Quote

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

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Daniel H. Pink
Age: 60
Born: 1964
Born: January 1
Author
Journalist
Writer
Daniel Pink
Dan Pink
Talking
Mediocre
Jobs
Divides
Speak
Opposite
Next
Opposites
Others
Listening
Ends
Saying
Many
Waiting
Typically
Going
Attention
Divide

More quotes by Daniel H. Pink

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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
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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
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Greatness and nearsightedness are incompatible. Meaningful achievement depends on lifting one's sights and pushing toward the horizon.
Daniel H. Pink
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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
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Asking Why? can lead to understanding. Asking Why not? can lead to breakthroughs.
Daniel H. Pink
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Tens of millions of people have iPods, whereas eight years ago, they didn't know they were missing them.
Daniel H. Pink
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It's nothing short of a whole new brain... animated by a different form of thinking and a new approach to life.
Daniel H. Pink
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Experimentalists never know when their work is finished.
Daniel H. Pink
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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.
Daniel H. Pink
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The ultimate freedom for creative groups is the freedom to experiment with new ideas. Some skeptics insist that innovation is expensive. In the long run, innovation is cheap. Mediocrity is expensive—and autonomy can be the antidote.” TOM KELLEY General Manager, IDEO
Daniel H. Pink
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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
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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
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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
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Rewards can deliver a short-term boost—just as a jolt of caffeine can keep you cranking for a few more hours. But the effect wears off—and, worse, can reduce a person’s longer-term motivation to continue the project.
Daniel H. Pink
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The misuse of extrinsic rewards, so common in business, impedes creativity, stifles personal satisfaction and turns play into work.
Daniel H. Pink
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One aspect of play is the importance of laughter, which has physiological and psychological benefits. Did you know that there are thousands of laughter clubs around the world? People get together and laugh for no reason at all!
Daniel H. Pink
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Studying design has made me a much, much more astute observer of this aspect of business. And I'm working mightily to improve my empathic skills. I've dramatically improved my ability to read facial expressions - and I'm trying to be a better, more attentive listener.
Daniel H. Pink
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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.
Daniel H. Pink
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I think this book, Matthew Desmond's Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City., if you have a friend who is a public official, hand him or her this book. It's that important. And this book raises some serious questions about what kind of country do we want to be.
Daniel H. Pink
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But in the end, mastery involves working and working and showing little improvement, perhaps with a few moments of flow pulling you along, then making a little progress, and then working and working on that new, slightly higher plateau again. It's grueling, to be sure. But that's not the problem that's the solution.
Daniel H. Pink