The central claim of the book is that higher pay and bonuses result in better performance within the workplace only if tasks consist of basic mechanical skills. If the task involved cognitive skills, decision-making, creativity, or higher-order thinking, higher pay resulted in lower performance. Pink suggests, "You should pay enough to take the issue of money off the table". Much of the book is based on studies done at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and other universities,[4]

To motivate employees who work beyond basic tasks, Pink believes that supporting employees in the following areas will result in increased performance and satisfaction:

• Autonomy – A desire to be self directed, it increases engagement over compliance.
• Mastery – The urge to get better skilled.
• Purpose – The desire to do something that has meaning and is important. Businesses that only focus on profits without valuing purpose will end up with poor customer service and unhappy employees.