Pink in a Nutshell

Daniel Pink's book is worth reading. It will broaden your life personally and professionally, regardless of the profession you are in. I like this book immensely for its usefulness because it is easy to read. It convincingly makes the argument that the world is permanently different and if you want to be relevant and competent in the whole new world, it is pretty simple: you need whole new skills in addition to the ones you have. Pink bundles these skills as a whole new mind. Here is the skeletal outline of the entire book:

Brief Historical Context

Pink gives a historical overview of the four major 'ages':

1. Agricultural Age (farmers)
2. Industrial Age (factory workers)
3. Information Age (knowledge workers)
4. Conceptual Age (creators and empathizers)

This is significant for educators for a few reasons. We teach this outline. But, we kinds of trail off shy of teaching the Information Age yet we have all lived through the information age. We all remember the first time we used a computer, the first time we emailed, learning what google was, and shopping online for the first time etc. Now, we do all these things and more all the time -- it is the completely new normal. But, we may not be in touch with the nuance of how the information age has evolved into a cultural search for making meaning of all of the information available to us. Pink helps point out that new Conceptional Age, which others also right about but call by other names like The Experiential Age or the Transformative Age. Understanding and actively participating in The Conceptual Age is where Pink focuses and believed businesses can completely distinguish themselves.

Part I of Pink's Argument: The Three A's

Three major forces are influencing all business in the current economy:

Asia (everything that can be outsourced, is)

Automation (computerization, robots, technology, processes).

Abundance (consumers have too many choices, nothing is scarce)

Pink does not dwell on this, or really even explicitly address it, but education is very much included in the businesses that are being changed by these current forces.

We have to ask three crucial questions for our continued success (our sustainability):

1. Can a computer do it faster or better?
2. Can someone overseas do it cheaper?
3. Is what I'm offering have meaning in an age of abundance?

Part 2 of Pink's Argument: Six Essential Senses

To distinguish ourselves in this environment, we need additional tools in our toolbox. These two are creative tools compared to our well honed logical tools. Pink calls these his six essential senses:

1. Design - not just function.
   
2. Story - not just argument.
   
3. Symphony - not just detail focus.
4. Empathy - not just logic.
   
5. Play - not just seriousness.
   
6. Meaning - not just accumulation.

That's the whole book in a nutshell.

So what? Why does this matter to me as a person, as a parent, as a professional educator?