Primed to Perform: How to Build the Highest Performing Cultures Through the Science of Total Motivation

A good book that at the very least adds incrementally to the literature. Definitely worth reading. The ToMo survey instrument seems fairly well developed and probably useful, as is the 6-dimensional ToMo motivational model. A downside for me is that the book is written in the business genre, with lots of case study type examples. Unfortunately, case study examples may be of dubious value, other than perhaps to motivate enthusiasm in readers. (Lots of business books that make extensive use of case study examples contain claims that have proven to be very wrong over time, so the studies don't prove much.) The book gets better as it progresses, broadly peaking towards the end in Part IV. A good deal of attention is paid to Fundamental Attribution Error (appropriately so, but I would have liked to have seen a bit more complex model such as is used in Attribution Style). Other important cognitive bias issues are inadequately covered (I would suggest Daniel Kahneman's, Thinking Fast and Slow, for an excellent background on that subject). Free riders are discussed a little, but more detail about that issue can be found in Jonathan Haidt's, The Righteous Mind. The tribe, band, hunting party, clique breakdown of groups was new to me, and very thought provoking. Also useful was the frequently overlooked observation that people in many jobs are so busy with tactical work, they have no time available for adaptive development. The Fire Watcher idea is good, but certainly not foolproof. I would also say some of what is covered in this book about adaptive work culture seems closely related to what is known from the Positive Psychology movement. It has been observed by various researchers that there is a tipping point in positivity when the ratio of positive to negative reinforcers is somewhere between 4:1 and 6:1. Above that people can get so positive they may get a little too out of touch with reality and insufficiently risk averse for their own good. Still, perhaps to arrive at a stable adaptive culture it might be necessary to maintain people somewhere above the minimum positivity tipping point, but I don't know if anybody has studied the issue in a business context. Sadly, the book doesn't go into any of that, but maybe the authors' next book will have some more to add.

Why do I personally recommend this book?This booked helped me when I got to a point in my life when I really felt like I have had been doing something wrong and I knew I could do better but did not know how. I found Doshi and McGregor's HBR article and I knew this is something I can truly relate to, every word just made sense to me.While reading the book there will be so many Aha moments, when you finally understand what you are doing wrong and what you should change.After reading Primed to Perform, my perspective on motivation really changed and I hope their message find more and more people and organizations.Primed to Perform gives a new perspective on motivation in the workplace and also in your own personal life with a framework, a tool that allows you to systematically implement changes to improve performance and well-being.Why is McGregor and Doshi‘s work so important?McGregor and Doshi build on and connect psychological theories that are developed by researchers all over the world. The main theory behind the book is the Self-determination theory by Ryan and Deci.What's brilliant about the book is that Ryan and Deci's complex human motivation theory is transformed to a culture building mechanism which is simplified and transformed by McGregor and Doshi to help organizations gain a competitive advantage.To measure whether an organization's culture is developing in the right way they suggest a 5-step ToMo analysis with a first step as easy as a 6-question questionnaire among the employees, which shows how strong is an organization's culture.McGregor and Doshi translated the motivational theory to an easy to understand framework with clear steps on what to do.Why do I recommend this book to CEOs, executives, HR professional and anyone else who is interested in motivation and organizational culture, but are not experts in psychology and motivation theories?Let me answer this question by giving you an example of how the theory sounds vs. how McGregor and Doshi explain it,Motivation based on SDT:From a scientific point of view, Self-determination theory (SDT) says that motivation can either be controlled or autonomous. According to Cognitive evaluation theory, autonomous motivation increases performance for complex, creative tasks in the long run, while controlled motivation leads to worse performance. According to the SDT, if a person performs a task for which they hold intrinsic interest, motivating with additional extrinsic rewards will undermine intrinsic motivation, as it shifts people from an internal to an external locus of control. Intrinsic motivation, which is fully autonomous, only occurs when a person performs a task truly for the sake of enjoyment. In other cases extrinsic motivation occurs. Extrinsic motivation has different types in relation to the autonomy of the person performing the task. SDT suggests that extrinsic motivation varies greatly in how autonomous it is. The different types of extrinsic motivation based on how autonomous they are the following from least to most: External regulation, Introjection, Identification and Integration.Motivation according to McGregor and Doshi:"Why people participate in an activity affects their performance in that activity.Their motive affects their performance." There are different kind of reasons why people do their job, the understanding of these reasons is key to maximize performance. Direct motives are directly linked to the activity, they drive performance (autonomous motivation). Indirect motives are further removed form the work itself and usually harm performance (controlled motivation). The six motivational factors for work were identified: Play (Intrinsic motivation), Purpose (Integration), Potential (Identification), Emotional pressure (Introjection), Economic pressure (External regulation), and Inertia (Amotivation).Isn't it easier to understand and more intuitive McGregor and Doshi’s explanation?The example I gave was just a small fraction of the book that gives and overall understanding on the dynamics of organizational culture focusing on motivation.Those who read Primed to Perform make the first step to renew their organization's culture to one which tackles the challenges in today's highly competitive and changing markets.The realization of the changes needed to be done might be shocking at first, but this is how actually growth can happen.

Amazing book! Amazing read! It will forever impact how I view management.

I really liked this book and the ideas presented. However, like most hooks in this vein, they are overly redundant, name dropping, and could be about 1/3 the length they are without losing anythingStill, I would recommend this to anyone in a corporate setting... Especially if culture is something your organization struggles with or is missing altogether.

Anyone/any organization leading 5 or more people needs to read this. The clarity the authors provided in the six motivation classes was spot on and very illuminating. If you lead people or an organization, you MUST understand and implement the thoughts in this book.

Some good ideas in this book for the work environment; does not really explore how to apply concepts in traditional union environment

Very well written. Although based on theories, not technical or theoretically written at all, so easy to follow the concepts being explained. Great use of real life corporate examples of where this has made a difference.

There are several good points made in this book. But, I feel as though the authors beat them to death. Over and over and over again with the same point.If you're new to managing people, or if you're looking for ideas on how to structure, reward, or motivate your team, this is a pretty good book of things to keep in mind. So long as you can get past the repetitiveness.

I was interested to read this book, but didn't expect it to be the page turner that it was. It set out so clearly what Total Motivation is all about, giving interesting stories and examples to illustrate each point. It was easy to read and I didn't have to grasp every graph and diagram to get the message. It made me think, oh yes, I recognise that behaviour, or company culture, but now I understand what it all really means. Obviously really committed authors who have seen and experienced everything in this book for themselves. It was really worth putting down the novel.

Arrived ripped and defaced. Will amend review once I receive a version which can be read.

The work Neel Doshi and Lindsay McGregor has done on TOMO is phenomenal. I had attended Neel's session in NYC in 2018. It changed how I now look at the very concept of motivation. Maximize - Play, Purpose Potential. Eliminate - Emotional Pressure, Economic Pressure and Inertia! Their book "Primed to Perform" is a must read for anyone who is looking to create sustainable competitive advantage by leveraging and unlocking human potential. Technology will eventually play the role of a leveler for organizations and it would be the people who will be the real competitive advantage for organizations in the longer term. This book teaches you how to crack the code on building a great culture where employees perform to theri full potential in a sustainable manner.

Many authors have built on Desi and Ryan's seminal work on motivation published in 1985My go to book used to be Dan Pink's Drive. However, Primed to Perform is definitely my new favorite and one that I have re-read a few times in the last couple of years. Highly recommended, a delighful journey into the theory of motivation.Side note, anyone looking for practical and actionable advise should also check out Charles Coonradt's "The Game of Work" and "Scorekeeping for Success". I have distributed all 4 books to my teams.

Excelente livro que permite uma visão mais ampla e precisa de alta performance e motivação. Recomendo!