Book Review - A Whole New Mind

Tom Richardson

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

In his book A Whole New Mind former White House staffer Daniel Pink makes a strong case that civilization is moving from lineal, logic-based thinking to more creative and connective thinking. If we, or our children, are to succeed in the next generations we’ll do better by pulling in multiple influences and opening our minds to new possibilities.

In the twentieth century fortunes were made with the assembly line, mechanistic organizations, and zillions of lines of precise computer code. Most of this work was done on the left side of twentieth century brains. Pink convincingly reveals that the new successes are coming out of the right side of our brains. We’re currently undergoing a shift from the age of the “knowledge worker” to one that values what Pink calls “high concept, high touch” aptitudes. As he puts it, “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 other, and to stretch beyond the quotidian in pursuit of purpose and meaning.”

Computer programmers, contract crafters, and number crunchers will give way to pattern recognizers, inventors, artists, and designers. If that is so, what are the implications for people who manage volunteer programs in the public sector – a field with a reputation for its lineal processes, confinement, and playing by strict rules? Pink breaks his book into six senses on which, he says, success and satisfaction will depend. Design. Story. Symphony. Empathy. Play. Meaning. Can you think of a field that has depended on those senses for decades now? You got it, volunteerism! So, while our profession is well positioned for success we’re not off the hook and will need to continue to utilize these senses and develop them.

Our challenge will be to do this in the context of local government where the values of transparency and accountability can foster what is perceived as bureaucracy. We will need to design our programs to accommodate shifting economics and other circumstances. We’ll need to continue to tell our stories and tell them well, and, oh what great stories we have. We will need to create symphonies of service that pull in multiple instruments of success much like the Ode to Joy does. Our communities will benefit by how we foster empathy. We’re uniquely positioned to show people how to play, and help them do it. And we’ll need to be prepared to show people how to find meaning in the work they do.
A Whole New Mind is 247 pages of enlightened common sense that not just educates on the workings of the brain, it provides exercises and activities for how to build the brain muscle to start to light up the right side. Besides, a body builder wouldn’t just exercise her left arm, would she? So let A Whole New Mind let you be a brain builder and start to see the wonders of the right side.


Book Review - A Whole New Mind Tom Richardson A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future In his book A Whole New Mind former White House staffer Daniel Pink makes a strong case that civilization is moving from lineal, logic-based thinking to more creative and connective thinking. If we, or our children, are to succeed in the next generations we’ll do better by pulling in multiple influences and opening our minds to new possibilities. In the twentieth century fortunes were made with the assembly line, mechanistic organizations, and zillions of lines of precise computer code. Most of this work was done on the left side of twentieth century brains. Pink convincingly reveals that the new successes are coming out of the right side of our brains. We’re currently undergoing a shift from the age of the “knowledge worker” to one that values what Pink calls “high concept, high touch” aptitudes. As he puts it, “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 other, and to stretch beyond the quotidian in pursuit of purpose and meaning.” Computer programmers, contract crafters, and number crunchers will give way to pattern recognizers, inventors, artists, and designers. If that is so, what are the implications for people who manage volunteer programs in the public sector – a field with a reputation for its lineal processes, confinement, and playing by strict rules? Pink breaks his book into six senses on which, he says, success and satisfaction will depend. Design. Story. Symphony. Empathy. Play. Meaning. Can you think of a field that has depended on those senses for decades now? You got it, volunteerism! So, while our profession is well positioned for success we’re not off the hook and will need to continue to utilize these senses and develop them. Our challenge will be to do this in the context of local government where the values of transparency and accountability can foster what is perceived as bureaucracy. We will need to design our programs to accommodate shifting economics and other circumstances. We’ll need to continue to tell our stories and tell them well, and, oh what great stories we have. We will need to create symphonies of service that pull in multiple instruments of success much like the Ode to Joy does. Our communities will benefit by how we foster empathy. We’re uniquely positioned to show people how to play, and help them do it. And we’ll need to be prepared to show people how to find meaning in the work they do. A Whole New Mind is 247 pages of enlightened common sense that not just educates on the workings of the brain, it provides exercises and activities for how to build the brain muscle to start to light up the right side. Besides, a body builder wouldn’t just exercise her left arm, would she? So let A Whole New Mind let you be a brain builder and start to see the wonders of the right side.
NAVPLG - Summer 2010