As a requirement for our J302 Infomania class, we were to read A Whole New Mind by Daniel H. Pink. This best seller focuses on the importance of individuals exercising right brain activities in order to escape the current predominately left brain era; in other words, individuals becoming more inventive and creative. Pink demonstrates six abilities he says are crucial for people to acquire so that they may access and thrive from their creative side. He addresses the elements of design, story, symphony, empathy, play, and meaning and how they can aid in professional and individual achievement. The point of this book is for people to become more aware of right brain activities to become more creative and change how they interact with the world.
Empathy
The art of event planning requires numerous creative and intuitive skills. Above all else, it is essential for an event planner to possess empathy in order to master their craft.
“Empathy is the ability to imagine yourself in someone else’s position and to intuit what that person is feeling,” wrote Pink in A Whole New Mind.
Event planners must be able to understand their clients to sufficiently meet the client’s needs, as they bring other’s ideas to life. They want to capture the essence of the event as the client sees it. When an event planner sees through the client’s eyes, they can better serve the client.
Pink discusses in detail the importance of increasing empathy in the work environment. Understanding your client on a deeper level will help you connect with them and therefore better serve them. Try this exercise to practice empathizing with people:
"Ask someone in your organization to lend you her purse, briefcase, or backpack. Also ask that person to remove the things inside that bear her name. Then gather a group of six other people and review the contents, without knowing who the person is, to try to determine what sort of life-personal, professional, emotional-the person lives. For instance, is the bag crammed with things or is it spare and neat? Is everything inside related to work? Or are there items that indicate a family life or other interests? How much money is in the wallet? Does this person carry any photographs? Pick through the artifacts like a purse-snatching archaelogist-and you can really begin to imagine what it's like to be that person" (A Whole New Mind, 174).
“Empathy is the ability to imagine yourself in someone else’s position and to intuit what that person is feeling,” wrote Pink in A Whole New Mind.
Event planners must be able to understand their clients to sufficiently meet the client’s needs, as they bring other’s ideas to life. They want to capture the essence of the event as the client sees it. When an event planner sees through the client’s eyes, they can better serve the client.
Pink discusses in detail the importance of increasing empathy in the work environment. Understanding your client on a deeper level will help you connect with them and therefore better serve them. Try this exercise to practice empathizing with people:
"Ask someone in your organization to lend you her purse, briefcase, or backpack. Also ask that person to remove the things inside that bear her name. Then gather a group of six other people and review the contents, without knowing who the person is, to try to determine what sort of life-personal, professional, emotional-the person lives. For instance, is the bag crammed with things or is it spare and neat? Is everything inside related to work? Or are there items that indicate a family life or other interests? How much money is in the wallet? Does this person carry any photographs? Pick through the artifacts like a purse-snatching archaelogist-and you can really begin to imagine what it's like to be that person" (A Whole New Mind, 174).
DESIGN
Design and creativity are thought to be two of the most important aspects that drive the professional world. Creative thinkers are the most important facilitators for cultivating sustainable life, wrote Pink.
Designers give meaning to the otherwise mundane and unmemorable things in life. Good design can put you ahead of the game. Anyone can spew facts and information, but it takes a creative thinker or designer to make those things memorable.
"Design is the only thing that differentiates one product from another marketplace," Pink wrote.
Many corporations are now focusing more and more on research for the development of design. It's becoming evermore prevalent for companies to focus on good design to differentiate from other companies.
"Design offers us a chance to bring pleasure, meaning and beauty to our lives. But most important, cultivating a design sensibility can make our small planet a better place for us all." Pink wrote.
Designers give meaning to the otherwise mundane and unmemorable things in life. Good design can put you ahead of the game. Anyone can spew facts and information, but it takes a creative thinker or designer to make those things memorable.
"Design is the only thing that differentiates one product from another marketplace," Pink wrote.
Many corporations are now focusing more and more on research for the development of design. It's becoming evermore prevalent for companies to focus on good design to differentiate from other companies.
"Design offers us a chance to bring pleasure, meaning and beauty to our lives. But most important, cultivating a design sensibility can make our small planet a better place for us all." Pink wrote.
If you find yourself struggling with the design aspect of event planning, or even if you love to design, watch this interesting and inspirational TED talk by Don Norman. Norman is a modern anthropologist and gives great insight during this video on how the human brain interacts with design in everyday life. He teaches about how great design makes people happy, and this can be directly related with pleasing your clients when planning events. Everything from the design of the venue to the design of the paperwork you send your client can help or hurt your job. People react in a pleasant way to good design. This is an important aspect to remember in every part of the event planning process. Finally, this video will get the creative part of your brain going and you'll be looking for good design in everyday objects around you. So sit back, press play and get ready to be inspired.