Mr. Pink, author of A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers will Rule the Future, was the keynote speaker at a recent conference in Toronto, Canada, titled Inspire Creative Thinking in Your Employees.
Over one hundred senior managers from leading companies each paid $1000 to hear Mr. Pink talk about how business models that value creativity and innovation in employees can prevent outsourcing and increase revenues. The conference was organized by the University of Toronto’s prestigious Rotman School of Management.
Mr. Pink is also the author of two other provocative books, Free Agent Nation: The Future of Working for Yourself, and The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need. All three of his books deal with the changing world of work. Mr. Pink is the former chief speechwriter for Vice President Al Gore.
Creativity and Innovation Resist Outsourcing
According to Mr. Pink, both creativity and innovation are resistant to outsourcing and offer a competitive edge, and increased revenues, to business. Outsourcing, the scourge of the North American manufacturing sector, is now “gobbling up white collar jobs” that are weighted with routine functions. Engineering and accounting jobs are going offshore at an alarming speed. Mr. Pink believes jobs that are “high concept or high touch” can’t be exported. He calls this new paradigm the “Conceptual Age”, and the rising stars are those companies that have incorporated creativity and innovative in their corporate mission statements and into day-to-day business operations.
Good Design and the New Paradigm
A cute orange flyswatter that stands upright on a three-leg base is an example of the new paradigm. Mr. Pink says anyone, anywhere can manufacture an inexpensive, functional flyswatter, but few can design a flyswatter that has an emotive pull with consumers that attracts sales. The Italian design company Alessi knows how to do just that. It embeds added value in its product by incorporating creativity and innovation in all stages of product development, from the concept stage through to marketing. Consumers are attracted to the whimsical qualities of Alessi's brightly coloured Dr. Skud flyswatter and are prepared to pay the high retail price of $15.00. Not a bad profit on a product that costs pennies per unit to manufacture.
Six Aptitudes of Creativity and Innovation
Good design is just one of six aptitudes that are part of the “high concept or high touch” creative and innovative business model. The other five are: the story, the symphony, empathy, play, and meaning.
The story is not just an argument about why a product or service should be bought by the consumer. Rather, the story acts as an emotive differentiator that sets the product or service apart from competitors by making an emotional connection with the purchaser.
The symphony is about seeing the big picture and being able to connect the dots. The symphonic skill set is integrative, incorporating many points of view, and it’s hard to export.
Empathy is also hard to export and is valuable for its ability to attract and keep customers.
Play keeps the innnovative spirit percolating and recent studies indicate humor, play’s partner, is showing itself to be an accurate marker for managerial effectiveness.
The final aptitude, meaning, is about doing purposeful work, and finding happiness in the process.
The Future Will be Driven by Creativity
Those who master the “high concept or high touch” aptitudes will be successful in the “Conceptual Age” says Mr. Pink. He envisions the new age as a democratic playing field open to all sorts of possibilities, all driven by creativity and innovation. He ends his talk by saying that children should be prepared for their future, “not our past”. More of Mr. Pink's theories can be found in his book A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers will Rule the Future.
