A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future

By Daniel H. Pink

Mind
Future

Book overview

A Whole New Mind: Why Right-brainers Will Rule the Future is a book by Daniel H. Pink, author of Free Agent Nation. A Whole New Mind posits that the future of global business belongs to the right-brainers. The book was published by Riverhead Books on March 24, 2005.

A historical narrative begins the text by outlining four major "ages":

Agricultural Age (farmers)
Industrial Age (factory workers)
Information Age (knowledge workers)
Conceptual Age (creators and empathizers)

In the fourth stage, Pink focuses on the way in which businesses can become successful.

Pink references three prevailing trends pointing towards the future of business and the economy: Abundance (consumers have too many choices, nothing is scarce), Asia (everything that can be outsourced, is) and Automation (computerization, robots, technology, processes).

These trends, Pink writes, bring up three crucial questions for the success of any business:

Can a computer do it faster?
Is what I'm offering in demand in an age of abundance?
Can someone overseas do it cheaper?

When these questions are present, creativity becomes the competitive difference that can differentiate commodities. Pink outlines six essential senses:

Design– Moving beyond function to engage the sense.
Story– Narrative added to products and services - not just argument. Best of the six senses.
Symphony– Adding invention and big picture thinking (not just detail focus).
Empathy– Going beyond logic and engaging emotion and intuition.
Play– Bringing humor and light-heartedness to business and products.
Meaning– the purpose is the journey, give meaning to life from inside yourself.