Learning To Excel in the Modern Workplace, Part 3

     In the first two parts of this column I discussed Daniel Pink’s “A Whole New Mind”; a book that discusses how to create in a global marketplace. He introduced the “six senses” as a way to increase your high concept and high touch aptitudes. These aptitudes are related to right brain functioning, something he believes is crucial in the current conceptual era. 

      I touched briefly on the six senses: design, story, symphony, empathy, play, and meaning, in part 2. The following are ways that Daniel Pink prescribes to develop your right brain aptitude. It may feel a little like homework, but it actually is a lot of fun and the benefit of improving your perspective is well worth it.

  • Design: Become aware of your environment.
  1. Keep a design notebook and write down the design elements that work for you in the environment around you and the ones that don’t. If you hate writing notes, take pictures instead.
  2. Read design magazines and visit museums. Get a sense of what feels good to you. Go to open houses and pay attention to layouts that work and others that feel crammed.
  • Story: Explore different ways of telling stories.
  1. Write a mini saga: stories that are only 50 words long.
  2. Record yourself or family member telling a story.
  3. Go to storytelling festivals.
  4. Tell stories digitally with pictures and sound.
  • Symphony: The ability to put together the pieces and invent something new by detecting patterns and combining elements.
  1. Listen to classical music such as Beethoven’s 9th Symphony
  2. Draw. Books like “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain” by Betty Edwards will help hesitant drawers.
  3. Keep a metaphor log and list metaphors you encounter in print and daily conversation.
  • Empathy: The ability to imagine yourself in someone else’s position and intuit what the person is feeling.
  1. Read Paul Ekman’s book “Emotions Revealed” to learn how to decipher the emotions on people’s faces.
  2. Take an acting class. Not your style? Buy the CD-Rom Mind Reading. Originally developed for people who have difficulty reading emotions and want to learn how, it is now used by actors, illustrators and people who want more insight.
  3. Volunteer.
  • Play: No longer seen as a distraction from working and learning; games, humor, and joyfulness are contributing positively to society.
  1. Join a laughter club.
  2. Play right brain games. Tecmo’s Right Brain Game determines your brain dominance and challenges you to complete increasingly difficult level of right brain functioning.
  3. Play some video games for fun, but skip the excess.
  • Meaning: The abundance of information and technology has led many people to increasing meaning in their lives through creating happiness and spirituality.
  1. Show gratitude for the people in your life who have helped you along your life path.
  2. Examine roadblocks in your current life. Compile a list of some of the important changes you’d like to make and what’s keeping you from realizing them
  3. Look at how you spend your time and decide what activities add value to your life.
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