Top 77 Most Inspiring Daniel H. Pink Quotes (DRIVE)

Top 10 Most Famous Daniel H. Pink Quotes (BEST)

“When we make progress and get better at something, it is inherently motivating. In order for people to make progress, they have to get feedback and information on how they’re doing.”
Daniel H. Pink

Control leads to compliance; autonomy leads to engagement.

Greatness and nearsightedness are incompatible. Meaningful achievement depends on lifting one's sights and pushing toward the horizon. — Greatness and nearsightedness are incompatible. Meaningful achievement depends on lifting one’s sights and pushing toward the horizon.

“If you want people to perform better, you reward them, right? Bonuses, commissions, their own reality show. Incentivize them but that’s not happening here. You’ve got an incentive designed to sharpen thinking and accelerate creativity, and it does just the opposite. It dulls thinking and blocks creativity.”
Daniel H. Pink

The three things that motivate creative people – autonomy, mastery, purpose! — The three things that motivate creative people – autonomy, **mastery**, **purpose**!

Asking 'Why' can lead to understanding. Asking 'Why not' can lead to breakthroughs. — Asking ‘Why?’ can lead to understanding. Asking ‘Why not?’ can lead to breakthroughs.

“A lot of times when you have very short-term goals with a high payoff, nasty things can happen. In particular, a lot of people will take the low road there. They’ll become myopic. They’ll crowd out the longer-term interests of the organization or even of themselves.”
Daniel H. Pink

The future belongs to a very different kind of person with a very different kind of mind - creators and empathizers, pattern recognizers and meaning makers. — The **future** belongs to a very different kind of person with a very different kind of mind – creators and empathizers, pattern recognizers and meaning makers.

Change is inevitable, and when it happens, the wisest response is not to wail or whine but to suck it up and deal with it. — **Change** is inevitable, and when it happens, the wisest response is not to wail or whine but to suck it up and deal with it.

“People can have two different mindsets, she says. Those with a “fixed mindset” believe that their talents and abilities are carved in stone. Those with a “growth mindset” believe that their talents and abilities can be developed. Fixed mindsets see every encounter as a test of their worthiness. Growth mindsets see the same encounters as opportunities to improve.”
Daniel H. Pink

19 Thought-Provoking Daniel H. Pink Quotes

“Management did not emanate from nature. Management is not a tree: it’s a television set. Somebody invented it. It doesn’t mean it’s going to work forever. Management is great. Traditional notions of management are great if you want compliance. But if you want engagement, self-direction works better.”
Daniel H. Pink

The monkeys solved the puzzle simply because they found it gratifying to solve puzzles. They enjoyed it. The joy of the task was its own reward.

If you create something, whether it's a painting or a company, I think if you care about it, you have some obligation to go out and tell people about it. — If you create something, whether it’s a **painting** or a company, I think if you care about it, you have some obligation to go out and tell people about it.

“The capacity to see the big picture is perhaps the most important as an antidote to the variety of psychic woes brought forth by the remarkable prosperity and plentitude of our times. Many of us are crunched for time, deluged by information, and paralyzed by the weight of too many choices. The best prescription for these modern maladies may be to approach one’s own life in a contextual, big picture fashion – to distinguish between what really matters and what merely annoys.”
Daniel H. Pink

When the reward is the activity itself – deepening learning, delighting customers, doing one’s best – there are no shortcuts. — When the reward is the activity itself – deepening **learning**, delighting customers, doing one’s best – there are no shortcuts.

All of us want to be part of something bigger than ourselves, something that matters.

“While complying can be an effective strategy for physical survival, it’s a lousy one for personal fulfillment. Living a satisfying life requires more than simply meeting the demands of those in control. Yet in our offices and our classrooms we have way too much compliance and way too little engagement. The former might get you through the day, but only the latter will get you through the night.”
Daniel H. Pink

Do what you can't and experience the beauty of the mistakes you make. — Do what you can’t and **experience** the **beauty** of the mistakes you make.

“Human beings are natural mimickers. The more you’re conscious of the other side’s posture, mannerisms, and word choices – and the more you subtly reflect those back – the more accurate you’ll be at taking their perspective.”
Daniel H. Pink

We're born to be players, not pawns. — We’re born to be players, not pawns.

Too much negative emotion, of course, is debilitating. But too little is also destructive. — Too much negative **emotion**, of course, is debilitating. But too little is also destructive.

In many professions, what used to matter most were abilities associated with the left side of the brain: linear, sequential, spreadsheet kind of faculties. Those still matter, but they’re not enough.
Daniel H. Pink

The lesson of closed doors is to do better next time. The lesson of open doors is to do something now. — The lesson of closed doors is to do better next **time**. The lesson of open doors is to do something now.

Have you ever seen a six-month-old or a three-year-old who’s not curious and self-directed I haven’t. That’s how we are out of the box. — Have you ever seen a six-month-old or a three-year-old who’s not curious and self-directed? I haven’t. That’s how we are out of the box.

“For many of us, the opposite of talking isn’t listening. It’s waiting. When others speak, we typically divide our attention between what they’re saying now and what we’re going to say next – and end up doing a mediocre job at both.”
Daniel H. Pink

We often understand something better when we see it in comparison with something else than when we see it in isolation.

Afternoons are the Bermuda Triangles of our days. Across many domains, the trough represents a danger zone for productivity, ethics, and health. — Afternoons are the Bermuda Triangles of our days. Across many domains, the trough represents a danger zone for **productivity**, ethics, and **health**.

“As Carol Dweck says, “Effort is one of the things that gives meaning to life. Effort means you care about something, that something is important to you and you are willing to work for it. It would be an impoverished existence if you were not willing to value things and commit yourself to working toward them.”
Daniel H. Pink

4 Daniel H. Pink Quotes on Autonomy

“Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected to one another. And when that drive is liberated, people achieve more and live richer lives.”
Daniel H. Pink

We have three innate psychological needs—competence, autonomy, and relatedness. When those needs are satisfied, we’re motivated, productive, and happy. — We have three innate psychological needs—**competence**, autonomy, and relatedness. When those needs are satisfied, we’re motivated, productive, and happy.

“Autonomy: the urge to direct our own lives. Mastery: the desire to get better and better at something that matters. Purpose: the yearning to do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves. These are the building blocks of an entirely new operating system for our businesses.”
Daniel H. Pink

“The billable hours is a classic case of restricted autonomy. I mean, you’re working on – I mean, sometimes on these six-minute increments. So you’re not focused on doing a good job. You’re focused on hitting your numbers. It’s one reason why lawyers typically are so unhappy. And I want a world of happy lawyers.”
Daniel H. Pink

2 Daniel H. Pink Quotes on Education

“Education in general, and higher education in particular, is on the brink of a huge disruption. Two big questions, which were once so well-settled that we ceased asking them, are now up for grabs. What should young people be learning? And what sorts of credentials indicate they’re ready for the workforce?”
Daniel H. Pink

“It’s concerning to me when people look at the course of education as just a means for getting a job four years later. If you’re just doing this because it is going to lead to a ‘good job,’ you’re better off doing something you’re genuinely interested in.”
Daniel H. Pink

4 Daniel H. Pink Quotes on Empathy

“Empathy is about standing in someone else’s shoes, feeling with his or her heart, seeing with his or her eyes. Not only is empathy hard to outsource and automate, but it makes the world a better place.”
Daniel H. Pink

Design. Story. Symphony. Empathy. Play. Meaning. These six senses increasingly will guide our lives and shape our world.

Leadership is about empathy. It is about having the ability to relate and to connect with people for the purpose of inspiring and empowering their lives. — **Leadership** is about empathy. It is about having the ability to relate and to connect with people for the purpose of inspiring and **empowering** their lives.

Empathy is an essential part of living a life of meaning.

8 Daniel H. Pink Quotes on Regret

“Our cognitive apparatus is designed, at least in part, to sustain us in the long term rather than balm us in the near term. We need the ability to regret our poor decisions—to feel bad about them—precisely so we can improve those decisions in the future.”
Daniel H. Pink

Regret makes us human. Regret makes us better.

Regret is better understood less as a thing and more as a process.

Regret is not dangerous or abnormal, a deviation from the steady path to happiness. It is healthy and universal, an integral part of being human. — Regret is not dangerous or abnormal, a deviation from the steady path to **happiness**. It is healthy and universal, an integral part of being human.

By making us feel worse today, regret helps us do better tomorrow.

When feeling is for thinking, and thinking is for doing, regret is for making us better.

Foundation regrets arise from our failures of foresight and conscientiousness. — Foundation regrets arise from our **failures** of foresight and conscientiousness.

When we handle it properly, regret can make us better. Understanding its effects hones our decisions, boosts our performance, and bestows a deeper sense of meaning.

3 Daniel H. Pink Quotes on Intrinsic Motivation

“For artists, scientists, inventors, schoolchildren, and the rest of us, intrinsic motivation – the drive to do something because it is interesting, challenging, and absorbing-is essential for high levels of creativity.”
Daniel H. Pink

Intrinsic motivation is conducive to creativity; controlling extrinsic motivation is detrimental to creativity.

Money can extinguish intrinsic motivation, diminish performance, crush creativity, encourage unethical behavior, foster short-term thinking, and become addictive. — **Money** can extinguish intrinsic motivation, diminish performance, crush creativity, **encourage** unethical behavior, foster short-term thinking, and become addictive.

6 Daniel H. Pink Quotes on Business

“Typically, if you reward something, you get more of it. You punish something, you get less of it. And our businesses have been built for the last 150 years very much on that kind of motivational scheme.”
Daniel H. Pink

To sell well is to convince someone else to part with resources—not to deprive that person, but to leave him better off in the end.

“One of the best predictors of ultimate success in either sales or non-sales selling isn’t natural talent or even industry expertise, but how you explain your failures and rejections.”
Daniel H. Pink

Anytime you're tempted to upsell someone else, stop what you're doing and upserve instead. — Anytime you’re tempted to upsell someone else, stop what you’re doing and upserve instead.

The misuse of extrinsic rewards, so common in business, impedes creativity, stifles personal satisfaction and turns play into work.

4 Daniel H. Pink Quotes for Organizations

“One source of frustration in the workplace is the frequent mismatch between what people must do and what people can do. When what they must do exceeds their capabilities, the result is anxiety. When what they must do falls short of their capabilities, the result is boredom. But when the match is just right, the results can be glorious. This is the essence of flow.”
Daniel H. Pink

Management isn’t about walking around and seeing if people are in their offices. It’s about creating conditions for people to do their best work.

We leave lucrative jobs to take low-paying ones that provide a clearer sense of purpose.

“Goals may cause systematic problems for organizations due to narrowed focus, unethical behavior, increased risk taking, decreased cooperation, and decreased intrinsic motivation. Use care when applying goals in your organization.”
Daniel H. Pink

3 Daniel H. Pink Quotes on Artists

“Symphony is the ability to see the big picture, connect the dots, combine disparate things into something new. Visual artists in particular are good at seeing how the pieces come together. I experienced this myself by trying to learn to draw.”
Daniel H. Pink

What entrepreneurs and artists have in common is that they give the world something it didn't know it was missing. — What **entrepreneurs** and artists have in common is that they give the world something it didn’t know it was missing.

“What do artists do? Artists give people something they didn’t know they were missing: a dance, a piece of music, a painting, a piece of sculpture. Catering to that need is the best business strategy.”
Daniel H. Pink

14 Daniel H. Pink Quotes That Will Make You Think

“Children who are praised for “being smart” often believe that every encounter is a test of whether they really are. So to avoid looking dumb, they resist new challenges and choose the easiest path. By contrast, kids who understand that effort and hard work lead to mastery and growth are more willing to take on new, difficult tasks.”
Daniel H. Pink

Coffee-then-nap combination known as the “nappuccino”.

This is what it means to serve improving another’s life and, in turn, improving the world. — This is what it means to serve: improving another’s life and, in turn, improving the world.

“Goals that people set for themselves and that are devoted to attaining mastery are usually healthy. But goals imposed by others–sales targets, quarterly returns, standardized test scores, and so on–can sometimes have dangerous side effects.”
Daniel H. Pink

When I got to law school, I didn't do very well. To put it mildly, I didn't do very well. I, in fact, graduated in the part of my law school class that made the top 90% possible. — When I got to law school, I didn’t do very well. To put it mildly, I didn’t do very well. I, in fact, graduated in the part of my law school class that made the top 90% possible.

You know, I’m not a huge fan of the concept of ‘passion’ when it comes to careers. Instead of trying to answer the daunting question of ‘What’s your passion?’ it’s better simply to watch what you do when you’ve got time of your own and nobody’s looking.
Daniel H. Pink

The right brain is finally being taken seriously.

Psychological detachment from work, in addition to physical detachment, is crucial.

“Large companies are not going to disappear. Multinational companies with tens of thousands of employees are not going to disappear. In fact, many of them are getting larger because they can benefit from economies of scale.”
Daniel H. Pink