A Whole New Mind
A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink is an interesting and practical book. There are two parts: Part 1 deals with the topic on conceptual age and Part 2 explores the six senses needed to develop the whole new mind ready for this new era.
Pink talks about how our future will depend on our ability to ask and answer the following three questions that will determine between who gets ahead and who gets left behind:
Can someone overseas do it cheaper?
Can a computer do it faster?
Am I offering something that satisfies the non-material, transcendent desires of an abundant age?
To cover the above, Pink explains how both sides of our brains (left and right hemispheres) function, leading to “L-Directed Thinking” and “R-Directed Thinking” approaches. We need both approaches to lead fulfilling lives and be productive. “L-Directed Thinking”—sequential, literal, functional, textual, and analytic—used to be the driver. However, the once disdained and dismissed aptitudes of “R-Directed Thinking”—artistry, empathy, taking the long view—are now the factors determining who soars and who stumbles.
To further elaborate his point on the importance of “R-Directed Thinking,” he discusses abundance, Asia (think outsourcing), and automation (think how computers are doing your work better, faster, or cheaper). These have led to the need of high concept and high touch. Therefore, we must perform work that overseas knowledge workers can’t do cheaper, that computers can’t do faster, and that satisfies the aesthetic, emotional and spiritual demands.
With that, Pink distilled the six abilities or senses needed to achieve all of that, which are covered in Part 2 of the book. The six senses are:
Design
Story
Symphony
Empathy
Play
Meaning
Those who master the abilities will have a huge advantage, according to Pink. I believe him too. One chapter is devoted to each of the six senses and he describes how to use them in your business and daily life. Please read the book to find out how. A notable feature of the book is the shaded ‘Portfolio’ section that contains a collection of tools, further readings, and websites to get a better grasp of each of the senses.
I was introduced to many new materials from this book. For example, in the chapter ‘Story,’ I got acquainted with Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. There are many other interesting things awaiting your discovery. I would encourage you not to miss it.
