The Essential Pink: A Whole New Mind
Pink, Daniel. A Whole New Mind: Why Right Brainers Will Rule the Future. (New York: Berkeley
Publishing, 2006).
Modern society is in a transition from an Information Age (which depended on the left brain) to a Conceptual
Age (which depends more on the right), which prizes the following aptitudes:
High Concept: 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: the ability to empathize with others, to understand the subtleties of human interaction, and 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
Per Pink, a quick refresher on Left Brain vs. Right Brain:
Left Brain
Logical and analytical
Handles language
Controls right side of the body
Sequential
The thousand words
Text
Details
Analysis
Right Brain
Nonlinear, intuitive, and holistic
Interprets emotions and nonverbal expressions
Controls left side of the body
Simultaneous
The picture
Context
Big picture
Synthesis
Pink uses these terms:
L-Directed Thinking: characteristic of the left hemisphere of the brain – sequential, literal, functional, textual,
and analytic.
R-Directed Thinking: characteristic of the right hemisphere of the brain – simultaneous, metaphorical, aesthetic,
contextual, and synthetic.
Why the transition from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age?
Pink discusses abundance (modern western society is no longer defined by scarcity, and can now focus on more
R-directed sensibilities: beauty, spirituality, emotion), Asia (the move of jobs that can be done by L-Directed
“knowledge workers” offshore) and automation (which forces the modern workforce to focus on creativity
more than competence – high tech is no longer enough).
As a result of these three “A”s (discussed above), he emphasizes that in the Conceptual Age we will need to
complement our L-Directed reasoning by mastering six essential R-Directed aptitudes he calls “The Six Senses.”
1. Not just function but also DESIGN.
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Design is a classic whole-minded aptitude…a combination of utility and significance…Utility is akin to LDirected Thinking; significance is akin to R-Directed Thinking…utility has become widespread,
inexpensive, and relatively easy to achieve – which has increased the value of significance. (p. 70)
Thanks to rising prosperity and advancing technology, good design is now more accessible than
ever…design has become crucial for most modern businesses – as a means of differentiation and as a
way to create new markets…As more people develop a design sensibility, we’ll be increasingly able to
deploy design for its ultimate purpose: changing the world. (p. 70)
2. Not just argument but also STORY.
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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. And that is the essence of the aptitude of Story – context enriched by emotion. (p. 103)
Story exists where high concept and high touch intersect. Story is high concept because it sharpens our
understanding of one thing by showing it in the context of something else.
“There have been great societies that did not use the wheel, but there have been no societies that did
not tell stories.” – Ursula K. Le Guin (p. 105)
Personal narrative has become more prevalent, and perhaps more urgent, in a time of abundance, when
many of us are freer to seek a deeper understanding of ourselves and our purpose. (p. 115)
3. Not just focus but also SYMPHONY.
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Putting the pieces together. Not analysis, but synthesis – seeing the big picture, crossing boundaries,
and being able to combine disparate pieces into an arresting new whole. (p. 66)
Capacity to synthesize rather than to analyze; to see relationships between seemingly unrelated fields;
detect broad patterns rather than to deliver specific answers; and to invent something new by
combining elements nobody else thought to pair. (p. 130)
Symphony is largely about relationships. People who hope to thrive in the Conceptual Age must
understand the connections between diverse, and seemingly separate, disciplines. They must know
how to link apparently unconnected elements to create something new. And they must become adept
at analogy - -at seeing one thing in terms of another.
Many of us are crunched for time, deluged by information, and paralyzed by the weight of too many
choices. The best prescription for these modern maladies may be to approach one’s own life in a
contextual, big picture fashion – to distinguish what really matters and what merely annoys. (p. 143)
4. Not just logic but also EMPATHY.
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What will distinguish those who thrive will be their ability to understand what makes their fellow
woman or man tick, to forge relationships, and to care for others. (p. 66)
Empathy isn’t sympathy – that is, feeling badly for someone else. It is feeling with someone else,
sensing what it would be like to be that person. Empathy is a stunning act of imaginative derring-do, the
ultimate virtual reality – climbing into another’s mind to experience the world from that person’s
perspective. (p. 159)
Empathy allows us to see the other side of an argument, comfort someone in distress, and bite our lip
instead of muttering something snide. Empathy builds self-awareness, bonds parent to child, allows us
to work together, and provides the scaffolding for our morality. (p. 160)
Empathy is not a stand-alone aptitude…empathy is an essential part of Design, because good designers
put themselves in the mind of whoever is going to experience the product or service they’re
designing…Empathy is related to Symphony – because empathetic people understand the important of
context. (p. 168)
5. Not just seriousness but also PLAY.
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Games, particularly computer and video games, have become a large and influential industry that is
teaching whole-minded lessons to its customers and recruiting a new breed of whole-minded worker.
Humor is showing itself to be an accurate marker for managerial effectiveness, emotional intelligence,
and the thinking style characteristic of the brain’s right hemisphere. (p. 188)
Many aspects of video gaming resemble the aptitude of Symphony – spotting trends, drawing
conclusions, and discerning the big picture. (p. 194)
Right hemisphere plays an essential role in understanding and appreciating humor. When that
hemisphere is impaired, the brain’s ability to process even semi sophisticated comedy suffers. (p. 197)
Humor embodies many of the right hemisphere’s most powerful attributes – the ability to place
situations in context, to glimpse the big picture, and to combine differing perspectives into new
alignments.
6. Not just accumulation but also MEANING.
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Abundance has liberated us to pursue more significant desires: purpose, transcendence, and spiritual
fulfillment. (p. 67)
The search for meaning is a drive that exists in all of us – and a combination of external circumstances
that internal will can bring it to the surface. (p. 217)
All of us can learn how to reach the upper portions of our individual range – where happiness can
ensue…engaging in satisfying work, avoiding negative events and emotions, being married, and having a
rich social network. Also important are gratitude, forgiveness, and optimism. (What doesn’t seem to
matter much at all, according to the research, are making more money, getting lots of education, or
living in a pleasant climate.) (p. 226)