A couple of months ago we talked about Friedman´s book "The World is Flat" that talks about how the convergence of technology and capacity are working, or have worked, to make this a borderless world.  The outsourcing of more routine tasks to India, China, the Philippines and other places are examples supporting Friedman´s contention of a flat world.  The book was interesting, if much too wordy, and certainly laid out some ideas and conditions worth considering as we move forward with new projects or ventures. 

Then I attended a Compensation and Benefits Network meeting and won the door prize; Daniel Pink´s new book "A Whole New Mind" which seems like a logical extension of Friedman´s work.  It struck me that you might find some of the highlights interesting too.  Pink subtitles his book "Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age" which should give you a sense of where he will be leading us. 

Pink starts off with a discussion of the left and right halves of the brain and how in the information age most of us exercised the left, or analytical, half much more than we did the right, or conceptual, half.  In the information age we could look at the first fact presented, analyze that, make a decision based on logic, and move on to the next challenge.  Pink suggests that in the coming "conceptual age" that will all change.

Like Friedman, Pink offers the concepts of "Abundance, Asia, and Automation" as the foundation on which he built his conclusions.  He offers these facts to support his contention that we enjoy a great abundance - over 2/3 of all Americans own a home and we have more cars than licensed drivers; self-storage sites (for those possessions we don´t have room for at home) have grown to a 17 Billion Dollar annual business; and we spend more on trash bags (for those things we no longer want to keep) than ninety countries spend on everything.

Then Pink introduces us to four Indian knowledge workers and points out that not one of them makes more than $14,000 per year.  How can we compete with those pay levels here in the U.S.?  He also points out that in the U.S. a chip designer earns $7,000 per month while in India she earns $1,000.  Likewise a U.S. engineer might earn $6,000 per month while his counterpart in Russia is earning $650.  Finally he offers the U.S. accountant who might earn $5,000 per month while in the Philippines they earn $300 per month.  He also points out that the average annual per capita income in the Philippines is $500. 

While this question diverges from the main thought line of this discussion, I think it is worth asking here.  What is going to happen to the economies of India, the Philippines, China, or Russia as these knowledge workers new salary levels start to impact their world?  Will their significantly increased buying power stimulate inflation?  If so, how will the underclass react? 

There was a news story on CBS about India and the extremes that exist.  The reporter interviewed a young entrepreneur who had just turned down an offer of $150,000,000 for a 35% stake in his knowledge business and compared him to another Indian who lived on a trash dump and scavenged the dump for salable items.  That person was making a couple hundred dollars a year but was, because of his tenacity, earning more than the average income level for all Indians.

For Automation Pink starts of with the story of "John Henry - That Steel Driving Man" and the impact that steam powered equipment had on the industrial age.  Today, the computer is our steam drill.  Last month my computer decided to quit, so I decided to try to resurrect it rather than buying a whole new machine.  What a journey did I undertake as I removed and replaced two hard drives, installed and reinstalled software and systems for days on end only to have the machine die again when a student tried to open her PowerPoint presentation for last week´s class.  The new computer is a great example of the automation Pink talks about as it goes on its merry way checking for, identifying, gathering software for, and installing everything automatically when it is turned on or a new peripheral device is attached.

Having built his base, Pink suggests that we have moved from an Agriculture Age with its farmers to an Industrial Age with the factory workers to an Information Age with the knowledge workers and that we are moving to a Conceptual Age where creators and empathizers will be the dominant life form.  In this next (or current) age we will need different skill sets and different ways to look at issues - a shift to the right or conceptual half or our brains.  For this new world Pink suggests that we will need to use six new senses or aptitudes that can be described as:

• Design since it will no longer be sufficient to simply create a product, service, experience, or lifestyle that is merely functional; now it will be necessary to create something that is also beautiful, whimsical, and emotionally engaging.
  
  
• Story or the ability to fashion a compelling narrative to compel an audience rather than the left brain approach of developing a convincing argument fact by fact.
  
  
• Symphony or the ability to take in the whole picture.  In the Information Age it was appropriate to analyze each instrument in the orchestra - in the Conceptual Age what is important is the ability to see the big picture, cross boundaries, and combine disparate pieces into a new whole.
  
  
• Play or the benefits of laughter, lightheartedness, games, and humor at appropriate times rather than seriousness and sobriety all the time.
  
  
• Meaning rather than just accumulation as today´s material plenty has freed us to pursue more significant desires such as purpose, transcendence, and spiritual fulfillment.

Finally Pink takes us back to three questions he posed early on in the book

and suggests that those of us who embrace these questions quickly and completely and employ the six skills outlined will be the big winners.  Those who do not will certainly lag if not fall completely behind. 

As I said at the start, this idea certainly seems to build on and flesh out Friedman´s flat world.  Good luck and wish me luck as we move into this new reality together.

Copyright 2006 J.E. Mittler & Company.  All rights reserved.

Buy Dan Pink's book at Amazon.com here.  Read HR.com's Thought Leader interview with Daniel Pink here .