A Whole New Mind | Daniel Pink

Why I Wrote A Whole New Mind

What You'll Learn in A Whole New Mind

The structure of our brains offers a metaphor for the contours of our times. We’re moving from a world that prizes metaphorically “left brain” skills (logical, linear, spreadsheet skills) to one that prizes more “right brain” skills (artistry, empathy, big picture thinking.)
The three forces moving us in his new direction: Abundance, Automation, and Asia. Significantly higher living standards have put a premium on creating new categories of products and services and enhancing existing offerings with greater beauty and meaning. Software, and now AI, has become adept at doing certain routine intellectual work faster and better than humans. And offshoring has driven down the price of that reductive work.
The most important abilities are no longer high tech – but "high concept" and "high touch." These abilities are hard to outsource, hard to automate, and deliver on the new demands of an abundant world.
The core high concept abilities: Design, Story, and Symphony. Today, you need to be able to think like a designer (combining utility and significance), a story teller (putting facts in context and delivering them with emotional impact), and a symphony conductor (combining disparate pieces into a whole great than the sum of its parts.)
The core high touch abilities: Empathy, Play, and Meaning. You also need to see other’s eyes, hear with others’ ears, and feel with others’ hearts. Playfulness is not only a source of joy, but also a pathway to more intense creativity and inspiration. And the pursuit of meaning and significance has taken on new importance in a world of increasing material well-being.

Most Highlighted on Kindle

"High concept involves the capacity to detect patterns and opportunities, to create artistic and emotional beauty, to craft a satisfying narrative, and to combine seemingly unrelated ideas into something new. High touch involves the ability to empathize with others, to understand the subtleties of human interaction, to find joy in one’s self and to elicit it in others, and to stretch beyond the quotidian in pursuit of purpose and meaning. "
"Symphony, as I call this aptitude, is the ability to put together the pieces. It is the capacity to synthesize rather than to analyze; to see relationships between seemingly unrelated fields; to detect broad patterns rather than to deliver specific answers; and to invent something new by combining elements nobody else thought to pair."
"They’ll need to do what workers abroad cannot do equally well for much less money— using R- Directed abilities such as forging relationships rather than executing transactions, tackling novel challenges instead of solving routine problems, and synthesizing the big picture rather than analyzing a single component. "
"When facts become so widely available and instantly accessible, each one becomes less valuable. What begins to matter more is the ability to place these facts in context and to deliver them with emotional impact."
"Mastery of design, empathy, play, and other seemingly “soft” aptitude is now the main way for individuals and firms to stand out in a crowded marketplace."

Purchase Now:

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

The future belongs to a different kind of person with a different kind of mind: artists, inventors, storytellers-creative and holistic "right-brain" thinkers whose abilities mark the fault line between who gets ahead and who doesn't.

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Audible

Porchlight

Bookshop.org

Awards & Accolades

96 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list (main and extended)

Wall Street Journal and Washington Post bestseller

Oprah Winfrey gave away 4,500 copies of the book to Stanford University's graduating class during her 2008 commencement address.

Selected as First Year Read at more than a dozen colleges and universities

"An audacious and powerful work. . . Pink is not some grim prophet of doom. He uses the coming changes as a springboard for exploring the nature of personal fulfillment, success, and humanity."

Miami Herald

“This book is a miracle. Completely original and profound.”

Tom Peters

Author of In Search of Excellence

“A breezy, good-humored read... For those wishing to give their own creative muscles a workout, the book is full of exercises and resources.”

Harvard Business Review

“A profound read."

Booklist

“Masterful . . . well-researched and delightfully well-written."

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

“Thought-provoking.”

International Herald Tribune

"Long on readable analysis and exercises to build right-brain skills. For soon-to-be liberal arts graduates, it makes an encouraging graduation gift."

Books