In The Pink

Meaning: In perfect condition, especially of health.

Origin

The general usage of this phrase has altered somewhat since it first entered the language. We now usually see it with the specific meaning of 'the pink of condition', i.e. in the best possible health. It is to assume an association between 'the pink of condition' as the best that one can hope for.

Full disclosure: I think that I have a man crush on www.DanPink.com  All of his books are great. His Ted.com talk rocks. I have been chasing him to give a keynote for our team and his last email to me on the topic said “One day, Tom.... one day”. Dan has figured out a way to masterfully bridge the virtual and “real” worlds via technology. 

I was going to buy his new book anyway. But if I pre-ordered his book, the promises from the website were too good to ignore:

Anybody who ordered the new book To Sell is Human — hardcover or e-book, from any bookseller — before December 30, 2012, received the following:

1. A free 20-page PDF workbook, based on To Sell is Human, giving you a two-week plan to get better at selling and a head start on those who won’t have the book until January.
2. A free New Year’s Day webinar – with an exclusive look at the ideas, people, and publications that Dan will be watching in 2013 along with a chance to ask Dan questions live.
3. A free customized Field Notes memo book – Dan's favorite notebook of all time, printed in a (very) limited edition batch commemorating publication of the book.
4. A free signed To Sell is Human bookplate.
5. A free audio download of a one-hour special edition of Office Hours (which won’t be available anywhere else) featuring exclusive interviews with Robert Cialdini, author of the classic book, Influence, and Adam Grant, the Wharton professor’s not-yet-published study is one of the biggest pieces of news in To Sell is Human.

All five freebies were cool - but #2 above was amazing. Do you remember your New Year’s day? (...it was only a few days ago).  What were you doing at 1pm EST on 1/1/13? I spent my New Year’s day with Dan Pink. From his home office, he hosted a live webinar. He fielded questions from a worldwide audience of first movers. This was an invite-only event for those people who bought his book before 12/30/12. Me in my home office in New Jersey, Dan in his home office in Washington DC, on a national holiday. It was very cool indeed. It felt like I was attending a virtual book signing.

Dan’s website is well done on many levels.  It is clean, well thought out and easy to navigate. He is an author, and he makes it easy to buy his books. He is a speaker, and he makes it easy to contact him for speaking engagements. His website has an elegant use of video, audio, and social media. His website is a tool - it is a portal to the world of Dan Pink.

OFFICE HOURS  http://www.danpink.com/office-hours

About once a month, Dan opens the phone lines for an hour -- and special guests and Dan take your questions about work, business, life and everything else. Think of it as "Car Talk" . . . for the human engine.  Do this - sign up for Dan’s newsletter. Listen to some of the archived “Office Hours” and tell me what you think. I don’t know of many people that have so successfully bridged the virtual to the real world.

A great number of the people who read my blog have a website (or a blog) of their own. Most have dabbled with Twitter, Facebook and maintain a LinkedIn account. Some folks that are reading this will launch their own eBook this year.

If you are looking for a shining example of what works (including a glimpse into the future of global distance learning), the multi-disciplined world of www.DanPink.com is a good place to start.  

Class dismissed.