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Free Agent Nation: The Future of Working for Yourself
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Sales rank 298,305
Customers rating (based on 63 reviews)
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If you’re having a baby, you read What To Expect When You’re Expecting. If you’re considering law school, you read One L. And if you’re thinking about working for yourself, you read Free Agent Nation—Daniel Pink’s contemporary classic about leaving the corporate rat race. Widely acclaimed for its engaging style and provocative perspective,Free Agent Nation has helped thousands transform their working lives. Now the paperback edition of this business bestseller features an all-new section: a comprehensive 30-page resource guide that explains the basics of working for yourself (how to get started, where to find health insurance, how to market yourself) and includes 101 Free Agent Survival Tips culled from successful solo workers nationwide. Hip and hopeful, Free Agent Nation will change and your thinking – and maybe even change your life. Read it today to free yourself tomorrow.
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| Publisher | Business Plus | | Release date | 05/2002 | | Availability | Usually ships in 24 hours | | Edition | Paperback |
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Land of the free agent: Free Agent Nation argues-persuasively-that America's workplaces are about to be transformed by millions who find greater freedom and flexibility in self-employment (@ The Economist)
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 Excellent, inspiring
Even though this is nearly a decade old, I found it to be very relevant. If/When I decide to strike out as a Free-Agent, I will refer to this book often!
 We Are All Free Agents Now
Though starting to show it's age in some aspects, this book provides an invaluable insight into the redistribution of power between employees and employers. As the marketplace is beginning to teem with young people who do not know who was Organization Man, the very nature of work will profoundly shift in the next decade or two much the way work shifted with the introduction of the mass production assembly line in the early 20th century. Reading this book will help you to think like a free agent, essentially an independent contractor, even if you continue to work for one employer, and this mindset of free agency will be essential to survive this century even if you always work for someone else as an employee rather than as a consultant. If free agency is on your radar, then this book will give lots of practical food for thought and ideas to spur you forward.
Excellent!
A must read to understand the new the world as we are beginning to see/live it.
 Not a fan of the Maslow references, but good book overall.
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.
A Nation of Individuals
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.
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