Last summer, Fast Company contributing editor Dan Pink issued a challenge to the Company of Friends, FC's readers' network: If any group in the network invited him to participate in a free agency-related CoF event, he'd be there. By the end of the year, almost two-dozen CoF groups in North America had taken Dan up on his dare.

'It's hard to disseminate your ideas quickly, and one of the best ways is peer to peer, person to person,' Dan says. 'The Company of Friends hinges on conversation. And CoF members are extremely involved in their communities. They start the conversations.'

In Greensboro, North Carolina, the Triad CoF and the Piedmont Entrepreneurs Network hosted a breakfast meeting at a local catering company, the Painted Plate. They were joined by Professionals in Transition and 40 community members. Dan and the group discussed the state of the economy in North Carolina, governmental support of free agents, and the future of free agency.

'One of the most interesting points that Dan made was about how to use the concepts of free agency even if you work in an organization,' says Susan Brittain, local coordinator for the Triad CoF. 'We had a good mix of free agents and people who work for companies, and Dan went beyond what's been featured in the magazine.'

After having met with hundreds of CoF members and FC readers, Dan says, 'The main thing that I learned is that the CoF is an incredibly powerful phenomenon. And it's a phenomenon in which no one is in charge. It's amazing what people will do if you just sit back and watch.'