5 Minds for the Future

Does the author make his case in the book? Definitely. He lays out each point clearly and effectively, and makes sure we understand why this information is relevant to us today.

Some of his theories are complex in nature, so you might expect to get lost or feel overwhelmed by his arguments. But you don't. This is because the author does a masterful job giving examples and scenarios that clearly illustrate each of his points. And thanks to these illustrations, you don't need an advanced degree to understand what he's talking about.

So who, then, will be interested in reading "Five Minds for the Future"? In short, pretty much anyone who's interested in identifying and developing these crucial skills. The five minds the author covers in this book are relevant to anyone who wants to learn how to thrive in a future that's constantly changing and evolving.

Those involved in education, whether formally or informally, will particularly benefit from reading this book. The author, who's a professor at Harvard University, talks at length about why educators have an opportunity to help develop these vital minds for the future. He goes into detail about how this can be accomplished in the years to come, and discusses why students are still being taught information and skills that were relevant fifty years ago, but are obsolete today.

So, keep listening to find out why the author thinks the Internet can discourage us from learning, why a politician's choice of golf partner may reveal more about his attitude to equal opportunities than all his fine speeches on the subject; and why your professional training might be weakening your synthesizing mind, not strengthening it.

The book is divided into chapters that each cover one of the five minds. The author begins with the Disciplined Mind. He stresses that having a disciplined mind means that you don't just work hard at acquiring knowledge or skills, but you also apply yourself to using them to truly understand the world around you.

Your understanding of a topic or skill should be masterful enough so that if you're presented with a new problem, you have the tools you need to decide the best course of action.

The Internet is one thing that makes being a master of this skill is so important. Thanks to search engines, all of us can easily learn some basic facts about a topic in a short amount of time. And we regularly do. This kind of broad but shallow learning is beginning to replace the traditional approach of becoming truly expert in a single area. However, it's only when you've explored a topic in real depth that you can start to understand what it's really about, as opposed to simply quoting a few facts and figures.

In the future, people who make an effort to develop a Disciplined Mind will find they're better able to understand what's happening in the world around them. They'll also be the ones who are called upon when help is needed in their area of expertise. They'll have informed opinions and know how to act.

The author gives a helpful how-to list for those of us who are undisciplined thinkers. This details the four steps we must take to start disciplining our minds to become masters in our chosen field.

The next mind the author covers is the Synthesizing Mind.

This is one of the most important traits that successful people will have in the future. Why? Well, our world's accumulated knowledge is reportedly doubling every two or three years. So knowing how to pull all of it together from different sources to form a cohesive picture will be vital.

The author gives us an informative list of eight different kinds of syntheses. One example is the narrative. For example, in his epic work War and Peace, Tolstoy pulled together a broad range of events that took place around Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812, and synthesized this information into a single work.

Another good example is visual art. The author calls this type of synthesis "embodiments without words." If you look at Pablo Picasso's painting Guernica, for example, you can see how he captured aspects of the Spanish Civil War in a mural. Similarly, Michelangelo's work in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican pulls together different Biblical events to form a coherent picture.

Why do we need to have this synthesizing mind? Well, once you see the list of different types of syntheses, it's obvious that, as human beings, we're constantly trying to pull information together to make a complete picture. Without the ability to synthesize, we can become trapped into one narrow mode of thinking.

The author proposes that some types of professional training can actually reinforce this dangerous tendency. For example, look at the journalist who's been trained to tell a complete story in a hundred words or less. When the opportunity comes up to co-write a book with another writer, she gets intensely frustrated. Her skills for writing lengthy features have waned, and by now they're almost non-existent.

Another example is the doctor who's witnessed many deaths in the emergency room. She's a master at handling severe illness and injury, but has become insensitive to human suffering, because she only focuses on applying her knowledge in crisis situations.

Just like in the previous chapter, the author gives us clear, step-by-step instructions on how we can start developing our ability to synthesize.

This concept may seem to clash with the concept of the Disciplined Mind described in the previous chapter, in which the author urges us to delve deep into single areas of study. But there's no contradiction. The author stresses that while mastery of one area is important, it shouldn't result in the neglect of everything else. All the minds in this book must stay integrated, working together.

The next mind the book covers is the Creating Mind.

Throughout history, some of the most radical innovations and creations were shunned or discouraged in their day. For example, Galileo was forced to rescind publically his theory that the Earth goes round the Sun; Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species met with widespread denial; and more recently, there was the President of IBM who supposedly said in 1943, "I think there's a world market for maybe five computers". Although there's no evidence he actually said that, other people made similar statements at the time, when the idea of the personal computer seemed absurd.

Our modern era has brought a remarkable change in how most of us view creativity. These days, creative people and ideas are more readily embraced and celebrated. Look at the success of things like laser surgery, cell phones, and iPods. With each new creative leap the bar gets raised. Innovation and vision are what's driving the future, and those of us without the ability to think creatively will be left behind.

The author goes into the traits most often seen in successful creative thinkers. One of them is how they deal with failure. Contrary to what many of us might think, creative types do, in fact, often fail at what they're attempting. But instead of giving up, the true creative finds a different, and better, way to achieve their vision.

The author says that if a business wants to thrive in the years to come, it must start infiltrating the entire organization with creative thinkers, starting at the top. Rewarding new ideas and out-of-box thinking needs to become standard practice for any company that wants to last long-term.

The author also goes into the importance of creativity in groups, and identifies three essential elements that must be present for true creativity to take place.

The fourth mind is called the Respectful Mind, and this mind is perhaps the most important for surviving in our world of increased globalization. Instead of shunning differences or even just tolerating them, the author calls on all of us to truly show respect for each other.

It's easy to talk the talk when it comes to respecting those different from ourselves. Companies boast about the diversity of their workforces, and politicians make speeches about equal opportunities and equal access. And these can be taken as evidence of respect for others. But we need to be more skeptical, and look for signs of false respect. According to the author, false respect is more common in our society than real respect.

For example, look at the company with a high percentage of employees from ethnic minority groups. What are those people doing? Are they spread throughout the organization, including the positions of power, or are they all lower down on the ladder? A politician may be promoting diversity, but how diverse is his or her advisory council? Who do they send to important meetings, and who do they play golf with?

Sifting false respect from real respect can be challenging, but the difference is crucial. The author states that having real respect for people means giving them the benefit of the doubt, avoiding stereotypes and censure.

When you've finished this chapter, you'll find it easy to see just how common false respect is in our world. And once you learn how to identify the signs of false respect, you'll be able to tell who's just talking the talk, and who's walking the walk.

Although the entire book is full of fascinating information, the chapter on respect might be the most insightful. You'll learn why being too politically correct is just as bad as showing no respect at all, and why corporations that rely on aggressive tactics to get the job done may ultimately fall hard in the years to come.

The last area covered is the Ethical Mind.

The author uses this chapter to explore many angles on ethics. He stresses that the Ethical Mind is not just about making morally correct choices. Rather, having an Ethical Mind means doing what he calls "good work." He uses this phrase to mean two things. First, it's about taking responsibility to contribute to your community, and realizing that you might have an obligation to those less fortunate than you. Second, it means doing your work conscientiously, so that you always produce your very best.

After reading his arguments, it's easy to see just how important having an Ethical Mind is. The author uses several examples to show why doing good work is so vital, and why we need to hold ourselves to a higher standard than was acceptable in the past.

Learning how to do good work is no easy task, but the author comes through for us yet again with a four-step process to illustrate how to begin.

Readers will really appreciate the final chapter, which does an impressive job describing each mind again in easy-to-understand terms, as well as re-emphasizing why they're so important.

The author cautions that developing the five minds is not easy to achieve, and there are risks and obstacles to consider. For example, a society that has too many people with Respectful Minds might become an easy target for terrorists, while a society in which people lack Creative Minds may miss out on better ways of doing things.

On a personal level, he advises anyone who chooses to develop their minds to understand that they may face some resistance.

So, is this book worth your time? The answer is a wholehearted yes. Although the subject matter can be a bit complex in places, you're left with a better understanding of the human condition – and plenty of well-thought-out tips for improving your own situation.

Thanks to the numerous examples the author pulls from literature, history, and current events, you're never left feeling lost or confused. He makes it abundantly clear why we need to begin developing these skills, and gives us clear instructions on how to get started.

It's also a very rich book, with far more information than we're able to convey in this short glimpse inside the covers.

"Five Minds for the Future" by Howard Gardner is published in hardback by Harvard Business School Press.

That's the end of this episode of Book Insights. Click here to buy the book from Amazon.