A Whole New Mind

"A Whole New Mind" is a book by Daniel H. Pink, author of "Free Agent Nation". It is a guide to surviving in the fast-paced, upside-down world we live in today. "A Whole New Mind" posits that the future of global business belongs to the right-brainers.

Key concepts

A historical narrative starts the book outlining four major 'ages':

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

The fourth stage is where Pink focuses and how businesses can be 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). This brings 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" - Immaterial feelings and values of products.

Reception

"A Whole New Mind" is Pink's second book. The book has had 10 printings in the North American markets and has been translated into 12 languages. The book was named Best Business Book of 2005 by Strategy + Business, The Miami Herald, 800-CEO-READ and Fast Company. "A Whole New Mind" is to appear across Europe and Asia shortly.

The book is part of a general movement in management literature to increasingly accept creativity and innovation as a source of business value.

Publication information

ISBN 1-57322-308-5 (hardcover) 2005.
ISBN 1-59448-171-7 (paperback) 2006.

External links

* [http://800ceoread.com/products/?productid=1573223085 Review at 800 CEO READ ]
*References on AllConsuming.net for the [http://allconsuming.net/item/view/31207 hardback] and [http://allconsuming.net/item/view/257833 paperback] editions.
* [http://danpink.com/excerptwnm.php Excerpt of "A Whole New Mind" on Pink's website]
*Book summary of Whole New Mind [http://kuzzuk.net/index.php?itemid=13&catid=2 'in words'] (for 'left brainers').
* [http://www.frugallawstudent.com/2007/02/17/a-whole-new-mind-wrap-up/ Review on The Frugal Law Student and how A Whole New Mind Applies to Law.]