After reading Daniel Pink’s amazing book A Whole New Mind, and then watched the DVD (55 minutes, basically him going over all of the main ideas in the book), I had SO MANY thoughts…
Thoughts about our world, our economy (especially these days), the education system, advertising, marketing, story telling, design, you name it…
Here’s the first 5 minutes of the DVD:
And more from Pink on choosing a college major:
Visit Daniel H. Pink’s Blog here:
http://www.danpink.com/
TODAY’S CHALLENGE: What are three Aha! Moments (not mentioned already by others) you had after reading the book or watching the DVD? Keep it a short, simple, clear, and positive -- what big ideas you had? what were you fascinated by? surprised by? curious about? etc.
Here are just three of many Aha! moments I had after reading the book and watching the DVD:
1. I saw the FedEx arrow before but when I watched the DVD, it got me thinking -- how can I improve my Power Point/Keynote slides using negative space and story-telling?
2. 15% of all the people living in India = 100% of the American workforce. Wow! Talk about the effects of outsourcing on the job market and on the careers/majors we choose…
3. “MFA is the new MBA”. I’m curious -- which MBA programs are well known for integrating creativity in their curriculum?
And while on the topic… Check out this video -- a 2008 remastered version of an original 2006 presentation by Karl Fisch called Did You Know?
1. By 2010 India will be the largest english speaking country, WOW!
2. People that chase after extenral rewards such as money in a profession instead of doing what they love usually always have regrets.
3. Any routine work done in the United States will eventually dissapear.
1. We are a country of excess, and along with that excess we grow more and more unhappy which makes us search more for a meaningful life.
2. The reason we have an increase of meditation, yoga, and other activities like this is because we are all searching for our meanings in life. This is also why we are quitting jobs on the spot and starting our lives over at random times.
3. Design is a necessity for business because we are becoming a more creative and feelings based culture. Instead of looking for function we are buying things based on feelings.
1.) Today the logical, linear, left brain abilities still are 100% necessary, but no longer sufficient. The right brain is the first among equals.
2.) Software is replacing the left brain and routine work.
3.) Companies are in the art and entertainment business where their products have formed into a design to cure modification rather than being centered around profits.
1. The majority of dislexic poeple are ironically billionares.
2. Everyone has the ability to be creative and learn to stress the 6 abilities ,design, story, smpathy, play, and meaning. They are fundamental abilites we were born with that we just need to work.
3.There are over 1000 laughter clubs in India, and now 1000 laughter clubs in the USA. Laughter is cheap and valuable! (interesting!)
1. People who do things for intrinsic motivation know what their life is about and will end up ok, you don’t have to be extrinsically motivated, contrary to previous generation’s beliefs.
2. There is an abundance of cars in the U.S., more cars are sold than eligible drivers.
3. Self storage industry is a 17 billion dollar a year business. Bigger than film industry, more self storage spots than McDonalds, Wendy’s and Burger Kings in the U.S. combined.
1. The backstories of products and services are very important and often are the differentiating factor in deciding which product or service to buy.
2. The idea of “symphony” is interesting to me because, as Dan said, it is the ability to see the big picture and create things that the world did not notice they were missing until you created them.
3. There is a study out of the Jefferson School of Medicine, called the JSPE which shows that measures on the empathy index correlate well with patient outcome. This means that the more empathic your doctor is the more likely you are to get better faster. Empathy saves hospitals and people money and gets people better faster.
1. Routine- The form of life we need to stay away from, eventually this type of work will disappear
2. Success is now measured in different forms, having an ABUNDANCE of money is not satisfying enough for us, we need meaning.
3. An interesting comment Daniel made was, design is the new attitude to modernization. It will lead to better, greater opportunities.
1) “in today’s society there are more cars than legal drivers.” That is very interesting because i never thought about how many cars a single person has. This is really a measure of abundance.
2) “In a world of abundance, you get your margin out of significance rather than utility.”
3) “Every 18 minutes 100 baby boomers are turning 60. This will go one for the next 18 years. ” . . . WOW doesn’t do it justice.
1.“We tend to obsess about High Tech abilities. Such as Computer skills, what really matters are High Concept and High Touch. Hard to outsource, hard to automate and delivers significance”. I was curious about what exactly is High Concept and High touch?
2.Design has become a fundamentally business literacy, in business today you must be literate in design. You don’t have to be good at design, but literate in design. I was surprised by this concept that Pink addressed during his speech.
3. 3. Empathy makes the world better, stepping in someone’s shoes, feeling with heart, seeing through there eyes makes the world a better place. Very true and I couldn’t agree with Pink anymore.
1. The MFA is the new MBA. MBA skills can be outsources and/or automated but MFA skills are harder to outsource and/or automate and are in big demand in an age where design is a big factor in products and services.
2. Instead of paying $2000 for an uncontested divorce you can go to completecase.com to get the same outcome for only $249.
3. An accountant can go home on the weekend and be a designer but a designer will not go home on the weekend and be an accountant (do peoples taxes)
1) Its good to see that he has expereinced what he preaches, becuase he worked in politics writting other peoples speeches and learned he would be much more satisfied writing his own work and writting about more important matters.
2) it was interesting to hear Pink is saddened that when he speaks to college students who are wondering if they need to pay close attention to Pink when he is invited to speak to then. cuz its totally not about remembering stuff for a few minutes for a test but thats the way we unfortuanately go through the school system.
3) Pink worrys that young people have been so indoctrinated in the school system that focuses on right answers and pleasing authority figures, becuase we are therefore unable to let our intrinsic motivation blossom. (interesting that both he and Ken Robinson are anti school system and they are both such influential individuals)
1. The chart that showed the growth of American’s wealth compared to their unchanging happiness in life was really interesting. I think a lot of people would be shocked to know that.
2. It was shocking to learn that the people living in India who work for American companies will do the same job for $50,000 less! It was also shocking that if only 15% of Indians were able to join the American workforce, that number would equal the total number of Americans working right now!
3. The story Pink told about the librarian and the 14 year old girl in Tanzania was also eye opening. The fact that the people would bet on the 14 year old girl to obtain the right information more quickly than the librarian at one of the largest and most prestigious universities in the world.
1. I was interested in the abundance gap and how meaning was the most important. It seems so true how a grandparent would be shocked that I quit my job because it “wasn’t for me.” I actually did quit a job because I didn’t like it and my grandparents could not believe what I did!
2. The self portrait he drew was really bad, but once he learned techniques, it was better, not great, but much better. This shows that learning about techniques will make you better in almost any subject.
3. I like the fly swatter sample and how he used it to express the idea that design is utility and significance.
1. The idea Pink had behind the toilet brush connected with something we talked about in class, which is the idea that nothing is new. We think we are consistently coming up with new ideas but we are just reinventing old ones. What is really selling these products is the creative side to there look, color and shape, not the fact that something is new.
2. That Turbo Tax a $39 software program has replaced many accountants. This also goes along with the ability for Americans to process their own divorce papers without a lawyer. Many jobs have been replaced by technology and have replaced these jobs so quickly I don’t think anyone has even noticed all the jobs computers have taken from people.
3. Is what you’re selling/producing in demand in an age of abundance, with millions of storage units being occupied and people basically wanting everything they can have is, your career/you going to be able to keep up with this kind of a consumer market.
- Since 1974 there has been a 65% increase in residential SPACE per capital (while household numbers are deceasing) never really thought about that…
- There are more self storage places in america than McDonalds, Burger King and Windy’s COMBINED. It’s LARGER THEN THE MOTION PICTURE BUSINESS?!?!
- Self made millionaires are four times as likely to be DYSLEXIC then the rest of the population. Because of this they over compensate on other areas such as things that involve using the right side of the brain, they develop some kind of hyper muscle ability…wow makes sense!
(e.g. a blind person will over compensate in one or all of the other four sense.)
p.s. really enjoyed this video!
- The idea of being liberated by prosperity but not being fulfilled by it. Leading to a search for meaning for people’s lives. Especially when compared to other generations. Saying that we would have grandparents who would be appalled that we would quit a job because it wasn’t “meaningful” enough.
- The idea that all routine work is going to disappear from our country, and how that shift away from lest brain activity, and putting a greater importance on aspects of creativity from the artistic and pathic side.
- The idea that facts have become ubiquitous, and that information is equally available to everyone. That a 14-year-old can find facts as fast as one of the head librarians of one of the most prestigious schools in the country.
Aha 1) It has always boggled my mind why in highschool (and general education) there are so many required upper division mathematics courses that are vital to graduation. I hate nonsensical mathematics- trigonometry, calculus, physics. Because apparently, these are the things we need to know in life. But how often will we use them? If I become a painter, I highly doubt that I would need to know or could find a function for sine, cosine, and tangent. But why aren’t arts considered as “vital” as math and science?? Yes, book smarts are commendable but not the most important thing to be learned. If an architect has no imagination, how is he ever supposed to design an award-winning building? I highly doubt that a well-built box would be winning awards anytime soon. It’s just like the lyrics from Malvina Reynolds’ “Little Boxes”. “And all the people in the houses all went to the university, where they were all put in boxes and they came out all the same, and there’s doctors and lawyers, and business executives, and they’re all made out of ticky tacky, and they all look just the same.” I say nay to higher education, and yea to higher imagination, higher creation, higher cultivation.
Aha 2) When Daniel shows a chart of prosperity over the last few decades then shows the “satifaction” line, prosperity increases triple-fold, but satisfaction is one straight line across the board. Satisfaction is flat-lining, it’s dead; it could be decreasing but that wouldn’t make a difference. It just goes to show (statistically proven) that money does not equal happiness. Happiness is not something that can be bought, it has to be found, sought after. That is why “pursuit of happiness” is included in the Constitution, because it is not something that is automatic; although it could be. I believe that simplicity can lead to happiness. It’s about appreciating the overlooked- finding special moments when time slows. When you smell cold, crisp air and listen to snow fall. Bliss is relaxing and enjoying the sun warming your skin. It’s comfort, laying under the covers and watching the sun try to sneak its way under the blinds. Happiness is serenity, Zen. Some just mistake happiness for things or status; something that can be bought and packaged in a box with a pretty bow.
Aha 3) As far as the public storage thing is concerned, the fact that Americans are accumulating more crap is only touching the surface. The reason why people are buying bigger homes with more square footage is because they want to increase that “personal bubble” that Americans have adapted so well into their lives. But there is still a larger underlying fact- when we buy bigger homes with more space, we are not just increasing that bubble, but are pushing people further away from us. And we are able to do that- we live in a big country, geographically speaking, and can afford the space. I can understand this because my current bedroom is the smallest I’ve ever lived in and my bed is the biggest I’ve ever owned, so the need for extra breathing room is understandable. What it all essentially comes down to is this- Americans suck at sharing. I have been watching an abundance of HGTV and whenever a couple or a family is home buying, they are always looking for bigger and better. It is interesting how much more people are willing to spend to get that extra bathroom, so they don’t have to share space. The husband and wife usually want dual sinks and the wife often wants a walk-in closet, and are baffled if they step into a house where they would have to share a bathroom with anyone else on the same floor let alone the same house. Americans aren’t willing to share their space, time, and certainly not their money. Unfortunately today the mindset of many Americans is me and my. That sure was a crazy AHA for me!
AHA! Moments:
1. Daniel Pink mentioned that facts have become ubiquitous in our society and that in regards to an economical standpoint anything that is free has a lesser economical value. I agree with this statement because you can acquire facts easily but you can’t acquire a artistic talent at a rate of a high-speed conection.
2. I enjoyed the quote from Robert Lutz in regards to the arts and entertainment business because that just proves that employees in the design department are just as important if not more than those in the finance department. Are the salaries balanced? Probably not. Corporate America still sees Left brained jobs more valuable than Right brain jobs.
3. The comparison of India’s english speaking ability in 2010 to the rest of the world was a bit alarming to me. Its sad to hear these type of statistics because I want to believe that America will still be the most powerful nation in the world when my grandchildren grow up.
1. Oprah is such a huge cultural phenomenon because she is all about “living your best life”.
2. It seems silly to write that you have “computer skills” on a resume now because even 9 year olds have computer skills!
3. Even everyday objects like a toilet brush become an object of desire. Significance sells more than utility. Things that people buy do not often serve a purpose of utility.
1. I was surprised to find out that there are more automobiles than licensed drivers. Makes sense but never really thought about it before.
2. The typical America dwelling has gotten larger but the average American household has gotten smaller. It’s crazy that the total population of the world is growing but average American households are getting smaller. There are also so many brand new housing complex’s that are going up with no one to live in them. The economy is killing much of that market.
3. Any kind of routine work is going to disappear from this country. With so many new jobs and new industries starting up all over the world, no one will ever have to work in a routine job unless they really want to. Jobs are becoming more and more creative and require skills that weren’t needed years ago. No one wants to work under a set of rules anymore. Anything that needs a series of steps will diminish eventually.
1. In a world of abundance, you get margins out of significance, rather than utility.
2. At 60 years old, baby boomers will only just realize they need to make the next 25 years meaningful. This is interesting to me because that’s where my mom is and I wonder if in the next 12 years of her life, what kind of realization she will come to.
3. College and universities should be altered because they are too based and focused on right and wrong answers.
1. The MFA is the new MBA- I loved this. It is true because, a he stated, more “right brain” jobs are being outsourced every year. The MBA is almost exected of but the MFA is still above average. Also, the MFA helps people learn to be more creative becuase it is based in an art.
2. Empathy is a crucial part to good advertising. I though this was a great point becuase people will be more likely to respond to a advertisement of a brand/cause/campaign if they have an emotional investment in it. Campaigns like the Pedigree Adoption Drive take full advantage of this point.
3. College curriculums and educational strategies should be reinvented. This, as is highlighted byt he recent Kaplan advertisements, is completely true. Standardized tests and a focus on memorization instead of critical thorught have created a workforce of people who can reguritate the same facts, yet rarele can come up with original ideas of their own. This starts not in college, but in elementary school here kids are taught to pass the standardized tests and little more becuase of pressure placed on teachers to make the NCLB cut.
1. 12% of the USA population is poverty and 10% are on the verge of going into poverty, but still the USA is #1 in economical growth.
2. Because of India we know we now have UK, London and America and almost all parts of Europe enrolled in the laughing club.
3. During the Great depression there was no Storage units in American. I found this very interesting because, we American’s have unneeded things just sitting around. Just like my mother..
4. We have 150mil people in the work force, that will be 15% of India’s population if they all started working for a North American company making 65K and over.
WOW!! Interesting video
1. Giving people the choice of a better path for their future such as a creative path that now a days is becoming more and more main stream as a means to do what you want in life.
2. The structure of education should be changed to better fit a new generation of thinkers and as well as the people who don’t fit into the category can have a different way of going about it.
3.I really feel that having Mr. Pink or others like him working towards a different standard that will ultimately make people’s lives better is great. This means that more and more people are considering the world we live in and how to make it better.
1.) The negative space and how much of an impact it has in advertising, like in the FedEx logo and the negative space containing an arrow.
2.) Design,Story,Symphony,Empathy,Play,Meaning are the six abilities that matter most and are most fundamental to humans.
3.) Some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world have dyslexia(Jet Blue, IKEA, Virgin)
AHA! MOMENTS
1. Before I even watched the DVD i had heard of AHA moments from the Oprah show because whenever she has a guest on she always listens to what they say and then gets an idea and repeats it to the audience. I think aha moments allow you to expand time and think and be in the moment so you can remember what you learn like Oprah did.
2. With India being innovative in creating it’s economy to be strengthened, India is also going to be the fourth country to travel through space after U.S., Russia, and China.
3. I thought of the overcoming of jobs through outsourcing that India is utilizing and then I watched Slumdog Millionaire which showed an example of hundreds of teenagers on computers pretending to be in the United States while helping the customer over the phone. Then I saw the movie when Best Picture and I was even more amazed at the advancements of the country.
my three aha! moments-
1. companies, and major corporations are relying on more of right brained ideas and structure. example, Design.
2. jobs relying on left brain tasks are being replaced by technology. for example, the online tax program instead of hiring an accountant.
3. it occured to me how much of what he was saying was so true. nobody does taxes on the weekends, they do sculpture, or art, or yoga.. whatever there artistic hobby may be. we have focused so much of working class america on the left brained as being the center, that all of our artistic ability and creativity becomes second.
my three aha! moments
1I thought it was very interesting to me that he was not a good student in law school in fact he was in the bottom 90% and only went because of his parents wishes. i feel a lot of students are pushed by there parents to get an education but i feel personally that i wouldn’t be able to do something i wasn’t interested in.
2. he talked about a picture being worth 1000 words but in his defense a metaphor is worth 1000 pictures. he went into explaining how the Brain works and its intricate departments such as the left brain being logical and and strategic whereas the right side of the brain is all creative and artistic. he then went into explaining how in today’s world the left brain matters however the right brain matters more.
3. it striked me with surprise when he spoke about leaving politics because he wanted his unheard voice to be heard. i thought that was a courageous yet risky choice to make but clearly he is doing what he loves. he said to do what you do because you love it.
great video!!
1. Something Mr. Pink said early on in the video really struck me, and that was that intrinsically motivated people, who do what they are trully called to do, are most of the time well off with external rewards. So, so many people make the “logical” decision in life and don’t pursue a career that would really amake them happy because they are more concerned with financial stabillity; yet, following your calling doesn’t have to mean that you cant make money.
2. The emphasis on “play” being a vital ability for any business intrigued me. Often times, in structured places and situations, we are shunned for playing; however, it’s always been a hugely important part of life for me personally, so I was happy to hear someone with such insight felt the same.
3. Lastly, his suggestion that the businesses with the most potential and meaning are those that are “not for profit” companies, meaning that they still make profits, but the money is not their only motivation. Brilliant and so true in my opinion.
aha moments!!
1) the designer toilet brush example: in a world of abundance it is necessary to compete by right brain features. even the most mundane products, services and experiences have become objects of desire in a crowded market place. its funny to think that we have designer household items… i also wonder why no one has ever thought of a technology based toilet brush.
2)economies used to be about routines and right answers and while our schools are obsessed with this way of thinking, they can be outsourced and automated ; it is more important to think about novelty and nuance because this is what our economies are about now! interesting… hopefully our schools become more “right sided” friendly.
3) the proctor and gamble and general motors statement about how important it is to be design literate in such economies. interesting to know how important design and constant creativity create more successful businesses.
1. I was fascinated by the fact that most of what he spoke of are things most of us have touched upon before. He went into direct detail and explained the significant impact it has on our daily lives. Being open to new and exciting information can take you a long way in this evolving world.
2. The story about the 2 brothers who started there wine business in honor of their mother. The donation of 50 cents to cancer related funds was emotionally touching, and goes to show that meaning plays an vital part in this world.
3. I found the laughter clubs started in India by a doctor quite interesting due to the fact that my dad had actually told me about this earlier. I had thought it was a good idea then, but now I see it has made an impact on thousands of people looking for a meaningful life. The scales are in the process of falling of my eyes
1. right off the bat something that struck and stuck with me is understanding what makes you you! Understanding and using your strengths that makes you unique. Everyone has something they were made to do on this earth and by doing that it makes you larger then you every thought you could be. Like Operahs book, “Living you best life.” Using your right brain for a career. Do what you do because you like it, because it motivates you and its challenging for yourself.
2. ROUTINE!!! there are soooo many jobs out there that where the success is made up of just routines. A set of rules, scripts, financial analysis, steps that will take you to the right step. An example, a uncontested divorce. To file one you need to pay a lawyer $2,000 just to pretty much read over a document that is ALREADY DONE and he just needs to bless it..WHAT A F**KIN waste of money!!!! Now you can go online and just get the forms done there for only $249. All routine jobs (left side brain) are becoming obsolete.
3. the 6 abilities that matter the most. Out of those 6, 2 hit home the most for me.
– Design—- Every business is a designer no matter what company it is. Bagel shop, grocery store and even a major car manufacture like GMC. There are more cars then people in todays society and any car can take you to from point A to point B, but now its a matter of getting you there in entertainment and in the customers own personal comfort. Having a company being literate in design is key.
– Story—The wine example. Meaning wines that describe the wine in languages that most people wouldnt understand. Then the wine called @ brothers Big tattoo wine. A basic story of how the brothers, one being a wine importer and the other being a tattoo artist. They created the wine in the name of their mother who died of cancer, each bottle of wine sold they donate .50 cents to a cancer fund in the name of their mother.
aha!
1) I liked his point of the importance of story and how the back story of products, services, and experiences is a very important differentiators used by a range of different industries.
2) Facts are free! Knowledge is power and many people do not realize how easily they can find information and use it to benefit their lives. The abundance of knowledge that we can receive from books, the internet, people, etc. allow us to understand how and why things are happening. It is interesting how learning one new fact or statistic can change your whole outlook on something.
3) I have heard of businesses for profit and no for profit, but I had never heard of “not only for profit”. The idea behind this shows that there can be a purpose and a profit behind anything. This is a motivator because it shows that there can be extrinsic motivators that help people carry on. I like this idea of gaining more than just an income from a job, but gaining other valuable things from it. The more you put into something, the more you will get out of it.
aha! moments:
1) The idea of all the extra stuff we have was really interesting to me. In my house my mom keeps everything! She does not let us throw away anything and she keeps all the things the rest of my family throws away! I just need some extra space! I think its funny that people have so much stuff they have in storage and they don’t even need, and will probably never use, and when they do need it can never find it, and just buy it. This also made me think about where all this stuff (as in like matter) is coming from, and where is it going to go? Like all the actual materials made to make this stuff are we going to eventually recycle some? burn the rest? make some new useless stuff? I am waiting for a movement to do something with all this stuff!
2) I also thought it was interesting the democratization of the search for meaning. I think everyone is starting to feel this way, just lots of people are afraid to take some action. I see a lot more people that were on a route to do a left brain job, totally change their routes to something more creative now. I think its great that these things that people actually enjoy doing like he said are actually being more useful in society. I think lots of people are just afraid to cross over to the other side because they have been taught the other way for the first half of their lives, this is barely the beginning of the moment and everyone is so hesitant.
3) I just think the whole idea of left hemisphere and right hemisphere is so strange to me. I hate that I had this question like in 5 exams and each time I forget which side is which. I always understood the concept but as soon as it came up in an exam I thought it would be the last time and never thought about it again, and sure enough it always came up again. When studying for a test it was just the last thing I would think about it, even right now I forget which side is which =/
AHA Moments!
1) It was so interesting to hear what the CEO found as being most important in his Market. It was important for him to have a profit that was due to the promotion of health and well being in people. I thought that idea was amazing, especially since whole foods is the largest growing market.
2) The Idea of Empathy was very interesting as well. When he spoke about how women are better at this then men, and that empathy was important in everything in our daily lives, that was awesome. It reminds us that we have to give meaning and passion in the things that we do in our lives. So many times we find ourselves doing jobs that are told to us as important. We look away from passion and enjoying the work. This is a great way to think of life choices.
3) The story about the wine bottles was amazing. I love drinking wine and i never thought to take time and really read the stories behind the bottles. I always mainly looked at the type of wine, the taste and where it was from. His emphasis on story and the importance was amazing. The story on the back of the bottle was just as interesting as looking at the make of the wine for me. I now am going to read the back of the bottles when i do drink wine to see if they have a story attached to them. Its brought a new curiosity to that industry.
This was a really great video to watch. A lot of good points were made!
1. My first aha moment was that I am trying so hard to be left brained when I am really right brained. I always wondered why I hated to do things from a list, and now I know why. I am good at left brained activities, but do not like them, I enjoy the freedom of non structured activities.
2. My second aha moment was that now I know why I am not great at drawing. Even though I love to draw and paint, I have been using my left side of the brain to do a right brained task.
3. Third and final aha moment was that maybe I should consider home schooling my kids in order to help them strengthen their creativity. Public schools only seem to focus on the academics and not creativity and helping students have good self esteem.