I check out TED videos every chance I get because they comprise a treasury of information, insights, and wisdom provided by thought leaders in one or more of three fields: Technology, Entertainment, and Design. Dan Pink has much of value to say about all three.

He is the author of several provocative, bestselling books about the changing world of work. His latest book, DRiVE: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, uses 40 years of behavioral science to overturn the conventional wisdom about human motivation and offer a more effective path to high performance. A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future charts the rise of right-brain thinking in modern economies and describes the six abilities individuals and organizations must master in an outsourced, automated age. A Whole New Mind is a long-running New York Times and BusinessWeek bestseller that has been translated into 21 languages. Pink’s first book, Free Agent Nation: The Future of Working for Yourself, was a Washington Postbestseller that Publishers Weekly says it “has become a cornerstone of employee-management relations.” His next book, To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others, will be published in December (2012).

His articles on business and technology appear in many publications, including The New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, and Wired, where he is a contributing editor. A free agent himself, Dan held his last real job in the White House, where he served from 1995 to 1997 as chief speechwriter to Vice President Al Gore. He also worked as an aide to U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich and in other positions in politics and government. He received a BA, with honors, from Northwestern University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and a JD from Yale Law School. To his lasting joy, he has never practiced law.