There's more to work than money, Dan Pink argues

In his latest book, Dan Pink suggests that money is not enough and motivation comes from within.

BY RICHARD PACHTER


 

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. Daniel H. Pink. Riverhead. 256 pages.

I was blown away by Dan Pink's 2005 book, A Whole New Mind. His previous tome, Free Agent Nation, had been very good indeed, but the former speechwriter for Al Gore had made a quantum leap with his incisive look at the ways work can evolve into something much more than just labor. Recognizing the changing nature of global and local economies as positive drivers for the reconfiguration of our roles, the next step was — what? How would we make the transition from worker bees to empowered individuals?

Pink's next book offered some clues, but The Adventures of Johnny Bunko, a decidedly outré young-person's illustrated career guide done in the form of manga, a Japanese comics art form, was terrific and useful, though clearly a one-off. But now the wait is over: Drive, his new book, illuminates the path to unlocking the door to more meaningful work.

In this ideal companion piece to Seth Godin's recent Linchpin, Pink examines the ways we are motivated and finds that the most powerful ones come from within, and are more important to us than the material compensation we're given. His findings seem counterintuitive to those of us who have long accepted Pavlovian doctrine that we work mainly for "rewards'' like salary and other external reinforcements.

Pink presents a rather persuasive argument that we often labor and toil for inner satisfaction and engagement, or, as author Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, says, "flow,'' defined as one's positive, engaged submersion in an activity. If you're "in the zone,'' or describe an athlete as "unconscious'' when he is intently focusing on the game so that he appears to be in a trance-like state, it's the same deal. As he builds his case, Pink recounts the work of a variety of psychologists, academics and authors who've explored the phenomenon. It's not a new discovery, either. In 1949, Harry Harlow, a University of Wisconsin psychology professor, studied eight rhesus monkeys and found that they began playing with and solving the assigned puzzles irrespective of proffered rewards or biological imperatives like sex or food.

Pink writes of Harlow's discovery: "It suggested that our understanding of the gravitational pulls on our behavior was inadequate -- that what we thought were fixed laws had plenty of loopholes. Harlow emphasized the `strength and persistence' of the monkeys' drive to complete the puzzles. Then he noted: 'It would appear that this drive . . . may be as basic and strong as the [other] drives.

Furthermore, there is some reason to believe that [it] can be as efficient in facilitating learning.''

Harlow came to the conclusion that in order "to truly understand the human condition, we had to take account of this third drive,'' Pink writes.

Just as Godin does in Linchpin, Pink offers specific instructions and resources to facilitate this engagement in our own pursuits. It's not foolproof, nor is it risk-free, and many of us will reflexively reject the notion that working for a living (a/k/a salary and other monetary benefits) is not the most important force compelling us to work at our jobs, professions and careers. But harnessing the power of intrinsic motivation rather than extrinsic remuneration can be thoroughly satisfying and infinitely more rewarding.

Originally published in The Miami Herald

The mind is a terrible thing to waste.

Brain power and economics come together in an in-depth look at where we could be headed in the wake of the information age.



A Whole New Mind: Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age. Daniel H. Pink. Riverhead Books. 272 pages.

BY RICHARD PACHTER

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts, especially when the mind is concerned.

Daniel Pink, a former speechwriter and prolific writer, identifies Asia, abundance and automation as the key forces driving societal changes. Asia, for its cheap workforce and its demands as a growing market; abundance, since we are living in an age of unprecedented plenty; and automation, because most every repetitive commercial task will soon be performed by machines, if it isn't already.

How each of these forces affects us, individually and as a society, is what this book is about — at first.

Pink writes: "We are moving from an economy and a society built on the logical, linear, computer-like capabilities of the Information Age to an economy and a society built on the inventive, empathic, big picture capabilities of what's rising in its place, the Conceptual Age.''

100% BRAIN
His notion is that the right side of the brain — the artistic half, if you will — can and should be better integrated with the left half — the more logical and rational portion. By doing so, we will be able to deal with the changes in our economy once Asia's dominance really kicks in and whatever economic advantages we possess become far less potent, if not nonexistent.

But Pink is not a grim prophet of doom. He uses the coming changes as a springboard for exploring the nature of personal fulfillment, success and humanity. It's not a touchy-feely self-help manual that he has constructed. But many of his ideas and approaches are wise, compassionate and supportive of a variety of personal and professional endeavors.

It's a pleasant and surprisingly entertaining little trip as he explores the workings of the brain, celebrates the proliferation and democratization of Target's designer products and learns to draw and play games, all as a means of illustrating ways we can think and live in a better, more meaningful and productive manner.

I reviewed Pink's previous effort, Free Agent Nation in July 2001, and though I found it to be well-written and provocative, I was completely unprepared for the breadth and depth of this new book. It's not that I thought that Pink was incapable of such an audacious and powerful work; he seems to be one of those people who excel at many things.

What surprised me about this book is how Pink realized that to empower individuals, it's necessary to really understand and act upon the powerful socioeconomic forces that shape the world economy.

OUR STRENGTHS
Unlike many of the recent xenophobic screeds that rail against the evils of outsourcing, Pink has figured out several paths that individuals and society can pursue that play to our strengths. The transition will not necessarily be an easy one, but the full engagement of both types of thinking — left- and right-directed — is wholly consistent with many of the qualities that embody traditional American ingenuity and empathy.

So if Pink is correct, we're almost there. All it may take is for individuals and institutions to recognize this reality by using the tools we already possess. And that may well require A Whole New Mind.

Originally published on Monday, May 9, 2005 in The Miami Herald

Johnny Bunko and friends

Daniel Pink, a fantastic writer and visionary, is the author of two great books; Free Agent Nation which came out in 2002 and is about the rise of the independent worker, and “A Whole New Mind” from 2005, about the future of creativity and how integrating our creative and pragmatic minds gives us, well, a whole new mind.

His latest book, “The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You'll Ever Need” is something else entirely. It’s manga, the Japanese form of graphic storytelling, like a comic book or graphic novel. Actually, it’s a westernized version of manga, read right to left (like Hebrew) and not the other way around, as in English, but the artist, Rob Ten Pas, incorporates most of the medium’s conventions, so unless you’re a nit-picker or mega-fanboy, manga it is! (A formal review of it, along with a couple of more traditional offerings, is below.)

Anyway, there’s a video promo for the book here (and a q&a session here), plus a website with excerpts and more. In fact, before very long, the whole book will be on the site, since Pink is posting a couple of pages every few days. Or you can get a big chunk online.

The six secrets in the Bunko book are vital lessons for nearly any successful career. They are: 1. There is no plan, 2. Think strengths, not weaknesses, 3. It's not about you, 4. Persistence trumps talent, 5. Make excellent mistakes, and 6. Leave an imprint.

What do the “lessons” mean? Well, the trailer will give you a good idea, but the book is quite entertaining (really!), well illustrated, short enough (160 pages), and you can get it for about ten bucks on Amazon so check it out.

But the idea behind it, in Pink’s own words, is that "most career books just plain stink. They’re too long, too boring, and too quickly outdated. Today most people get their tactical career information online — how to write a resume, what questions to ask in an interview, who to use as a reference, etc. What they want in a book, or so people tell me, are (sic) what they can’t get from Google. They want strategic lessons — and they want it presented in an accessible, to-the-point way. Most career books take about 30 hours to plow through. You can read this book in an hour.”

Creating a career is a job
Three new books offer advice for those seeking clarity while pursuing career goals.
BY RICHARD PACHTER

For most people, career paths are unclear at best. Maybe some athletes or artists have a defined course to follow, but even then, things change. For the rest of us, change happens despite our best intentions or hopes for the contrary.

Three new books offer advice and wisdom for those who seek to define their life's work.

The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You'll Ever Need. Daniel H. Pink, Rob Ten Pas. Riverhead Books. 160 pages.

Daniel Pink has blown my mind for a third time. His first book, Free Agent Nation, was a prescient and insightful survey of the tectonic shifts occurring in the topography of work and careers. The next one, A Whole New Mind showed how true integration of the right and left sides of the brain, combining the creative with the pragmatic, is the way of the future. But this new one is a real trip. It's a comic, er, graphic novel. But that's not correct, either. It's really an ersatz, westernized version of manga, the Japanese comic art form.

Here, Pink, abetted by award-winning artist Rob Ten Pas, creates an illustrated career guide that blows away all the rest with its clarity, simplicity and intelligence. There's also humor, a little romance, caricatured villainy, corporate conflict and more. While the ideas herein are strong and attractively presented, the medium with which they are conveyed makes them irresistible. The flashback of the protagonist's job interview will resonate with anyone who has gone through that ridiculous exercise.

Any career consultant — or high-school guidance counselor — who doesn't immediately order copies of this book in bulk is missing the boat — big time. If you're skeptical, check out the author's cool but clean website to see for yourself. There's also a generous sample of the book online.


How'd You Score That Gig?: A Guide to the Coolest Jobs and How to Get Them. Alexandra Levit. Ballantine. 352 pages.

For those who still like to read words without pictures, Levit provides a very nice career catalog. Of particular value to those just starting out — or starting again — she presents a number of personality types (she calls them ''passion profiles'') that link to different careers and jobs. Her style is both personal and personable, and you'll learn a bit about her own life and travails while reading this book. That's not always a good or useful thing, but here it works just fine. For example, in the section on marketing, Levit discusses her own experiences in that mysterious profession.

But it's not just focused on her life. There are numerous short notes in each section from professionals in those fields. My only criticism is that the book runs a little long, due partly to its casual, conversational tone. But it needn't be read sequentially, so skipping around may alleviate this concern.


Job Hunting Online. Mark Emery Bolles and Richard Nelson Bolles. Ten Speed Press. 224 pages.

Looking for a job is a job unto itself, with requisite skills that have been transformed — just like everything else — by technology. If you're accustomed to dealing with employment agencies and newspaper classified ads, it's a different world now. Online is where it's at, with Craigslist, CareerBuilder, Monster and a host of other online resources providing the means to find and be found by prospective employers.

For those who are stymied by the changes, Richard Bolles, the guy behind the popular What Color Is Your Parachute, and his son, Mark, will set you straight.

Reviews published 4/21/08 in the Miami Herald; preface originally appeared on Moli.com

Good book review!

I published a review of Johnny Bunko by Dan Pink a couple of weeks ago in The Miami Herald. The next week, I reviewed Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds (and two other books).

I took a look at Garr's site and discovered that he, too, reviewed Pink's book — in his own way. And here it is.

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