Latest read: A Whole New Mind

Daniel Pink’s second book A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future is a great, easy read for everyone. In today’s very competitive business market, college or non-profit Dan’s new views on tapping creative minds will ensure success moving forward.

There are several examples of how business must change in order to not just compete…but survive in today’s globalized economy.

It was somewhat refreshing to basically see Tom Friedman‘s influence from The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century stitched into Pink’s writing. And he could not be more accurate.

GM’s well publicized struggles continue. But their struggle is not against Japan. They have new competition on the automobile producing block…from India and China.

Why? Well lets start with the fact that both India and China can begin building state of the art robotic assembly plants with cheaper labor resulting in India producing brand new cars for only $2,500.

This actually points to another Friedman reference from The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization where we learned only a small handful of humans produce Lexus cars…robots do the rest. So India and China can move past the hurdle of long standing contract, benefit and retirement costs bogging down GM to win the race to sell their products on the American marketplace.

But Pink moves beyond just the Globalization impact. He suggests throughout his book the new approaches necessary by creative thinkers. The real power for future business success can be focused on those who have a powerful imagination to create.

One of the best suggestions that runs in the face of American business…laughing sessions. It was very refreshing to learn how medical changes happen to the body when you enjoy a good bout of simple laughter. The fact that Laughing Clubs are popping up in India, Canada and other countries around the globe is a big challenge for America.

As Pink points out Henry Ford never wanted any employee to even crack a smile let along sit and laugh continuously on the job. But while Ford’s company needs to find ways to change in order to keep their head above water…it may not be a bad time to toss out those old rule Henry established and usher in the new ones that can make Detroit competitive again.

So Corporate America – how do you succeed based on Pink’s Right-Brainers? Hire an Artist. More by nature than by training Artists have been creative right brain thinkers since day one. And they have the abilities to understand complex problems from different – non traditional angles as Pink illustrates. The time is now for a real look at the creative, artistic solutions to modern business challenges.