A Whole New Mind

Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future

By: Daniel H. Pink

Narrated by: Daniel H. Pink

Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

Lawyers. Accountants. Software Engineers. That's what Mom and Dad encouraged us to become. They were wrong. Gone is the age of "left-brain" dominance. The future belongs to a different kind of person with a different kind of mind: designers, inventors, teachers, storytellers - creative and emphatic "right-brain" thinkers whose abilities mark the fault line between who gets ahead and who doesn't.

Drawing on research from around the advanced world, Daniel Pink outlines six fundamentally human abilities that are essential for professional success and personal fulfillment - and reveals how to master them.

From a laughter club in Bombay to an inner-city high school devoted to design, to a lesson on how to detect an insincere smile, A Whole New Mind takes listeners to a daring new place, and offers a provocative and urgent new way of thinking about a future that has already arrived.

©2005 Daniel H. Pink (P)2008 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Thought-provoking moments abound." ( Publishers Weekly)
"This book is a miracle. Completely original and profound." (Tom Peters)
"For soon-to-be liberal arts graduates, it makes an encouraging graduation gift." ( Newsweek)
"This is one author who knows how to narrate. Pink has excellent pacing, diction, and tone." ( AudioFile)

great book and worthy content to keep in mind

i really liked the book and what it proposes and could have kepr on reading for even longer though if more applicable exampkes were shared, not hust saying what to do but exemplifying with short insightful stories.

Smart. Informative. A bit repetitive.

An excellent read for anyone who is looking for a way to codify the societal shifts we see every day. Lots of helpful and interesting ideas to work smarter, live happier and think differently.

Interesting

Very interesting information … helps to explore a new way of thinking and preparing for the future.

Worth Listening to

I had low expectations and was happily surprised. The book had a very interesting perspective on the current direction of society and the economy. It was very enlightening and I was delighted.

more questions than answers

First, Daniel Pink is right about IT jobs going overseas. The only IT most people will need created are web pages which are graphical. But how does he figure that 150 million people are going to be gainfully employed in graphical arts. It is also true that people need to have the ability to piece together small insignificant facts and grasp the big picture from them in order to do business and be successful, but this has always been a requirement. Right? It is also true that people need to almagamate different and sometimes disparate skills in order to gain success, but this also is nothing new. After listening if one were to read my comments they might think that I missed the point of the book, but, I get it, and the book is interesting enough but it is not awe inspiring or super insightful by any stretch of the imagination. Check it out if you are interested but don't go out of your way.

Not balanced in right-brain/left-brain discussion

The subtitle "Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future" gives the impression that left-brain thinking (e.g., logic, data, and analytics) will become irrelevant in the future... to be replaced by right-brain thinking (e.g., design, empathy, and creativity). And throughout the book, the author is biased towards right-brain thinking. He gives lots of anecdotal assertions, rather than facts or data. For example, one of the reasons why Apple products is so appealing is its design, not its speed and memory capacity. And it's right-brain thinking that created that design. That may be true -- buyers hardly think about the speed or capacity of an Apple product. However, this isn't proof that right-brainers will rule the future. Apple products did not succeed on design alone. Apple products rank high in reliability. And the miniaturization of Apple products (e.g., nano iPod) is left-brain thinking at its extreme. The book would have been better if it talked about a balanced approach -- focus just as much on right-brain thinking as left-brain thinking. It was good in that it provided insights on the value of right-brain thinking. Rather than discounting it as "artsy" stuff, we actually see how much of a role design plays in our lives.

A Whole New Mind

I've listened to this enjoyable and informative book twice; there are too many pearls of wisdom to capture in one reading. I think it should be required reading for my high school senior and my college senior kids, as well as for my teacher friends and my employers. The message is bright, clear and timeless; we're entering the Conceptual Age. Pink explains how we got here, why we got here, and how to thrive in this whole new world with A Whole New Mind. Bravo to Daniel Pink!

This book is a great mind opener

I loved the contents of this book.
I liked the high concept high touch method..
indeed this one is must read to open your mind for new challenges and opportunities.

Yay, "lefties"!

Finished the book in one long night while I was painting. Very encouraging & full of direction & resources. Love that he recaps as well.

Strongly recommended

What made the experience of listening to A Whole New Mind the most enjoyable?

How it applies to the world around us

What did you like best about this story?

Not really a "story", but I enjoyed the viewpoint of what role creative minds are playing in global products and services

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes, when he disclosed that colleges that recruit creative individuals are harder to get into than ivy league universities.