Inspired by Daniel Pink’s book, A Whole New Mind, and by a Darden project team of which I’m a member, my blog for the next few weeks will discuss what I’ve come to believe are the absolute essential skills for breaking through in the job search process. I’m proposing that Pink’s concept of “right-brained,” or “high touch/high concept” skills, while arguably critical for success in life and career, are also more differentiating and more important to recruiters than the litany of hard, left-brained skills and traits that many of us MBAs bring to the table.
A quick synopsis of the book: Pink asserts we are moving from the “Information Age” to the “Conceptual Age.” In this new age, left-brained activities such as analytical thinking, detail, facts, and pattern recognition, logic will be less valued than they have been in the past. These activities, examples of which include things like preparing a tax return, conducting due diligence on transactions, marketing data analysis, even diagnosing disease, are more easily accomplished or less expensively done or more easily available due to three external forces: automation, Asia, or abundance. These three external factors have commoditized these left-brained skills. In this new Conceptual Age, those who possess highly developed “right-brained” skills will be the ones who are needed to help American business succeed. The right brain is associated with functions such as feeling, "big picture" orientation, imagination, spatial perception, and possibility thinking. Right brain activities include artistry, empathy, taking the long view, and connecting the dots.
While the title of this blog might be a bit of an overpromise, I’m convinced that Pink’s analysis applies to the job search. I plan to blog on all six skills that Pink lists as the “right-brained” skills of the Conceptual Age—one at a time of course. The six senses are: Design, Story, Symphony, Empathy, Play and Meaning. But before I do, let me answer your question: does the premise of this book apply to career development? Yes!
The world is flooded with MBA graduates. Over 500 accredited MBA programs award the degree in the US alone. Darden’s Dean, Robert Bruner, has spoken extensively on this subject. He argues that the quality of an MBA program and personal fit are two paramount issues when considering MBA programs. If one takes just the top 20 ranked programs in the US, I count close to 10,000 “high quality” MBAs graduating per year. Talk about the issue of abundance here in the US alone. With this many “high-quality” MBAs entering the marketplace and competing for the best jobs, a candidate must differentiate him/herself. This doesn’t even count the several thousand programs that are springing up in Asia. As these programs improve in quality, the ability for Asia to absorb the left-brained tasks of American business increases substantially. Pink sights that the average salary of the high-tech worker in Asia is $15,000 while white collar salaries in the US are an upward of $70,000.
So, when I “mock” interview many students, I ask what makes them different as a candidate. Many times the replies are skills like analytical thinking, detail oriented, and/or project management. I propose, based on Pink’s analysis, that while these skills are necessary, they are not differentiating and that the six senses above are actually more so.
Next posting will explore the sense of design. Are you buying this so far?