Dawn of a New Thinking

TORSTEN HENNING HENSEL
PARTNER // CREATIVE CONSULTANT
NOUVÉ INTERPLAY

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DAWN OF A NEW THINKING
INVESTIGATING THE MINDSET OF THE DIGITAL AGE
BERLIN // OCTOBER 2009
HTTP://WWW.FLICKR.COM/PHOTOS/THOMASHAWK/2877577952

"The last few decades have belonged to a certain
kind of person with a certain kind of mind... computer
programmers who could crank code, lawyers who
could craft contracts, MBAs who could crunch
numbers. But the keys to the kingdom are changing
hands. The future belongs to a very different kind of
person with a very different kind of mind - creators
and empathisers, pattern recognisers and meaning
makers. These people - artists, inventors, designers,
storytellers, caregivers, consolers, big picture thinkers
- will now reap society's richest rewards and share
it's greatest joys." Daniel H. Pink, A Whole New Mind
Source: Daniel H. Pink: A Whole New Mind: Why Right-brainers Will Rule the Future, 2006

Welc ome to a new age...
http://farm2.static.ﬂickr.com/1214/529254544_8af3500c3e.jpg

"...an age animated by a different form of thinking
and a new approach to life – one that prizes
aptitudes like 'high concept' and 'high touch.'
High concept involves the capacity to detect
patterns and opportunities, to create artistic and
emotional beauty, to craft a satisfying narrative...
High touch involves the ability to empathize with
others, to understand the subtleties of human
interaction..." Daniel H. Pink, A Whole New Mind

http://herd.typepad.com/herd_the_hidden_truth_abo/2009/01/big-question-for-anyone-who-neuroanythings-you.html

The (near) future will be characterized by a signiﬁcant
mindset shift. Experts like neuroscientists and social
researchers are predicting a change from rational left-
brain to intuitive right-brain thinking. According to
Daniel H. Pink, the keys to success are in developing
and cultivating six senses...

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/neonihil/3533557060

DESIGN
Not just function but also DESIGN. It’s no longer sufﬁcient to create a product, a service, an
experience, or a lifestyle that’s merely functional. Today it’s economically crucial and personally
rewarding to create something that is also beautiful, whimsical, or emotionally engaging.



STORY
Not just argument but also STORY. When our lives are brimming with information and data, it’s not
enough to marshal an effective argument. Someone somewhere will inevitably track down a
counterpoint to rebut your point. The essence of persuasion, communication, and self-
understanding has become the ability also to fashion a compelling narrative.



SYMPHONY
Not just focus but also SYMPHONY. Much of the Industrial and Information Ages required focus and
specialization. But as white-collar work gets routed to Asia and reduced to software, there’s a new
premium on the opposite aptitude: putting the pieces together, or what I call Symphony. What’s in
greatest demand today isn’t analysis but synthesis—seeing the big picture, crossing boundaries,
and being able to combine disparate pieces into an arresting new whole.



EMPATHY
Not just logic but also EMPATHY. The capacity for logical thought is one of the things that makes us
human. But in a world of ubiquitous information and advanced analytic tools, logic alone won’t do.
What will distinguish those who thrive will be their ability to understand what makes their fellow
woman or man tick, to forge relationships, and to care for others.


http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/neonihil/3925061486/

PLAY
Not just seriousness but also PLAY. Ample evidence points to the enormous health and professional
beneﬁts of laughter, lightheartedness, games, and humor. There is a time to be serious, of course.
But too much sobriety can be bad for your career and worse for your general well-being. In the
Conceptual Age, in work and in life, we all need to play.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/neonihil/3969651406/

MEANING
Not just accumulation but also MEANING. We live in a world of breathtaking material plenty. That
has freed hundreds of millions of people from day-to-day struggles and liberated us to pursue
more significant desires: purpose, transcendence, and spiritual fulfillment.


a world of
breathtaking
material
plenty...

a world of
a world of
breathtaking
breathtaking
material
technological pace
plenty...

a world of
breathtaking
Thus, we would like to add three additional qualities...

technological pace

INTUITION
BALANCE
Thus, we would like to add three additional qualities...

ENHANCEMENT

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/rosie_hardy/2456615563/

INTUITION
Intuition does what the intellect alone cannot: sense truths that do not follow directly from old
assumptions, old logic, or old programming. Intuitive thinking is therefore the only way to reliably
come up with anything truly new because it gives you newfound vision. It is your internal compass
magnetized to absolute truth.

http://montalk.net/metaphys/138/transcendence-through-intuitive-thinking

Intuition becomes increasingly
valuable in the new information
society precisely because there
is so much data. John Naisbitt

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/hanako/68303158/

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/bradi/2006283369

BALANCE
High touch becomes essential in an age of high tech. Technology will play an important role but it
cannot displace fundamental human connections. In a complex knowledge economy, old forms of
organization are not suitable any more. Formal and informal networks become major players in the
knowledge economy. In this digitally networked world, meeting face-to-face will become
increasingly important. In this context, the ability of cautiously establishing a high tech / high
touch balance is key.

The more technology we
introduce into our lives, the
more we seek a high touch
balance. John Naisbitt: High Tech – High Touch

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/pinksherbet/3829314362

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/golden_road/2761032988

ENHANCEMENT
The use of digital technology allows us to access cognitive power beyond our innate capacity.
Because of technology, our thinking will beneﬁt from unprecedented, instant access to ongoing
worldwide discussions, all of recorded history, everything ever written, massive libraries of case
studies and collected data, and highly realistic simulated experiences equivalent to years or even
centuries of actual experience.

http://www.wisdompage.com/Prensky01.html

By extending our
minds into the
machine world,
The digitally enhanced person who will emerge from these developments, homo sapiens digital, differs
from today's human in two key aspects: He or she accepts digital enhancement as an integral fact of
human existence, and he or she is digitally wise. Digital wisdom is exhibited both in a considered use of
digital enhancements to complement innate abilities and in the use of enhancements to facilitate wiser
decision making. In an unimaginably complex future the unenhanced person, however wise, will not
have the tools of wisdom that will be available to even the least wise enhanced human.

our actual thinking
improves.
http://www.wisdompage.com/Prensky01.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/manyfires/2747851067

Digital has been a major driving force in accelerating
innovation to an entirely new level. Surfing this particular
exponential wave requires people who are able to be
optimally creative, independent, responsive, energetic,
spontaneous, problem-solving, lateral-thinking,
iconoclastic and agile.

We believe that a society which is built on these
concepts will flourish and prosper and create the
substance for personal and economic growth in
the future.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/manyfires/1520991375

THANK YOU!
Interested? Get in contact:
torsten.hensel@nouve-interplay.com
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Dawn of a New Thinking

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