Dan has a peculiar fascination with work. It’s the inspiration behind his books Drive, A Whole New Mind, Johnny Bunko and Fast Company‘s blog Free Agent Nation. Dan thinks of his work as a writer in terms of bricks and mortar—manual labor that’s more “hands than head.” And that’s true in many respects. Dan has a dogged discipline of putting his hands to work, conducting copious research and banging out one best-seller after another. More than a topical area, though, Dan uses work as a lens to understand humanity and how societies function.

Just think about it. Most people spend at least half of their waking hours working. Understand that and you have a window into understanding human beings—what makes us tick as individuals and citizens. It’s Dan’s insatiable curiosity about the way societies work and his genuine love of people that make him one of the most influential cultural anthropologists of our time…and a perfect person to provide perspective on the Let Go & Lead project.