying to explain why they are there and how they make us do what we do) is quite interesting.
However, I have to say that the second part (with less theory and more examples) needs a lot more developing. I found for example their explanati ...more
However, I have to say that the second part (with less theory and more examples) needs a lot more developing. I found for example their explanati ...more
Uses a basis of neurology and other disciplines to define what drives human beings. It breaks it down into four fundamental drives that sometimes intermingle, but can't be further simplified. These are the Drive to Acquire, the Drive to Bond, the Drive to Learn, and the Drive to Defend. The book uses this information to tell you how to best manage people. That is the vibe I got from it.
The book devotes three chapters to telling us about how the brain evolved, four chapters to telling us about t ...more
The book devotes three chapters to telling us about how the brain evolved, four chapters to telling us about t ...more
Basic - The only nugget I got from the book is an idea to create a most robust connections in a community by "forcing people" to interact based on the story of a priest having all members at the end of church put their name in a hat - pairing them up - and requiring that they meet for a 30-45 minute coffee/tea.
My thoughts: People innately want to connect with others but life experience makes it scary to reach out. Creating a forced element removes requiring people to put themselves out there an ...more
My thoughts: People innately want to connect with others but life experience makes it scary to reach out. Creating a forced element removes requiring people to put themselves out there an ...more
I liked the book and I think it's a fascinating read. The author says we have 4 basic drives (drive to aquire, bond, learn, and defend) and these are the basic motivators for humans. I think they should be seen as psychological rather than biological. The main theme of this text is how we base our decision making on those four psychological drives that every person is born with regardless of religion, race or other factors.
average
Not a lot of practical information. The breakdown of human nature into 4 drives (to acquire, to bond, to learn, to defend) is interesting, but the evolutionary biology analysis seems a little simplistic. I'm glad I don't live in a world where most people's selections of mates has ever seemed as sexist and reductionist as the authors suggest.
The analysis of organizational failures resulting from the lack of one or more of these drives in the individuals' roles is more interesting. I would never h ...more
The analysis of organizational failures resulting from the lack of one or more of these drives in the individuals' roles is more interesting. I would never h ...more
This book explains free will as the result of balancing the four drives underlying human emotions: the drive to acquire, to learn, to bond with others and to defend oneself and one's group.
The authors speculate that all of these drives are the result of natural selection: prehistoric females preferred males who could bond with them, learn, acquire and share.
So why is there war and fanaticism? People pervert the desire to learn by falling for extreme ideologies, and pervert the desire to bond by ...more
The authors speculate that all of these drives are the result of natural selection: prehistoric females preferred males who could bond with them, learn, acquire and share.
So why is there war and fanaticism? People pervert the desire to learn by falling for extreme ideologies, and pervert the desire to bond by ...more
I found this book fabulous. It has already changed how I view human nature as a leader, as a member of my Family, as a member of a larger profession. Recommend to leaders, managers, social scientists, psychologists. Paul Lawrence and Nitin Nohria explore four fundamental (i.e. innate) and distinct drives that all humans have - acquire, bond, learn, and defend. The strength of their argument lies in their research - anthropological, cultural and organizational. Their research examples are rich in
...more
This was one of the hardest books I've ever read since university (. If you aspire to become an anthropologist this book is absolutely worth reading. The book covers an interesting subject that humans have 4 basic drives: to acquire, to bond, to learn and to defend. Every action can be defined as driven by of one or more combinations of these drives. I helps explain and even predict human behavior.
A good read and interesting premise, worth the read. My only complaint is that the book was published in 2002 and is it deals with several emerging fields (evolutionary psychology, neurobiology, etc). Consequently, some of the information might alread be a bit outdated. A good read but I would recommend some other similar books that have been published recently first.
If I could turn back time and choose NOT to read this book, I would. I was looking for something that I could apply to my own life, but instead I got something a bit too academic and repetitive to sink my teeth into. Blah.
Gostei bastante do livro, acho que adicionou bastante informação interessante.
Basicamente o livro estuda quatro motivadores humanos e tenta explicar a formação deles dada nossa evolução como espécie.
Basicamente o livro estuda quatro motivadores humanos e tenta explicar a formação deles dada nossa evolução como espécie.
This book was included in my book: The 100 Best Business Books of All Time. www.100bestbiz.com
good examples of what drives us and how.
As seen in FYI: For Your Improvement.
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