The Voice of Retail The Power of Regret: An Exclusive Feature Interview with Best-Selling Author Dan Pink
Welcome to the The Voice of Retail , I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada.
Daniel Pink believes that regret is our most misunderstood emotion.
In his quest to reclaim the power of regret as a force for good, Dan has written a breakthrough book that speaks to regret as a key component of human existence - an emotion that prompts us to look backwards in order to clarify how we want to move forwards.
Today on The Voice of Retail, I talk with Dan about his own relationship to regret, what inspired him to study this tumultuous emotion and some of the key research points and insights from his latest book, The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward.
Stay tuned for insights on reconnecting with regret and what we can learn from the 16,000 regrets that people from all over the world submitted to Dan’s online platform.
Thanks for tuning into this special episode of The Voice of Retail. If you haven’t already, be sure and click subscribe on your favourite podcast platform so new episodes will land automatically twice a week, and check out my other retail industry media properties; the Remarkable Retail podcast, the Conversations with CommerceNext podcast, and the Food Professor podcast. Last but not least, if you are into Barbeque, check out my all new YouTube barbecue show, Last Request Barbeque, with new episodes each and every week!
I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company & Maven Media, and if you’re looking for more content, or want to chat follow me on LinkedIn, or visit my website meleblanc.co! Have a safe week everyone!
About Daniel Pink
Daniel H. Pink is the author of several provocative, bestselling books about business, work, creativity, and behavior.
His books include:
- When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing unlocks the scientific secrets to good timing to help you flourish at work, at school, and at home. When spent four months on the New York Times bestseller list. It was also a Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, and USA Today bestseller. Several outlets (including Amazon, iBooks, and Goodreads) named it one of the best non-fiction books of 2018. It is being translated into 33 languages.
- To Sell is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others, which uses social science to offer a fresh look at the art and science of sales. To Sell is Human was a #1 bestseller on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post lists and has been translated into 34 languages. More than a dozen outlets, from Amazon.com to The Washington Post, selected it as one of the best books of the year. It also won the American Marketing Association’s Berry Book Prize as the year’s best book on marketing.
- Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, which draws on 50 years of behavioral science to overturn the conventional wisdom about human motivation. Along with being a Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and Publishers Weekly bestseller, Drive spent 159 weeks on the New York Times (main and extended) bestseller lists. A national bestseller in Japan and the United Kingdom, the book has been translated into 40 languages.
- A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future, which charts the rise of right-brain thinking in modern economies and describes the six abilities individuals and organizations must master in an outsourced, automated age. A Whole New Mind was on the New York Times (main and extended) bestseller lists for 96 weeks over four years. It has been a Freshman Read at several U.S. colleges and universities. In 2008, Oprah Winfrey gave away 4,500 copies of the book to Stanford University’s graduating class when she was the school’s commencement speaker.
- The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need, the first American business book in the Japanese comic format known as manga and the only graphic novel ever to become a BusinessWeek bestseller. Illustrated by award-winning artist Rob Ten Pas, The Adventures of Johnny Bunko was named an American Library Association best graphic novel for teens.
- Free Agent Nation: The Future of Working for Yourself, a Washington Post bestseller that Publishers Weekly says “has become a cornerstone of employee-management relations.” In 2013, the U.S. Department of Labor and the Library of Congress selected Free Agent Nation as one of 100 Books That Shaped Work in America.
- Pink was host and co-executive producer of “Crowd Control,” a television series about human behavior on the National Geographic Channel that aired in more than 100 countries. He has appeared frequently on NPR, PBS, ABC, CNN, and other TV and radio networks in the US and abroad.
He has been a contributing editor at Fast Company and Wired as well as a business columnist for The Sunday Telegraph. His articles and essays have also appeared in The New York Times, Harvard Business Review, The New Republic, Slate, and other publications. He was also a Japan Society Media fellow in Tokyo, where he studied the country’s massive comic industry.
Before venturing out on his own 20 years ago, Dan worked in several positions in politics and government, including serving from 1995 to 1997 as chief speechwriter to Vice President Al Gore.
He received a BA from Northwestern University, where he was a Truman Scholar and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and a JD from Yale Law School. He has also received honorary doctorates from Georgetown University, the Pratt Institute, the Ringling College of Art and Design, the University of Indianapolis, and Westfield State University.
Pink and his wife live in Washington, DC. They are the parents of two recent college graduates and a college freshman.
Buy the book: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/the-power-of-regret-how/9780735210653-item.html?ikwid=the+power+of+regret&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0#algoliaQueryId=6502f49431a758699c7276ecce7d1ae6
Our previous interview on The Voice of Retail : https://the-voice-of-retail.simplecast.com/episodes/tal-zvi-nathanel-ceo-of-showfields-and-dan-pink-nyt-best-selling-author-share-their-insights-on-retail-experience-working-and-adapting-in-the-covid-19-ear
About Michael
Michael is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. He has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions with C-level executives and participated on thought leadership panels worldwide. Michael was recently added to ReThink Retail’s prestigious Top 100 Global Retail Influencers for a second year in 2022.
Michael is also the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts, including Canada’s top retail industry podcast, The Voice of Retail, plus the Remarkable Retail with author Steve Dennis, Global E-Commerce Tech Talks and The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois. Most recently, Michael launched Conversations with CommerceNext, a podcast focussed on retail eCommerce, digital marketing and retail careers - all available on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music and all major podcast platforms. Michael is also the producer and host of the “Last Request Barbeque” channel on YouTube where he cooks meals to die for and influencer riches.
Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.
Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada’s Retail Marketing conference with leaders from Walmart & Google. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.
Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.
Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fifth year in a row, the National Retail Federation has designated Michael as on their Top Retail Voices for 2025, Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail, RTIH has named him a top 100 global though leader in retail technology and Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael’s cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.
Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.