Quotes from Daniel H. Pink

a "grouplet"—a small, self-organized team that has almost no budget and even less authority, but that tries to change something within the company.

for some people work remains routine, unchallenging, and directed by others. But for a surprisingly large number of people, jobs have become more complex, more interesting, and more self-directed.

An object in motion will stay in motion, and an object at rest will stay at rest, unless acted on by an outside force.

Metaphor is the lifeblood of all art." —TWYLA THARP

that enjoyment-based intrinsic motivation, namely how creative a person feels when working on the project, is the strongest and most pervasive driver.

mastery often involves working and working and showing little improvement

We're designed to be active and engaged. And we know that the richest experiences in our lives aren't when we're clamoring for validation from others, but when we're listening to our own voice-doing something that matters, doing it well, and doing it in the service of a cause larger than ourselves.

Today, the defining skills of the previous era—the "left brain" capabilities that powered the Information Age—are necessary but no longer sufficient. And the capabilities we once disdained or thought frivolous—the "right-brain" qualities of inventiveness, empathy, joyfulness, and meaning—increasingly will determine who flourishes and who flounders.

If you believed in the "mediocrity of the masses," as he put it, then mediocrity became the ceiling on what you could achieve.

There's no going back. Pay your son to take out the trash—and you've pretty much guaranteed the kid will never do it again for free.

Motivation is deeply personal and only you know what words or images will resonate with you.

maybe those decisions were bad because he made them in the afternoon

The Power of Breaks, the Promise of Lunch, and the Case for a Modern Siesta

continuing to think about job demands during breaks may result in strain.

Foundation regrets arise from our failures of foresight and conscientiousness. Like all deep structure regrets, they start with a choice. At some early moment, we face a series of decisions. One set represents the path of the ant. These choices require short-term sacrifice, but in the service of a long-term payoff. The other choices represent the path of the grasshopper. This route demands little exertion or assiduousness in the short run, but risks exacting a cost in the long run.

By neglecting the ingredients of genuine motivation—autonomy, mastery, and purpose—they limit what each of us can achieve.

Jobs that offer autonomy but little challenge bore us.

If our lives are the stories we tell ourselves, regret reminds us that we have a dual role. We are both the authors and the actors. We can shape the plot but not fully. We can toss aside the script but not always. We live at the intersection of free will and circumstance.

Remember that deliberate practice has one objective: to improve performance. "People who play tennis once a week for years don't get any better if they do the same thing each time

This era doesn't call for better management. It calls for a renaissance of self-direction.

Several researchers have found that companies that spend the most time offering guidance on quarterly earnings deliver significantly lower long-term growth rates than companies that offer guidance less frequently. (One reason: The earnings-obsessed companies typically invest less in research and development.)

Bezos includes one more chair that remains empty. It's there to remind those assembled who's really the most important person in the room: the customer.

Our current business operating system— which is built around external, carrot-and-stick motivators—doesn't work and often does harm. We need an upgrade. And the science shows the way. This new approach has three essential elements: (1) Autonomy—the desire to direct our own lives; (2) Mastery—the urge to make progress and get better at something that matters; and (3) Purpose—the yearning to do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves.

the more they chat and gossip—the more they get done