Analysis of Pink’s Six Principles in the Conceptual World

Introduction

Daniel Pink (2005) sees the future to accommodate successfully persons with different mindsets: artists, creative individuals, and “right-brain” thinkers. According to the author, the equal treatment would be the tipping point for the perception of winners and losers. Drawing on research conducted in the multifaceted areas, the author outlines six fundamental principles that one must possess to achieve self-fulfillment, job satisfaction, and professional success. Additionally, he stipulates the ways of mastering the six principles with relevant real world examples. The contemporary world is shifting from logical and linear thinking, which bases on the scarcity of choice, to a “conceptual age”, where creativity, innovation, and critical thinking become an asset (p.4). The two sides of the brain are used as a metaphor for comprehending contours of the modern world. Based on the propositions by Pink (2005), the current paper analyzes the six principles advanced in the book A Whole New World in relation to a dentistry work environment. Further, it evaluates the tenets and presents the personal opinion on the book’s concepts.

The Principles

In his book, Pink does an analysis of the left brain and the right brain also known as the L-direct and R-direct respectively. He believes the first one is responsible for capturing details, but only the second one can envision a bigger picture. Thus, the left side of the brain is responsible for the backward concept of the information age, while the right side is effective for the new conceptual age. In the conceptual age, innovation, creativity, empathy, and thinking-outside-the-box play more important role as compared to the mass production. In the real world, organizations can only hold a competitive advantage by designing beautiful and emotionally compelling products. The six principles advanced by Pink include design, story, symphony, empathy, play, and meaning.

The first element is design. All organizations are striving to deliver cutting edge products that are more user-friendly, ergonomic, energy saving and beautiful. From furniture to couches, and from electronics to state of the art buildings, everything is created to please the eye as well as perform the stated functions. The orthodontics world has been participating in the design-competitive rush. Comfortable patients’ chairs, fast-healing treatment methodologies, and appealing teeth replacements are a part of the changes implemented to accommodate new world clients. Cutting-edge designs are conceptualized by the R-direct, which allows individuals comprehending the application of products as a mean to making better alternatives.

The second principle is story. According to Pink, a story is any context capable of arousing human emotions. Stories emerge when high concept and high sense of touch combine in one product. Traditionally, organizations simply conveyed information in a dry manner making it difficult to remember and retrieve it later. Although extensive information inflow exists in the present age, stories are more relevant as they cause an emotional impact, which makes the presentation memorable. In the dentistry market, customers are not given information on the state of their dental health. Additionally, an explanation to present a combination of benefits accrued from treatment is required to make the patient understand better.

The third principle of the conceptual world is symphony. The aspect refers to the ability to fit different concepts into one big workable idea. Instead of analyzing the details of one idea, symphony dwells on synthesizing the different ideas. The concept enables the company to envision a relationship between unrelated fields to invent a new product. According to Pink, to achieve symphony, the two brain hemispheres have to act independently. The L-direct should not evaluate the R-direct and vice versa. Creativity in any field of today generally depends on the ability of crossing domain boundaries. Moreover, the person termed creative always sees relationships, to which the others do not pay attention. For instance, Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook inventor, related socializing and the Internet. In dentistry, the art of treatment has been combined with computer diagnosis technology. The results brought faster diagnosis and better patient care. In the example, knowledge of information technology has been combined with dentistry to improve service provision.

The fourth concept is empathy, which refers to the ability to understand the position of others. Humans are the emotional beings, who want to be treated as they would treat others. The phenomenon causes the concept of fairness. However, empathy should not be confused with sympathy. Empathy focuses on seeing the world from another person’s perspective. Pink affirms that the virtue builds a bond between employees and the society, allows coherence at work, and creates self-awareness by providing grounds for an ethical living. All organizational cultures emphasize the spirit of teamwork and being ‘each-one’s keeper’. The factor marks the implication of the cooperation and boosts job satisfaction. Without empathy, the workplace would be chaotic and driven by the intrinsic motives of personal gain. Moreover, communication systems would be broken, and institution would not stand the test of time. Customers read facial expressions that show happiness, fear, sadness, anger, contempt, and other emotions. The companies confirm that a customer, who sees the negative human emotions while buying, will certainly never make a return. Thus, greeting the consumers with happiness motivates them to return for more purchases. When dentists or staff members are receiving clients, protocols demand positive attitude to be maintained no matter the circumstance.

The fifth concept is play, as the conceptual age connects work and fun. Research shows that joyful workforce is highly productive and satisfied. In present day organizations, managers encourage a relaxed environment. The cause for the change is that the employees derive more satisfaction working in hassle-free conditions. Taking vacations to relax and introducing play tools like video games at work is the increasingly popular strategy in the modern business world.

The sixths concept is the meaning. The purpose of individuals is to derive a purpose and meaning to in life. In the pursuit, man combines external environment parameters and the internal will. Living for nothing is perceived to be the greatest form of regret in the conceptual age. Thus, people always strive to achieve gratification through different accomplishments. People tend to work passionately when they are satisfied knowing their path in life. Thus, material benefits lose their motivating factor in the modern world, as many people prefer non-monetary incentives.

How Pink’s Tenets Will Be Received

Although Pink describes the future yet to be realized, the tenets have materialized in today’s world. Organizations spend more time looking for and investing in better designs. For instance, the motor industry produces cars with the engine, which has been invented decades ago. However, the manufacturers change fuel consumption, introduce cutting edge design, and improve ergonomics. Also, play has already been incorporated into work curriculums to help spark intellectualism and improve productivity. Similarly, compelling stories apply in the business world to capture one’s emotions and convert them into sales leads. The factor is specifically true in social media and other channels marketers employ after sales services. In pursuit of life’s meaning, people work tirelessly to achieve their goals. Finally, mass production of goods has already been replaced by production of high-end creative products on a small scale. Therefore, the principles presented by Pink have already been positively accepted in the business, and the trend is expected to continue.

Personal Opinion of Pink’s Tenets

I agree with Pinks tenets, as the concepts make sense in theory and apply in practice. Consequently, the organizations embrace the modern principles. People increasingly strive for self-actualization instead of mere duty fulfillment. Satisfaction has taken the center stage through exploration of a specialized path that leads one towards achieving life’s meaning. Moreover, in my observation, dental patients look for the latest fine-tuned treatment options. In all instances, they choose beautiful designs, painless treatment, and comfort despite the increasing costs. Clearly, benefits attract more consumers. In another dimension, all innovations that stand the test of time, apply the principle of symphony. The phenomenon is particularly true in the dentistry industry, where information technology and engineering have been applied to medical procedures to make quality equipment.

Conclusion

Pink’s six principles drive the modern work environments. The paper has presented the principles and their manifests in the real world. As much as the L-direct is important in collecting information, the R-direct should involve to introduce a creative manner. The future that Pink talks about is already here. Artists, inventors, emotional story tellers, playful work environment, empathetic, and symphonists businesses are ruling the world. In order to uphold the environment filled with R-directed individuals, a shift in the education system is required. Thus, schools and colleges should emphasize creative development and involve more faculties of fine arts. In fact, Pink argues that Masters of Fine Arts is the new MBA. I do believe the principals are workable and, if fully embraced, will motivate the world to achieve more. The age of mass production is shifted to pave the way for new symphony-driven invention.

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