www.pedromendes.com

Darren Rowse of Problogger posted a video where he shares his thoughts on productivity and productivity tools. He wonders if, instead of trying to do more, we should try to do less.
Nowadays, with social media, blogs, email, TV, and also offline activities (friends, family, pets), we tend to fit more and more activity into out daily lives. Sometimes this can be overwhelming. I wonder if we should instead cut some of the extra fat, and focus more. Let go of what’s really not bringing us value, and concentrate on the activities that we really enjoy and can bring something extra to our lives and work. On this topic, I’m reading Leo Babauta’s new (free) ebook “Focus“, that is all about that. Your thoughts?

Symphony

“Symphony 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.”

Pink distinguishes three kinds of people: The boundary Crosser, the Inventor, and the Metaphor Maker.

He advises us to listen to great symphonies, to go to the newsstand and get magazines in areas you wouldn’t normally buy, and to draw.

He also lets us know how to brainstorm, according to Tom Kelley:
1. Go for Quantity
2. Encourage Wild Ideas
3. Be Visual
4. Defer Judgment
5. One Conversation at a time

This is part of a series of posts I’m doing while reading Daniel Pink’s book A Whole New Mind.

Story

In the beginning of the chapter, we are shown that we memorize stories better than facts. Cognitive scientist Roger C. Schank says “Humans are not ideally set up to understand logic; they are ideally set up to understand stories”.

We then get introduced to “the hero’s journey”, a blueprint from tales since humankind’s earliest days. It has three main parts: Departure, Initiation, and Return. Daniel Pink gives us several examples of this, including his own book.

There are countless examples of storytelling in business, and we are given a few, namely in real estate. Also in medicine, storytelling is becoming part of medical schools’ curriculums and gaining importance.

In the Portfolio section of this chapter, we are advised to write mini sagas (stories exactly 50 words long), to visit storytelling festivals, and to record interviews with friends and family members. Pink also lists several books on storytelling he thinks you should read.

This is part of a series of posts I’m doing while reading Daniel Pink’s book A Whole New Mind.

Other Chapter summaries:
Chapter 01 – Right Brain Rising
Chapter 02 – A Whole New Mind
Chapter 03 – High Concept, High Touch
Chapter 04 – Design

Design

In this chapter, Daniel Pink explains why design is such an important aspect for today’s business and for or lives. He cites numerous examples, from the schooling system, to hospitals, to cars. He also shows how Al Gore probably lost the 2000 American presidential election due to a design error.
Towards the end of the chapter, we’re shown the “Karimanifesto”, from designer Karim Rashid, a 50 point guide to life and design. Here are some of them:

01. Don’t specialize
06. Know everything about the story of your profession and then forget it all when you design something new.
07. Never say “I could have done that” because you didn’t.
24. Consume experiences, not things.
33. Normal is not good.
38. There are three types of being – those who create culture, those who buy culture, and those who don’t give a shit about culture. Move between the first two.
50. Here and now is all we got.

This is part of a series of posts I’m doing while reading Daniel Pink’s book A Whole New Mind.

Other Chapter summaries:
Chapter 01 – Right Brain Rising
Chapter 02 – A Whole New Mind
Chapter 03 – High Concept, High Touch

High Concept, High Touch

The chapter starts by illustrating the following evolution:
Agriculture Age -> Industrial Age -> Information Age -> Conceptual Age.

Pink then defines the terms of High Concept and High Touch, which will be present throughout the rest of the book. He then highlights that the artistic areas are gaining a more relevant role in the business world, with the diminishing importance of the MBA. Nowadays more and more people that have MFA’s (Master of Fine Arts) are in key positions in many companies. Like the author says, MFA is becoming the new MBA.
IQ shouldn’t be the only measure of a person’s potential, with EQ (Emotional Quotient) gaining more importance, as Right-Brain capabilities become more relevant.
The big question Pink poses is “What are we supposed to do?” He came up with six specific high-concept and high-touch aptitudes, essential in this new era: Design, Story, Symphony, Empathy, Play, and Meaning. Each of these concepts will be dealt with in the next 6 chapters of the book.

This is part of a series of posts I’m doing while reading Daniel Pink’s book A Whole New Mind.

Other Chapter summaries:
Chapter 01 – Right Brain Rising
Chapter 02 – A Whole New Mind

Abundance, Asia, and Automation

In chapter 02 of A Whole New Mind, Daniel Pink starts by telling about the emergence of the “Knowledge workers”, term coined by Peter Drucker. Their work is based mostly on Left-Directed Thinking (examples are lawyers, doctors, accountants, engineers, and executives). World economy benefited and standards of living got better and better. But nowadays, it seems not to be enough anymore. Right-Directed Thinking will determine more and more who gets ahead. The causes of this shift are Abundance, Asia, and Automation.

Abundance
We moved from an environment of scarcity a few decades ago, to one of abundance. Just take a look at the huge shopping outlets that exist more and more in the Unites States and Europe. This abundance has caused an ironic result, according to Daniel Pink: Right-Directed sensibilities are becoming more and more relevant. Examples of this are the commercial successes of a designer wastebasket, or even a toilet brush. “In an age of abundance, appealing only to rational, logical, and functional needs is woefully insufficient”, says Pink. Things now have to appeal to the soul, for them to have some success. This is because “the result of meaning has become an integral part of our lives”.

Asia
Many “knowledge worker” jobs are being more and more outsourced to Asia, for a fraction of the pay. Fortune 500 companies are outsourcing thousands of job positions to this area of the World.

Automation
Of the examples given to illustrate this fact was Garry Kasparov, the chess grand master. He was undefeated by humans for many years, until he lost against a computer (Deep Blue). The conclusion is that, when it comes to actions based on “rule-based logic, calculation and sequential thinking, computers are simply better, faster and stronger”.
He argues that engineers and programs for example, must acquire more Right-directed aptitudes such as creativity and competence, and focus more on the big picture instead of on the details.

Pink ends the chapter with a question: “So what happens next? What happens to us as our lives get clipped by automation and Asia – and reconfigured by abundance?”
He promises to address that in Chapter 03, and so will I.

This is part of a series of posts I’m doing while reading Daniel Pink’s book A Whole New Mind.

- My Summary of Chapter 01 – Right Brain Rising