Pink's latest book is The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller. The book examines the scientific literature on motivation, outlines the perils of extrinsic motivators, and describes the three key elements of truly effective motivation: autonomy, mastery, and purpose. Drive concludes with a toolkit of ways individuals, managers, parents, and companies can intensify their use of effective motivators and decrease their dependence on extrinsic motivators.

A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future is a New York Times and BusinessWeek bestseller that has been translated into 18 languages. In this book, he argues that today's workplace has shifted from an "Information Age" that valued knowledge workers to a "Conceptual Age" that values creativity and right-brain-directed (R-directed) aptitudes. Consequently creators and empathizers have the competitive advantage in today's economy, he argues. Pink considers six R-Directed aptitudes to be most critical to success: design, story, symphony, empathy, play, and meaning. By developing and cultivating these six "senses," he writes, workers can increase their value in today's workplace.

Pink's 2008 book, The Adventures of Johnny Bunko, was the first American business book in the Japanese comic format known as manga. Illustrated by Wisconsin-based illustrator Rob Ten Pas, The Adventures of Johnny Bunko is a career guide that tells the fictional story of a creative young man who is stuck in a dead-end job that leaves him bored and uninspired. By accidentally conjuring a genie/career counselor one night when working late, Bunko learns six lessons that he considers essential for thriving in the world of work: (1) There is no plan; (2) Think strengths, not weaknesses; (3) It's not about you; (4) Persistence trumps talent; (5) Make excellent mistakes; and (6) Leave an imprint. Pink wrote The Adventures of Johnny Bunko after winning a Japan Society Media Fellowship in 2007 that took him to Tokyo to study the manga industry.

Pink's first book was Free Agent Nation: The Future of Working for Yourself. In this book Pink summarizes the changing definition of employment and describes the economic and psychological forces that he argues have shifted the workplace in favor of the free agent. The original idea for this book came from a cover story Pink wrote in Fast Company about the growth of free agency. The overwhelming response he received to this article inspired him to travel across America interviewing hundreds independent workers. Free Agent Nation is Pink's synthesis of these interviews with a review of literature on labor.

Books

• 2009: Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, ISBN 978-1594488849
• 2008: The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You'll Ever Need, ISBN 978-1594482915
• 2006: A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future, ISBN 978-1594481710
• 2001: Free Agent Nation: The Future of Working for Yourself, ISBN 978-0446678797

Selected Articles

• Japan, Ink: Inside the Manga-Industrial Complex (Wired, November 2007)
• What Kind of Genius Are You? (Wired, July 2006)
• Pomp and Circumspect (New York Times, June 4, 2005)
• The Book Stops Here (Wired, May 2005)

Interviews

• Oprah Soul Series interview (Fall 2008) (See also: O, The Oprah Magazine interview)
• Brian Lehrer Show interview (Spring 2008)
• Interview with Cory Doctorow at Book Expo America (Spring 2008)