So, up until recently according to author Daniel Pink, we have been living in the Information Age. To succeed we needed linear, logical, and analytical skills – we needed to use the left side of our brain. In his book A Whole New Mind, Pink tells us we are now moving toward, or are already participating in the Conceptual Age. As he describes it, this is a new global economy that uses skills lodged in the long overlooked right side of our brain. These skills include: creativity, empathy, intuition, and the ability to link seemingly unrelated objects and events into something new and different.
Pink states that in the United States the Agricultural Age (farmers) gave way to the Industrial Age (factory workers), which was then overtaken by the Information Age (knowledge workers). He contends that each of these shifts was caused by the same three factors: (1) affluence, (2) technology, and (3) globalization. And, he states that we are now passing into the Conceptual Age (creators and emphathizers) and again these same three factors (otherwise known as abundance, automation, and Asia are in play.
To succeed in this new age, Pink asserts there are six essential right-brained aptitudes that will be necessary:
- Design – Moving beyond function to engage the senses.
- Story – Narrative added to products and services, not just argument.
- Symphony – Adding invention and big picture thinking, not merely detailed focus.
- Empathy – Going beyond logic and engaging emotions and intuition.
- Play - Bringing humor and light-heartedness to business and products.
- Meaning – Immaterial feelings and values of products.
In the book the author dedicates a chapter to each of these aptitudes, and describes why they will be “must haves” in the Conceptual Age. If you predominantly use the left side of brain, don’t despair, Pink asserts that the skills used by the right side of your brain can be learned and developed. In fact, to be successful in the Conceptual Age he maintains that business people will have to shift from the analytical to the abstract. Instead of looking at details, they are going to have to be able to see the big picture. Business people are already asking themselves: (1) Can someone overseas do it cheaper? (2) Can a computer do it faster? (3) Is what I’m offering in demand in an age of abundance? (The same old three factors discussed above).
As evidence that the world is entering the Conceptual Age, Pink points out what we probably already know, but have not quite yet accepted: rote tasks as well as complex technical jobs, are being increasingly outsourced to workers overseas who will work for much cheaper wages; computers can now perform most left-brained tasks; and consumers who have a wide variety of choice in products won’t settle anymore for something that is only functional and economical – they also want products that are distinctive and beautiful.
In A Whole New Mind, Pink provides an abundance of evidence to support his premise that “right-brained and holistic skills will mark the difference between success and failure in the global business world today and in the foreseeable future.”
This was an easy book to read, but feel that the new ideas and concepts the author outlined will not be so easy for some people to accept. However, when I look around me and see all the changes taking place in the business world today, I can’t help but believe Mr. Pink is onto something.
Read the book and let me know what you think.
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