Every now & then a book comes out that corroborates certain facets of the TomorrowToday.biz message. Daniel H. Pink a former White House speech writer has recently released a book that he spent several years researching. The books deals with what he calls the ‘Conceptual Age’. If you read the paragraph below from the book review in The Futurist magazine you will hear echos of our message using slightly different words. These aptitudes are precisely what will bring success in the Connection Economy, and they are covered in varying degrees of detail in all of our frameworks.
This book may be one to add to your shopping list. Order it from Amazon here “A Whole New Mind”
The Futurist book review
Pink identifies six high-concept, high-touch aptitudes needed in the new era and devotes the bulk of his book to describing them and outlining specific ways for readers to develop them.
The first of these aptitudes is design.
In the Conceptual Age, it will not be enough to create a product or service thats merely functional; it must also be beautiful, whimsical, or emotionally engaging.
The second aptitude, story, is needed because we are already inundated with information and data. So a compelling narrative is essential for persuasion.
Symphony, the third aptitude, is the ability to put pieces together into a winning combination. Whats in greatest demand today isnt analysis but synthesisseeing the big picture and, crossing boundaries, being able to combine disparate pieces into an arresting new whole, Pink explains.
Empathy, the fourth aptitude, is needed because logic alone is not enough to convince anybody. Now, Pink argues, we need the ability to understand what makes [our] fellow man or woman tick, to forge relationships, and to care for others. People may still need to be serious at times, but Pink believes play, his fifth aptitude, will also be needed.
Too much sobriety can be bad for your career and worse for your general well-being, he writes. In the Conceptual Age, in work and in life, we all need to play.
Sixth and last of Pinks aptitudes is meaning. In a world of breathtaking plenty, hundreds of millions of people are free to pursue purpose, transcendence, and spiritual fulfillment.
A Whole New Mind: Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age
