Creativity Primer

“The last few decades have belonged to a certain kind of person with a certain kind of mind—computer programmers who could crank code, lawyers who could craft contracts, MBAs who could crunch numbers. But the keys to the kingdom are changing hands. The future belongs to a very different kind of person with a very different kind of mind—creators and empathizers, pattern recognizers, and meaning makers. These people—artists, inventors, designers, storytellers, caregivers, consolers, big picture thinkers—will now reap society’s richest rewards and share its greatest joys.”

The quote above was taken from Dan Pink’s book, “A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future” which I referred to in my last blog post (here’s a simple mind map of the book for those of you who want a brief overview).

In his bestselling book, Pink argues that we’re moving away from the Information Age–which values graphs, diagrams, charts, and left-brained, analytical thinking–to the Conceptual Age, which is about innovation, empathy, and big-picture thinking.  Some of the skills that Pink predicts will be necessary in this new coming of age are the following:

• Integrating and synthesizing to create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.
• Seeing the big picture.
• Being able to convince through stories, rather than winning arguments with facts and statistics.
• The ability to create artistic and emotional beauty.
• Having the ability to detect patterns and opportunities.
• Having the ability to put two things together that have never been paired before.

In addition, Dan suggests that readers ask themselves three questions about their jobs:

1. Can this be outsourced? Can someone overseas do it cheaper?
2. Can this be automated? Can a computer do it faster?
3. Am I offering something that satisfies the nonmaterial, transcendent desires of an abundant age? Am I helping others meet their needs for beauty and meaning?

If your answer to questions one and two is “yes”, and your answer to question number three is “no”, then Pink would argue that you’re in trouble.  However, Pink doesn’t claim that hard-core left-brainers will simply be left out in the cold; instead, he explains that everyone should strive to develop more right-brained skills and abilities.

All of this points to the fact that creativity is becoming more and more important.  In light of this, I’ve created a “Creativity Primer”–using a lot of the creativity material found on this blog and making a lot of reference to my ebook “How to Be More Creative – A Handbook for Alchemists”–which you can download below.

I hope that both left-brainers looking to develop new right-brained skills, as well as people who are already creative and are looking for novel ways to get their creative juices flowing,  find it useful. So here it is: Creativity Primer.readandshare.

In addition, here’s a ten minute video created by Steve Cunningham which contains an excellent summary of “A Whole New Mind”:

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photo credit: Lori Greig

I Recommend:

My ebook “How to Be More Creative – A Handbook for Alchemists” explains that creativity is not the sole domain of the arts but is important in any field. Whatever you do, creativity helps you do it better. Discover practical advice on how to be more creative in every life endeavor by reading my ebook.

The Sedona Method is a simple, powerful, easy-to-learn technique that shows you how to let go of any negative, unwanted or painful feelings you may be experiencing at any particular moment. It consists of a series of questions you ask yourself that lead your awareness to focus on what you’re feeling in the moment and gently guide you toward letting it go. Read my review of the Sedona Method here.