Review of Daniel H Pink's A Whole New Mind 2005 SXSW Speech

A Whole New Mind
Daniel H Pink, who spent 10 years as a political speech writer, stated that the keys to a good Monday morning speech were brevity, levity, and repitition. He then went on to explain some of the concepts in his upcomming book by the name of A Whole New Mind.

In the past he stated that left brain dominant people have had an advantage. Well paying jobs existed for those who exceled at linear, logical, rational, and analytical types of thinking.

He then went on to state that due to automation, abundance, and Asia that people who exceled in right brain dominant thinking will do well going forward. Those who are empathetic, wholistic, artistic, intuitive, and big picture thinkers will receive more than a fair share of the upcoming windfall of profits.

Abundance:

• 2 in 3 US own their own home
• more than 1 car per registered driver in the US
• self storage is a $17 billion dollar per year industry. (which is more than the motion picture industry

Asia:

• overhyped short term
• underhyped long term
• 1 in 10 US IT jobs will go to India in the next 2 years.
• 1 in 4 IT jobs will be outsources by 2010.
• 2010 more people from India will speak English than the number of people doing so in the United States.
• they work for 1 / 6 of the wages
• cost of phone connections has moreless reached zero
• routine jobs (such as scripts and specification sheets will be the first to go)

Automation:

• "Software is a forklift for the mind." - Tom Peters
• John Henry beat the machine and died.
• Kasparov retires from chess.
• TurboTax
• YourDiagnosis.com
• legal fees:
  • uncontested divorice ~ $3,000
  • Complete Case.com $249
  • US Legal Forms.com $14.95

Affluence, technology & globalization
agriculture -> Industry -> Information -> Conceptual (creators and empathizers)

Women have a much larger corpus callosum and are thus better at multitasking.

questions to see if you are in the wrong business

1. Can someone overseas do it cheaper.
2. Can a computer do it faster.
3. Will there be demand for it in an age of abundance.

He adds the buzz words high concept and high touch to explain products and services he believes will do well.

Design, story, sympathy, play, meaning, and empathy are fundamental human attributes which will help people succeed.

He then gave examples of how design could be easy and why it is important.

• "I see us as being in the art business. Art, entertainment, and mobile sculpture, which, coincidentally, also happens to provide transportation." - Robert Lutz, chairman of General Motors North America
• Daniel also showed how quickly one can learn to draw by taking a five day course, showing his before and after self portraits.
• US Army using video games to recruit.
• Daniel also points to the hokey 2000 Florida state ballot which had many old Jewish ladies voting for Pat Buchanan