Welcome to week three on using your right-brain!
This is the brain you want to develop for future success and overall more joy and fun. We are focusing on the six aptitudes that Daniel Pink believes will be essential in the future. The first two are design and story. If you are just joining this journey today please see the last two blogs which will tell you both why design and story are important and how to build your design and story muscles.
Aptitude three is symphony.
No he is not talking about an orchestra, but rather the ability to put the pieces together. The ability to detect broad patterns versus looking for specifics and seeing the forest not just one tree. And the ability to invent something new by putting elements together in a unique way.
I found the word symphony an interesting choice to describe this aptitude, and yet when you think of a symphony orchestra you see all the elements Pink is addressing – many elements coming together, the full musical experience created, not just one instrument standing out and how the musicians must relate to each other. Ultimately, Pink believes symphony is largely about relationships. “People who hope to thrive in the Conceptual Age must understand the connections between diverse, and seemingly separate disciplines. They must know how to link apparently unconnected elements to create something new.”
Symphony involves being able to synthesize. This means relating and linking large amounts of data, a skill that will become increasingly important in our complex world. In contrast, many people have been trained to analyze information, and some of us have over-developed the ability to analyze and see what is wrong. This, unfortunately, doesn’t automatically open the door to finding answers.
Each attribute Pink focuses on apply to all walks of life, business, education, parenting, health and even well-being:
“Modern life’s glut of options and stimuli can be so overwhelming that those with the ability to see the big picture-to sort out what really matters-have a decided advantage in their pursuit of personal well-being.”
Lastly, Pink says there are some very specific profiles of who will do well in the future. One of which he calls the Boundary Crosser.
The Boundary Crosser (not to be confused with someone who doesn’t honor personal boundaries) is someone who is comfortable, and often thrives, in “starkly different realms.“They have multiple areas of expertise and “live multi lives—because that’s more interesting and, nowadays more effective.” This diversity is so important because “perspective is more important than IQ” according to Nicholas Negroponte of MIT.
Imagine your son or daughter said to you, “I think my career path will look something like this: I’ll start off as a musician, join a gospel band, then try construction (of course, have my own my own company), move on to real estate, manufacturing, and land development, become a professional speaker, seminar leader, international business coach, become an author, inventor and an artist. How does that sound, Mom and Dad?”
Well, this is the actual career path of a dear friend of mine who has been extremely successful. He is a clear Boundary Crosser and not the undecided, flighty, change his mind, kind of person his parents might have worried about. The world is changing at a very rapid pace and it’s really important that we develop as much mental agility as we can. Being a Boundary Crosser is one way to do that.
The Metaphor Maker is another powerful capacity we all want to develop because “human thought process are largely metaphorical.” Metaphors help you understand something through something else. They are, by their very nature, relational and creative. According to Twyla Tharp, “Metaphor is the lifeblood of all art.” Wow! That’s a pretty powerful statement. She goes on to say, “in the creative process MQ is as valuable as IQ.”
Okay, so how do we raise our MQ or be more of a Boundary Crosser? Here are an idea from Pink, and a book or two to consider putting on your list:
One of the exercises Pink suggests is…
Follow the Links
He refers to this as your own personal version of six degrees of separation. It’s easy to do, and many of us have done it without even realizing that we’re doing it. Start with a topic or idea that interests you, and type it into your favourite search engine… and click on one of the links. From the initial site that you visit, click on one of its links, and so on. Repeat the process seven or eight times, always clicking a link from the page you’re currently on.
When you’ve gone as far as you care to venture, pause and think about what you’ve learned about your original idea or topic. What did you encounter? Where did your detours take you? What did you find that you might not otherwise have found? What patterns or themes emerged? What unusual connections between seemingly unrelated thinking did you accidentally discover?
Following the links is a commitment to learning by serendipity.
Books to Read
Here are a couple books you might like to check into, which will fuel your ability to synthesize…
Metaphors We Live By
Dialogue: The Art Of Thinking Together
As always, I’d suggest you check out Pink’s book for lots more ideas.
Okay, that’s it for this week…