The character arc of Daniel Pink
A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record
Born on 23 July 1964 in Columbus, Ohio. Between then and now sit a Northwestern degree as a Truman Scholar, a Yale law degree and the editorship of its law and policy review, a Labor Department post from 1993, chief speechwriting from 1995, independent writing from 1997, Free Agent Nation in 2001, Drive in 2009 and The Power of Regret in 2022. The line below draws the story so far, in order.
Tap the line to pluck it. Hover or tap any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of his life; the sources are at the foot of the page.
Who is Daniel Pink?
He stopped writing other people's words.
He took his first degree at Northwestern, graduating Phi Beta Kappa as a Truman Scholar, and a law degree at Yale, where he was editor-in-chief of the Yale Law and Policy Review. He has never practised law, which makes him the second person in this gallery to walk away from that particular qualification at the top of it.
He was special assistant to the Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich, from 1993 to 1995, and chief speechwriter to the Vice President from 1995 to 1997. Four years of writing arguments that would be delivered in somebody else's voice is an unusual apprenticeship for an author, and it shows in how cleanly his books are built.
He went independent in 1997. Free Agent Nation came in 2001, about the rise of working for yourself, well before that was obvious. A Whole New Mind followed in 2005, then The Adventures of Johnny Bunko in 2008, which is a career guide drawn as a comic. Drive, published in 2009, argues that autonomy, mastery and purpose move people further than money does, and is the one most often quoted. To Sell Is Human came in 2012, When in 2018 on timing, and The Power of Regret in 2022, which argues that regret is useful information rather than a fault.
The moments
Daniel Pink's timeline.
The 1980s
Northwestern, as a Truman
Milestone, and it changed his direction. A Truman Scholarship, which goes to people expected to enter public service.
The 1990s
Yale, and the review
Milestone, and it changed his direction. A law degree he has never practised on, and the editorship that went with it.
The Labor Department
Milestone, and it changed his direction. A first Washington post, straight out of law school.
Chief speechwriter
Milestone, and it changed everything. Two years writing arguments to be delivered in somebody else's voice.
Stay in Washington, or write
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: leave and write alone, taken, or stay on the inside. Seven books followed, and Drive alone changed how a generation of managers talks about motivation.
He went independent
Milestone, and it changed everything. Out of Washington, out of a salary, and writing under his own name.
The 2000s
Free Agent Nation
Milestone, and it changed everything. A book about working for yourself, written before that was obvious to anybody.
A Whole New Mind
Milestone, and it changed his direction. An argument that the next economy would need designers as much as analysts.
Johnny Bunko
Milestone. A career guide drawn as a comic, which nobody had tried.
Drive
Milestone, and it changed everything. Autonomy, mastery and purpose. The three words a generation of managers learned from this book.
The 2010s
To Sell Is Human
Milestone, and it changed his direction. The argument that everybody is already selling something, whatever their job title says.
When
Milestone, and it changed his direction. Timing treated as a subject with evidence behind it, rather than as intuition.
The 2020s
The Power of Regret
Milestone, and it changed everything. Regret as useful information rather than as a fault. It is the least fashionable argument he has made.
The line reaches today still adding to itself, which is why it is drawn now rather than at the end. What it has set moving is a shelf of books that changed how a great many managers think about motivation, timing and regret, written by somebody who spent four years being nobody's name on the page.
What he wrote
Books by Daniel Pink
- 2001
Free Agent Nation
On the rise of working for yourself, written well before that was obvious.
- 2005
A Whole New Mind
Why the next economy would need designers and storytellers as much as analysts.
- 2009
Drive
The surprising truth about what motivates us. Autonomy, mastery and purpose beat money, and the evidence says so.
- 2012
To Sell Is Human
The argument that everybody is already selling something, whatever it says on their door.
- 2018
When
The scientific secrets of perfect timing, treated as evidence rather than instinct.
- 2022
The Power of Regret
Regret as useful information rather than as a fault. His least fashionable argument, and a good one.
Your turn
Every line draws a unique story.
His spent four years writing in other people's voices before using his own. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.
Daniel Pink: frequently asked questions
What people ask about his line.
What is Daniel Pink's character arc?
What is Drive by Daniel Pink?
Was Daniel Pink a speechwriter?
What is The Power of Regret by Daniel Pink?
Where did Daniel Pink study?
What books has Daniel Pink written?
What is To Sell Is Human by Daniel Pink?
Where does this timeline of Daniel Pink's life come from?
More character arcs
Lives that rhyme with his.
Sources
- Daniel H. Pink, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
- United States Department of Labor and Office of the Vice President, staff roles 1993 to 1997.
- Publisher records for Free Agent Nation, Drive, To Sell Is Human, When and The Power of Regret.