"Five Mi nds for the F uture

Howard Gardner, Harvard Business School

'The empires of the future will be the empires of the mind," Winston
Churchill once said. Perhaps it is not surprising to see Howard Gardner
quoting him approvingly.
This is a challenging however fresh look at how, in the future, our ability
to master and use our mind will be one of the most important things that
will determine our ability to cope with a fast and complex world but also
to succeed in it.
Howard Gardner, noted psychologist with a background in cognitive
science and neuroscience has spent most of his life pondering the human
mind. In this book he looks specifically at what will be required for a
person to be equipped to deal with what is expected, as well as what cannot be anticipated. The book
explains in detail that which he refers to as the five minds as well as addressing how they can be
nurtured in learners across the age span.
1. The disciplined mind "has mastered at least one way of thinking", Gardner says. "Without at
least one discipline . . . the individual is destined to march to someone else's tune."
2. The synthesising mind "takes information from disparate sources . . . and puts it together in
ways that make sense to the synthesiser and also other persons . . . the capacity to synthesise
becomes ever more crucial as information (often conflicting) continues to mount at dizzying
rates".
3. The creating mind "breaks new ground", the author says. "It puts forth new ideas, poses
unfamiliar questions, conjures up fresh ways of thinking, arrives at unexpected answers." In so
doing, the creating mind "seeks to remain at least one step ahead" of computers.
4. The respectful mind "notes and welcomes differences between human individuals and between
human groups . . . In a world where we are all interlinked, in-tolerance or disrespect is no
longer a viable option."
5. Last, the ethical mind "conceptualises how workers can serve purposes beyond self-interest".
The ethical mind then "acts on the basis of these analyses".
Gardner does not suggest he has summarised the only qualities any of us need to prosper. But he
makes a good claim for the importance of the five minds he has picked out. Success in the modern
world requires a mastery of professional disciplines. Information overload, and subsequent
helplessness, is the fate of those unable to synthesise complex data. Creativity sets us apart from
intelligent machines that threaten to make less able humans redundant.
These statements have probably been more or less true for two centuries, but there is an intensity to
the nature of the challenge today. More controversially, Gardner argues that people without respect
"will not be worthy of respect by others and will poison the workplace", while people without ethics
"will yield a world devoid of decent workers and responsible citizens: none of us will want to live on
that desolate planet".
Below is a mind map diagram providing an overview and below further explanation to each of the
mindsets.

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Five Minds for the Future

The Disciplined Mind

Is a mind that has mastered at least one way of thinking and knows that subject with depth a
distinctive mode such as a specific scholarly discipline, craft or profession. Note, that this way of
thinking is not primarily a mastery of facts (as typically tested for a school or university); rather, it is
knowing how to think about a new problem, in a way that other experts would.
Much research confirms that it takes up to 10 years to master a discipline and it is here Gardner
separates rote knowledge with being able to think deeply about what you are doing. This is a point
that more executives and business owners in any field need to take into account. Just because a
person knows a lot facts on a subject (subject matter) does not necessarily equate to a person
understanding the fundamentals or complexities as a discipline.
It is the understanding of the difference of these two (subject matter and discipline) that is usually
lacking. Without at least one discipline under ones belt, an individual is at risk to march to someone
elses tune.
A disciplined mind is not

The assertion of mastery of a subject without approximately a decade or so of practice and the
pursuit of mastering it.

Following rigidly the letter of procedures without a sense of the purposes and boundaries of the
discipline and the areas were thinking needs to be flexible and conventional wisdom in
appropriate.

The faking of ones preparation or performance

The Synthesizing Mind

This is the mind that knows how to sort through information, identify patterns and trends and produce
a big picture. Gardner points out that this skill is becoming more important given the flood of
information and conflicting information that is the status quo of a modern connected society.
The synthesizing mind provides the most interesting challenges. The synthesizing mind invokes a set of
criteria in deciding what to pay attention to and what to ignore. It then puts together the information
in ways that are powerful and memorable; and the synthesizing mind must also be able to pass the
synthesis on efficiently and effectively to others.
A synthesized mind is not

Selecting material in a haphazard way

Offering integrations that do not stand up to scrutiny by either oneself or by knowledgeable

others

Inappropriate organizing frameworks

Summaries that feature overly grandiose lumping or nitpicking splitting

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Five Minds for the Future

The Creating Mind

Is the going beyond existing knowledge and syntheses to pose new questions, offer new solutions,
fashion works that stretch existing genres or configure new ones. As captured by the familiar clich,
the creating person is able to think outside the box. The crucial point here is that one cannot think
outside the box, unless one has a box! That box comes as a result of mastering one or more
disciplines, and carrying out necessary syntheses tasks that can take a solid decade.
Its a mind able to generate new things, see from new perspectives and formulate new ideas. It
represents a reversal and a revolution as creativity was often suppressed in the past and reinforced
with rote learning etc. Gardner points out that creativity is key to individual and societal survival. He
also points out that it is possible to create creativity in individuals - this is a significant departure from
other work that believes creativity is an inherent rather than a learned trait.
A creating mind is not

Offering apparent innovations that are either superficial variations of long-existing knowledge
or sharp departures that may be novel but are not acceptable so therefore are either dangerous
or false ie Enron proclaimed itself one of the most innovative companies in the world..

The Respectful Mind

Is one who is tolerant of differences and respects the ideas, opinions and values of others rather than
thinking of them in terms of stereotypes or making them right or wrong etc. We need a mind that is
able to get along with all of the diverse groups in global society. This mind is more then just a tolerant
mind as tolerance is often shallow as opposed to acceptance and curiosity of differences. Gardner
discusses how this mindset will be required in the future because conflict now poses the possibility of
destroying communities and in many ways the planet.
While all of these minds interact with each other, the respectful mind, it would appear, seems to be the
cornerstone of this work. Without it we limit our inputdistance ourselves from realityand virtually
assure that we are not effective with others. Consequently, the respectful mind is the first mind we
should seek to develop in children and demand from ourselves.
By the nature we are today so interconnected (and often dependent) with each other on a global scale
our very survival in the education, community and business world depends on it.
A respectful mind is not

Exhibiting mere tolerance without any effort to understand or work smoothly with others

Paying homage to those with more power and status while deprecating, dismissing, ridiculing or
ignoring those with less power

Behaving reflexively towards an entire group without attending to the qualities of specific
individuals

The Ethical Mind

Its not enough to espouse high standards. To live up to themand help others do the samerequires
an ethical cast of mind that lets you practice your principles consistently. An ethical mind broadens
respect for others into something more abstract. A person with an ethical mind asks themselves,
What kind of a person, worker, and citizen do I want to be? Can one work for more than self-interest
and improve the quality of life for all.
Gardners core insights into the ethical mind come from more than a dozen years of studying working
professionals. Since 1995, he and teams of investigators at four universities have been researching the
ways in which people aspire to do good workthat is, work of high quality that matters to society,
enhances the lives of others, and is conducted in an ethical manner. The researchers have also
observed firsthand the ways in which good work is eroded by cultural, economic, and technological
forces.
He defines good work in the sense of being excellent in quality; it is responsible and takes into account
its implications for the wider community and is personally engaging and meaningful.
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Five Minds for the Future

It is relatively easy to act responsibly, ethically, when it is in one's own self-interest. The acid test
comes when one acts as one should act, even when it goes against one's own self-interest. Yet I do not
see how we can survive as a set of societies, nor as a planet, unless ethical behavior is prioritized and
valorized across the globe.
An ethical mind is not

Espousing a good, responsible line but failing to embody that course in ones own actions

Practicing ethics in a small arena while acting irresponsibly in the larger sphere (or vice versa)

Compromising on what is proper in the short run or over the long haul
Gardner's contention is that the five minds are not mutually exclusive of each other and in fact one
mind may be strengthened by the other. Between the five minds, there are tensions however they can
and should work synergistically. The first three minds deal primarily with cognitive thinking and the
last two with our relationships with other people.
In a perfect world when you employed someone they would possess all these minds however we are
rarely that fortunate. Therefore if you have someone deficient in one or more of the minds, the
options are:
1.
Separate the person from the organization as expediently as possible. A person incapable of
respect or prone to unethical acts can quickly poison an entire division or organization
2.
Assign that individual to a niche where the deficiency poses no threat to the organization. For
example, not every worker needs to be a synthesizer or a creator.
3.
Make it clear to the worker that he needs to improve with respect to one or more of these
competencies. Model the desired behavior and create a positive, trusting atmosphere whilst
setting reasonable goals. If progress is not forthcoming, revert to options 1 or 2.

In summary
This is not necessarily a business book but can be helpful to leaders looking to understand the mosaic
of minds required to be successful.
Drawing on decades of cognitive research and rich examples from history, politics, business, science,
and the arts, Gardner writes for professionals, teachers, parents, political and business leaders,
trainers, and all who prize the cognitive skills at a premium for tomorrow.
Importantly, it assists in improving communication skills.

Five Minds for the Future is available in good bookstores, Amazon and also in audible form
(www.audible.com).

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