This week, we will take a look at the third of the six essential R-directed aptitudes from Daniel Pinks, A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future. The third aptitude is 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 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.