BOOK Summary: Free Agent Nation

by Daniel Pink, published in 2001

Free Agent Nation asks some fundamental questions about our work-life. We expect Pink to theorize about changes to the work force. The fact is, it already has changed. Approximately 30 million U.S. workers are already free agents. The good news for women is that they are at the forefront of free agency, and in Pink's estimation, in the best position to take advantage of this growing phenomenon.

10 Points for the W2W Community from Free Agent Nation

1. The new business model is similar to Hollywood’s free agent model – talent is assembled in a specific place, for a specific purpose, derived from informal networks. Once the goal is achieved the team disassembles and moves on.
   • Tom Peters, business guru, supports the point – “Work today is about two things: talent and projects.”
   • The few managers that survive into the future will operate like Hollywood producers – assembling the right group of people for the task.

2. Blending, not balance, is often the answer for those looking to for the boundary between work and personal life – one size does not fit all. This is a positive development for women. As Daniel Pink notes: “Women are a driving force behind free agency, and could possibly dominate the free agent economy.”

3. Many U.S. trends begin in California (think Silicon Valley, commercial power of Hollywood, spread of public higher education etc.) Well, in 1999 2/3 of Californians held non-traditional work positions – independent contractors, self-employed professionals, part-timers, etc.

4. Technology is removing the massive capital outlays to perform many business functions, in doing so it is removing the need for large organizations launching initiatives.

5. An American Management Association study found the best way to retain employees was to offer flexible schedules, sabbaticals, and opportunities to learn.

6. With an increase in employee churn, companies are not investing as much on training. They are pushing the burden on to individuals who in turn account for increased distance learning and community college enrollment.
   • Loyalty has changed from loyalty to firms to loyalty to personal networks. Tom Peters frames the same as – “logo loyalty” changing to “rolodex loyalty”

7. A study by an NYU economist and her University of Pennsylvania colleague found that “45 to 50 percent of workers (and 80 percent of those working more than 50 hours a week) said they would prefer to work fewer hours, and more than 25 percent said they would take a pay cut to make it happen.”

8. Daniel Pink speculates that the reason corporations and government have had such a hard time discovering solutions to the work-family conflicts:
   • Institutions have worked off the assumption that people need help balancing work and family – when most people needed the resources to blend work and family on their own terms in a customized solution.

   • The predominant model for business around the world is the small and mid-size family businesses which account for 60% of all employment. In other words, work and family are naturally blended and often have been throughout history.

   • Women are launching businesses at 2X the rate of men and becoming self-employed at 12X the rate of men. Lastly, women now outnumber men online.