Using Your Right Brain to Get Ahead

I just read Daniel Pink’s book A Whole New Mind and discovered that all those things that made me different in high school are going to be my assets in getting ahead in life.

It used to be that the artistic ones were the odd balls with the starving artist future and the strong left brainers were on the gravy train to success. But today all those left brain activities can be outsourced or automated and its the right brain that will get you ahead.

As we leave the “Information Age” and enter into the “Conceptual Age”, the workplace terrain is changing once again. According to Pink there are six senses of the right brain. And to get ahead, you need to nurture these right brain senses. This is cool with me because these are the things I love to do the most.

  1. Design - It was on this day 8 years ago that bad ballot design resulted in electing one of the worse US Presidents in history. In a time of over abundance of stuff, its usability that will count.
  2. Story - Tell a story to strike at the heart of your audience. It lasts longer and makes a far better impression.
  3. Symphony - The ability to look at the big picture (not just the detail) helps in so many ways. My husband is awesome at this and always amazes me when he quickly asses the whole story.
  4. Empathy - This is woman’s greatest assets. We naturally use emotion and intuition. Men are great at this too, but its not quite as natural.
  5. Play - Having a good time at the office is critical to getting ahead. Bring humor into your business and products and you’ll have an advantage.
  6. Meaning - Finding meaning and purpose in life is rapidly growing in popularity. What was once considered “new age hippy thinking” is mainstream. Since its the theme of my blog, I feel very passionate about it. And can testify that embracing more meaningful life has helped me out tremendously in my professional life as well.

No matter what your job, there’s room for more R-Brain creativity. In fact, without it you might find yourself as the Starving Non-Artist.