Daniel Pink — How to Make Better Decisions and Be More Creative
Photo credit: Nina Subin
“Say something important rather than say important things.”
– Daniel Pink
This podcast explores how to make better decisions, ask better questions, and be more creative. The stories range from escapes to India and speechwriting for Al Gore, to writing bestselling books and using “motivational interviewing” with kids.
The guest is Daniel H. Pink (@danielpink), the author of six provocative books, including his newest, When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing. WHEN is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Washington Post, and Publishers Weekly bestseller. Pink’s other books include the long-running New York Times bestseller A Whole New Mind and the #1 New York Times bestsellers Drive and To Sell is Human. His books have won multiple awards and have been translated into 37 languages. Pink lives in Washington, DC, with his family.
Daniel was the host and co-executive producer of Crowd Control, a television series about human behavior on the National Geographic Channel. For the last six years, London-based Thinkers 50 named him as one of the top-15 business thinkers in the world. Enjoy!
Daniel Pink — How to Make Better Decisions and Be More Creative
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Want to hear another podcast with incredible life advice? — In this episode, I talk with Adam Robinson, Ramit Sethi, and Josh Waitzkin and discuss a variety of topics on business, wealth, and happiness (stream below or right-click here to download):
#210: Becoming the Best Version of Youhttps://rss.art19.com/episodes/af891dbf-46f4-45f0-94b6-3bfd187db8e2.mp3Download
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QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
Scroll below for links and show notes…
Selected Links from the Episode
Connect with Daniel Pink:
When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel H. Pink
A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future by Daniel H. Pink
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink
To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others by Daniel H. Pink
The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need by Daniel H. Pink and Rob Ten Pas
2014 Weinberg College Convocation Address by Daniel Pink (“writing to figure it out” and more)
Yale Law & Policy Review Volume 8, Issue 2 (1990)
The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Atul Gawande
Free Agent Nation by Daniel H. Pink, Fast Company
Levels of the Game by John McPhee
A Sense of Where You Are: Bill Bradley at Princeton by John McPhee
Oranges by John McPhee
The Survival of the Bark Canoe by John McPhee
Annals of the Former World by John McPhee
Motivational Interviewing
Free Agent Nation: The Future of Working for Yourself by Daniel H. Pink
Henry Moore’s Sculptures, Tate
The 4-Hour Chef: The Simple Path to Cooking Like a Pro, Learning Anything, and Living the Good Life by Timothy Ferriss
Daniel Pink’s ‘When’ Shows the Importance Of Timing Throughout Life, All Things Considered with Mary Louise Kelly, NPR
Draft No. 4: On the Writing Process by John McPhee
Future Shock by Alvin Toffler
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen R. Covey
What Is Amazon’s Approach to Product Development and Product Management? answered by Ian McAllister at Quora
Pinkcast 1.12: Why You Should Write a Failure Resume (with Tina Seelig)
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield and Shawn Coyne
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
Animal Farm by George Orwell
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
1984 by Gorge Orwell
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Plot Against America by Philip Roth
Earthseed: The Complete Series by Octavia E. Butler
It Can’t Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis
Cumulus by Eliot Peper
Infomocracy: Book One of the Centenal Cycle by Malka Older
Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers by Timothy Ferriss
The Affair: Season 1
The Lobster Roll
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss
Show Notes
Daniel talks about one of his “best ideas that didn’t go anywhere.” [07:53]
Even though he didn’t pursue a career in law, what did Daniel gain by going to law school? [10:57]
The role of surrogation and intellectual humility in decision making. [15:40]
How did Daniel go from dropping out of law school to speechwriting for Al Gore? [17:54]
Why did Daniel veer away from a career in “the genus of” politics despite a lifelong fascination? [20:20]
How has Daniel become a better speechwriter? [24:49]
We share a love for John McPhee’s ability to write a gripping tale about anything. [38:43]
What is motivational interviewing? [41:33]
To what does Daniel attribute the popularity of his book A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future? [47:36]
Is there a common thread through Daniel’s books? [52:58]
What has been the most difficult book for Daniel to write — and why? [55:43]
What do Daniel’s book outlines look like, and how can he distinguish between a good approach and a bad approach? [58:15]
Why early- to mid-afternoon is a time for caution. [1:03:19]
Moving through the day in three stages, and what Daniel wishes he’d known about cognitive abilities earlier in life. [1:05:21]
When does Daniel usually wake up, and what do the first two hours of his day look like? [1:10:43]
When Daniel is in the process of writing a book, what does his typical week look like? [1:15:00]
Does Daniel take set periods of time between writing books? How does he decide on a new project? [1:15:31]
On pitching a bad book idea to Kevin Kelly (among others) and the arguments against it. [1:20:06]
How Daniel knows he has a good idea for a book. [1:22:30]
How does Daniel keep track of the ideas he saves for potential projects, and what gets picked after removing the “flies from the soup?” [1:25:10]
Don’t know what you really think about something? Sometimes you have to write to figure it out. [1:28:43]
How Daniel formulates his book proposals. [1:34:30]
An important question to ask at the proposal stage: “Who is not going to buy this book?” [1:38:15]
Pondering your target market isn’t always an exercise in political correctness. [1:45:13]
How Daniel turns memorable failures into teachable moments. [1:46:42]
A technique for remembering and learning from missteps: the failure resume. [1:52:19]
What books has Daniel gifted to others? [1:55:19]
Why is Daniel currently obsessed with dystopian fiction? [2:00:11]
“Assume positive intent” as a default setting. [2:01:14]
Catching up, good words to use today, and parting thoughts. [2:04:51]
People Mentioned
Kevin Kelly
Atul Gawande
Al Gore
Robert Reich
Brian Koppelman
Jessica Lerner
John McPhee
Arthur Ashe
Clark Graebner
Michael Pantalon
Henry Moore
David Allen
Charles Yarnoff
Ian McAllister
Tina Seelig
Anne Lamott
Steven Pressfield
Viktor E. Frankl
Philip Roth
Octavia E. Butler
Sinclair Lewis
Eliot Peper
Malka Older
Ray Porter
