Free Agent Nation: The Future of Working for Yourself,   ISBN:9780446678797

Customer Rating: 

I liked the book, but not as much as I thought I would. I like the topic, as I think the author definitely is on to something with the trend toward independent consulting and small businesses representing such a large portion of America's enterprise activity. However, I wasn't too impressed by his latching on to Maslow's Heirarchy as his main metphore- given that it's so outdated and lacks any real scientific validity. It was a good book with many good points, but it didn't live up to my expectations.

Customer Rating: 

Daniel Pink reports the results of his background research and a large number of interviews with "free agents" who work for themselves as consultants, contractors, and small businesses of one. He claims that this is a growing trend in the American workforce and explores the lifestyles, business plans, and satisfaction of these independent workers.

We are no longer in the "new economy" of 2002 and the playing field has changed a bit. Is this book still worth reading? In the reviewer's opinion, it remains relevant for three reasons. First, even in a challenging, then recovering economy, there are many opportunities for "nanocorps" that can offer quick, flexible service to corporations that don't want to bring those services inside. Second, the recent economic pressures have spurred many to pursue after-hours work in a second job that supplements their daytime paycheck. Much of the author's advice is relevant to members of this second-shift workforce who don't have to entirely support themselves as free agents.

The third and best reason to read this book applies to those working for large companies as well as free agents, second-shifters, and other independents. Even if you are in a seemingly secure job, you should take a large measure of responsibility for your own career, thinking like a free agent or as someone who may become one with very little notice. This includes taking initiative to develop new skills, even funding training out of your own pocket. It may include purchasing your own computer equipment, reference materials and business cards when your employer will not. This book encourages all of us to prepare for portability to another organization--or to no organization. We are more occupationally and financially secure if we listen to this advice.

A final thought. As we move into an era of increased government regulation, what will happen to free agents? It is unlikely all will be absorbed into large organizations, even if the regulatory environment becomes unfriendly to small businesses. Some, perhaps many, will go underground to become economic partisans, fighting their own low-profile war for survival. I wonder if a new version of the book will be released as "Black Market Nation?"

This book is recommended. The author's latest thinking about the workforce can be found on the "Fast Company" web site and in his latest book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us.

Customer Rating: 

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2DSD4ECEZBYTR Austin Brockmeier's review was made as part of a critical review assignment for the Spring 2009 Economics of Technology seminar at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, taught by Art Diamond. (The course syllabus stated that part of the critical review assignment consisted of the making of a video recording of the review, and the posting of the review to Amazon.)

Customer Rating: 

Over the past few months I have been developing the idea of what I call the "new entrepreneur". This is someone who starts their own business, not because they have the entrepreneurial drive to start businesses, but rather because they provide a service and they prefer to work in an independent capacity. Some of them might not even have a choice, as corporations downsize and contract out much of their work.

Upon hearing about my idea, my friend Betsy recommended that I pick up Daniel Pink's Free Agent Nation. Daniel had examined the process of more and more people leaving the employ of large corporations and going out on their own. He calls these individuals "free agents" because they are free to work on their own terms, and their experiences can vary from a temp working as a secretary to a graphic designer running their own media company. Many of these individuals fall into my description of the new entrepreneur.

Daniel points out 4 factors that have helped shift many people into free agency during the end of the twentieth and the beginning of the twenty-first century:

1. The social contract of work (security for loyalty) crumbled .
2. The means of production were democratized (cf. The Long Tail).
3. Prosperity allowed people to work for meaning, not just money.
4. The half-life of organizations shrunk.

What this has really done is changed many work relationships from vertical (working in a hierarchical corporation) to horizontal (working with equal partners to accomplish specific objectives). And with the continuing changes in the American economy, I think that this pattern will become more prevalent in the near future.

One thing that stood out strongly was the free agent org chart. It's something that I've been seeing in my business and my clients' businesses over the past few years. It involves a revolving set of business relationships that coalesce over individual projects. It reinforces that one of the most important components to success as a free agent is the strength of a person's network. The network creates opportunities for referral business, but more importantly it creates connections to the "partners" that can help the free agent complete a project.

Daniel makes me feel good about my career choice by pointing out the importance of coaches in a work/life structure that's very fluid and exposes individuals to a lot more risk (no more hiding behind a veil of corporate security). As he says: "In a sense, coaches are shrinks without the couches, management consultants without the flow charts, and sympathetic bartenders without the shot glasses" (pg 181).

Did you know that the American system of tying health insurance to your job is an historical accident, and doesn't have logical precedent (the US is the only Western country that does this)? It keeps a lot of people tied to jobs they're not happy with and are unproductive in. Another reason for health care reform!

The idea of blending vs. balancing is very powerful and gives me a great way to talk to my clients about how to manage their time when they are working on their own. I've seen it a lot already, where a person will work in spurts throughout the day to include family responsibilities. For example, they create their work schedule so they can take their kids to school and pick them up in the afternoon. I think that looking at the process as blending is a lot less stressful than trying to create balance. The idea of creating balance seems to stress people out more because they think they have to work at it (and their afraid they'll fall out of balance).

I think this is a fun read for someone who is a free agent, or for someone in corporate HR who is wondering how to work with the ever-increasing population of free agents. Daniel does a bit of predicting, which even in the 5 years since Free Agent Nation was written has been pretty off. Besides that, though, he provides a great snapshot of the dynamic process of economic evolution in the U.S. in the last twenty years.

Customer Rating: 

At a macro level Dan Pinks view of the "free agent nation" is interesting. The information is well presented and opens a vault of thought and consideration for taking a closer look at micro business. I was looking for more case studies. A peek into a few more examples of how individuals were making sustainable transitions away from the main stream. I looked to this title for inspiration and it didn't deliver to my expectations. A good read, but not compelling enough to re-visit.