I'm not sure how I came across this book, but the subtitle quickly concerned me: "Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future". One of the endorsements on the back of the book echoed this sentiment: "if it's likely that someone in China or India can do your work more cheaply than you can, or if a computer can do your work faster than you can, read this book."
The book's main idea is that our economy is shifting from being dominated by left-brainers (think accountants, lawyers, and computer programmers who predominantly use the brain's logical, left side) to those who more use the right side. The brain's right side is the creative side of our brain- it's where we make music, compose a story or a poem, and paint a picutre. This is greatly concerning to me because I'm no artist. I got a "C"in the only art class I ever had to take- way back in 8th grade. My glaring lack of skill was evident when I had sketched a can of Pepsi and peanut butter M&MS and had used the wrong color on the M&Ms. When my teacher pressed why I had used the color, I told her that when I had showed her the earlier sketch, that it looked good, so I kept going. Wrong color and all! To be fair, I probably got a better grade than I deserved, because I am not sure you could call my art even average! Just a couple weeks ago each of us had to sketch something at our staff meeting and those "C in Art class" fears came out- pretty sure I had the worst drawing of the group. And for the longest time, the best name I could come up with for our Powerhouse Tutoring Center was the "Whittier Neighborhood Tutoring Center". Wow. So creative! Glad we landed on Powerhouse!
So as I started the book, I was nervous that I wouldn't have a job in the next few years because of my left-sided dominance. What I did read, though, was much more hopeful, and more of a statement than in an economy of abundance (which the author characterizes as most of us having more than what we need) and Asia (which the author characterizes as the ability of Asian nations to now do much of our work cheaper), our work will need to take on an increasingly artistic flavor. While we can disagree over that sentiment, the author puts forth six senses that in his opinion will help both left brains and right brains. The six senses are design, story, symphony, empathy, play, and meaning. If I talked about all 6, well then, I might as well quote the whole book! But of the 6, story seems to always be an area that most of us, regardless of profession, can glean from. In church world, where we hear sermons each week and perhaps more than one a week, it's the stories that seem to resonate the most with us. The more connected a story is to a value or a key idea, the better. It's often been said that Jesus was more of a story-teller than a teacher, but the two roles really ought not be that different. Obviously, it's not all about stories. Obviously there are times (lots of times) where we need information. And explanation. And application.
But I bet that we're more likely to remember that information if it's packaged as a story, much like you're more likely to remember that I got a C in art class (and why!) than you are the main point of this book . . .
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