A Whole New MindDrive!
By Dan Pink
Nate LowryMarch 4, 2010
A Whole New MindMoving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age
A Tale of Two Brains
Sequential
Text
What is said
Analyzes the details
Left Hemisphere
Simultaneous
Context
How it’s said
Synthesizes the big picture
Right Hemisphere
Responses
• Functional MRI (fMRI)– Pictures of facial expressions
• Matching
– Right brain “reads” faces– Indoor/Outdoor distinction
Language
• Arabic and Hebrew – Right Brain– Written Right-to-Left
• Often only in consonants• Fill in the vowels• “stmp n th bg”
– “stomp on the bug”– “stamp in the bag”
Balance Is Key
• Left only– Spock Like– Chilly– No Emotion
• Right only– Weepy– Hysterical– Nothing really works
Knowledge Workers
• You
• Learning in school
• Not physical strength or manual skill
• Excel in Left-brain skills– No longer enough– Need Right-brain skills to get ahead
Reasons For Change
• Abundance– Walmart, choosing a trash can
• Asia– Estimated $136b in wages offshored by 2015
• Automation– Robots. Beep Beep Boop Beep Boop
Changes
Agriculture Age(Farmers)
Industrial Age(Factory Workers) Information Age
(Knowledge Workers)
Conceptual Age(Creators and Empathizers)
Changes
Agriculture Age(Farmers)
Industrial Age(Factory Workers) Information Age
(Knowledge Workers)
Conceptual Age(Creators and Empathizers)
Changes
Agriculture Age(Farmers)
Industrial Age(Factory Workers) Information Age
(Knowledge Workers)
Conceptual Age(Creators and Empathizers)
Changes
Agriculture Age(Farmers)
Industrial Age(Factory Workers) Information Age
(Knowledge Workers)
Conceptual Age(Creators and Empathizers)
Six Apptitudes
Not Just
Function
Argument
Focus
Logic
Seriousness
Accumulation
But Also
Design
Story
Symphony
Empathy
Play
Meaning
Design
1. Jeffery S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management
2. Jeffery S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management
3. Jeffery S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management
a) Courier New
b) Times New Roman
c) Arial
Answers: 1-b, 2-c, 3-a
Design - Tips
• Keep a design notebook– Write down or draw good designs you see
• Figure out why they are good
– Do the same for bad designs
Story
• Remember the test with pictures earlier?– Story
• Remember how many $$$ will be lost to Asia?– Fact
• Stories are patterns of logical experiences
Story - Books, Storybooks
• Read Robert McKee’s book – Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and The
Principles of Screenwriting
• Read Scott McCloud’s book – Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
For You To Do
• Write a Mini-Saga– 50 words
• No more• No less
Symphony
Symphony - Negative Space
Symphony – More Negative Space
Symphony - Listening
• Listen to great symphonies– Met Einstein at a party– Didn’t know about music
• Works from Bing Crosby to Mozart
– Did you start learning maths with calculus?• Start with “easy” things, even songs
– Work toward more complex pieces
For You To Do
• Draw!– Don’t think of the logical thing you are drawing– See the lines, shapes, connections
Empathy
• Put yourself in someone else’s shoes• Smile!
Play
• Video games– America’s Army
Play - Humor
• Mr. Smith: “Hey, are you using your lawn mower this afternoon?”
• Mr. Jones: “Uh, yes I am”• Mr. Smith:
a) “Oh well, can I borrow it when you’re done?”b) “Great. Then you won’t be using your golf clubs. Can I
borrow them?”c) “Oops!” as he steps on a rake that nearly hits him in
the faced) “The birds are always eating my grass seed.”
Play - Humor
• Laughter Clubs
• Cartoon Caption Game
Meaning
• Read Victor Frankl’s– Man’s Search for Meaning
• Labyrinths– Distract the left brain
Recap
• Abundance– Does it satisfy nonmaterial desires?
• Asia– Can someone overseas do it cheaper?
• Automation– Can a computer do it faster?
RecapStory
Symphony
Empathy
Play
Meaning
Design
Drive!The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
What Science Knows What Business
Does
Three Kinds of Drive
1. Biological– Food– Water– Sex
2. Rewards & Punishments– Carrot– Stick
3. “The performance of the task provided intrinsic reward”
Open Source Example
• Example of Motivation 3.0– Unpaid workers
• Many traditional companies’ IT infrastructure– Linux
• Wikipedia vs. Encarta
Human Behavior
• Tough to explain• Economics example
– $10 split• Clarinet practice example
– No $$$ (Motivation 2.0)– No mate (Motivation 1.0)
• Why do people take lower-paying jobs?– Office Space
Vocation Vacations
• Pay to work at another job– Chef– Running a bike shop– Animal shelter– “Sound Guy”– Carpenter
Monitoring
• Don’t people need to be monitored to work?– NO!
• 18M “non-employer businesses” in America– No paid employees– No one to manage or motivate
Carrots & Sticks
• People need baseline rewards– Need to pay the bills– Less anxiety
• What about this type of motivation?– Motivation 2.0
Tom Sawyer
• Whitewash that fence!– Work -> Fun
• Taxi driver vs. road-trip– Fun -> Work
Negative Effects
• If-Then Rewards– “If you do this, then I’ll give you that”– Actually lowers interest and motivation
Creativity – Candle Problem
Ethical Effects
• Pay-per-job or Pay-per-hour– Over-charging hours– Cheating customers
• Increased risk-taking
Other Problems With Rewards
• It can become an addiction
• The imply that the task is boring, undesirable
• Think about how casinos use them– Cheap food, comps
• People work to the reward, no further
The Seven Deadly Flaws
1. They can extinguish intrinsic motivation2. They can diminish performance3. They can crush creativity4. They can crown out good behavior5. They can encourage cheating, shortcuts, and
unethical behavior6. They can become addictive7. They can foster short-term thinking.
…But
• Sometimes they do work• Very simple tasks
– Racing down an obvious path• Tasks with “even rudimentary cognitive skill”
– Rewards hurt performance
Vs.
When You Have To Use Carrots
• Offer a rational for why the task is necessary
• Acknowledge that the task is boring
• Allow people to complete the task their own way
Using The Right Carrots
• Unexpected
• After the task is complete– “Now, that” Vs. “If, then”
• Use nontangible rewards
• Provide useful information and feedback– People want to know how they are doing
Type I – Type X
Type I
Intrinsic Motivation
Joy in the Activities
Type X
Extrinsic Desires
External Rewards
Type I – Type X
Type I
Intrinsic Motivation
Joy in the Activities
Type X
Extrinsic Desires
External Rewards
Distinctions
• Type I behavior is made, not born• Type I’s almost always outperform Type X’s• Type I’s don’t ignore money and recognition• Type I behavior is a renewable resource
– Type I = The Sun, burns– Type 2 = Coal, burns out
• Type I behavior promotes greater physical and mental well-being
The Three Elements
• Autonomy
• Mastery
• Purpose
Autonomy
• Human Nature– Children
• The Four Essentials– Tasks – Google’s 20% time– Time – When’s your best time to work?– Technique – Zappos interview $2k to leave– Team – Who do you want to work with?
Mastery
• Use Goldilocks Tasks– Not too tough– Not too easy
• Three Laws– Mindset – Set goals for learning, not performance
• Use setbacks as guideposts
– Pain – Work, work, work, Including the mundane– Asymptote – You never actually “master” anything
Flow
• Define it?
Purpose
• TOMS Shoes
• Employee budgets for charitable giving
Recap
• Motivation– What Science Knows != What Business Does
• Carrot & Stick Doesn’t Work
• Encourage Type I Behavior– Autonomy– Mastery– Purpose
Activity Time
Online Assesment
• Well actually…
Activity• Summarize your life in one sentence• Samples (9th Graders)
– She changed the way kids feel about going to the doctors and dentist.– He made the NFL and gave money for children’s athletics throughout the
USA.– His life was lived to the fullest and he had no regrets.– Her behind-the-scenes management made the shows the best Broadway
has ever seen.– He saved lives every day with a scalpel.– She changed the world in subtle ways.
• Samples (Grownups)– Abraham Lincoln – He preserved the union and freed the slaves– FDR – He lifted us out of a great depression and helped us win a world war
Activity
• Make your own cheesy motivational poster– http://wigflip.com/automotivator/
Activity
• Get a notecard– Front: What gets you up in the morning?– Back: What keeps you up at night?
Thanks