It''s a question job candidates should be asked as a test of how likely they are to succeed on the job in an increasingly global and automated future, workplace theorist Daniel Pink told Canada''s largest meeting of human resources professionals.
"In the past century, we moved from an economy built on people''s backs to an economy built on people''s left-brain, analytical knowledge. And now in one generation we are moving to a society in which career success will depend on thinking with your relational right-brain," Mr. Pink, author of A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future, told the Human Resources Professionals Association of Ontario conference in Toronto this week.
And what does luck have to do with it? A left-brain-oriented person thinks of every task in sequence and in detail, he says. That kind of person will say "no, my success is not luck, I worked hard for everything I''ve achieved."
But ask the question to someone who has a right-brain approach and the answer would look at the bigger picture. "That person would say: ''In many senses, I am lucky,'' " Mr. Pink explained.
For instance: "I live in a free country, I''ve had an opportunity to get an education and I''ve been able to use my skills in a good paying job."
So how does this predict career success?
"The analytical skills of the left-side brain will still be necessary in the future, but they will no longer be sufficient," he says. That''s because any job that is quantifiable and routine is becoming a commodity in the global wired world, he said.
"Routine is the scariest word in careers today. Any kind of work that can be reduced to numbers, formulas and repetitive steps is destined to be outsourced," Mr. Pink warned.
For instance, India alone has more skilled knowledge workers than the population of Canada, and with advanced telecommunications, the cost to shift routine jobs around the world where salaries are much lower is negligible.
And even if a job can''t be moved, software is replacing left-side brain power. Tax programs and will-writing kits provide alternatives to expensive sessions with an accountant or a lawyer.
He said the question everyone should be asking about their career should be: "Does what I do deliver significance as well as utility?"
As an example, during his speech in Toronto, Mr. Pink held up a fly swatter. If it''s just a piece of plastic of the kind that''s been made for decades, it has utility but no significance beyond what it does.
But this one was designed by Philippe Starck and is so interesting in shape that it fits in a stand to serve as tabletop artwork. "There are four cents'' worth of plastic in this, but it sells for $14. That''s what they call a big margin," he said.
And adding that kind of margin to what you do will ensure career survival. This comes from developing your ability to synthesize existing ideas into something new and exciting and from developing empathy, which is a right-brain activity, he said.
That means you should be exercising your right-brain in activities that turn the routine into high-margin activities by synthesizing disparate ideas into something new, he advised. You should also be working at making connections with people and developing empathy.
This puts women at an advantage in the shift in career priorities, Mr. Pink said. While it may not be politically correct to say women are more empathetic in business, a growing body of research shows that women are better connected to their right-brain functions, which gives them an advantage in forming relationships and such things as making inferences.
"Does that mean we all have to get in touch with the feminine right side of our brains -- especially those of us with hairy arms and deep voices? Yes," he said. "But it doesn''t mean rejecting the systematizing left side of our brains."
Some of the ways he suggests to build right-brain abilities include studying design or taking art classes, learning to be a good story teller and doing volunteer work, which will develop your empathy.
As you develop right-brain skills, these will find uses in other parts of your life, he said. And, importantly, "these are things that can''t be done by computers or offshore workers."
There is good news for older workers in this, Mr. Pink added. Recent research on brain functions show that, as we age, the left-brain''s speed at handling analytical tasks slows, but in most people, the brain makes a compensation and draws more on the right side in processing information.
But at any age, he recommends aligning your career goals to what you are passionate about in your life, because these are activities that naturally activate your right-brain.
"Ask yourself would I be doing this job if I had $20-million or only 10 months to live?" Mr. Pink suggested. Then ask yourself what would you be doing if you were in one of those situations.
"I''m willing to bet there aren''t any people who are sculptors by day who would choose to fill out tax forms as their weekend hobby."
Canadian wages on the rise
By Sunny Freeman
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Fri, Aug 27 2010
Canadians have been bringing home more money each week than they did during the economic downturn, when jobs and workers´ hours were slashed, but economists warn a return to recession in the United States could derail rising incomes.
Unemployment hits 15-year high in Ontario
By Madhavi Acharya, Tom Yew, Rita Trichur
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Sat, Jun 6 2009
Overall, Ontario was walloped by a net loss of 60,000 positions, bringing the province´s running tally of employment losses to 234,000 since the labour market peaked last October.
Employment insurance numbers jumped 10% in March
By CBC News
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Tue, May 26 2009
The number of Canadians collecting regular employment insurance benefits grew by 65,300, or more than 10 per cent, in March, marking the biggest monthly increase since the job market began to deteriorate in October.
Rising Gas Prices Guzzle Take-Home Pay
By Maura Pallera, Salary.com
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Thu, Aug 14 2008
This summer, Americans were paying, on average, $4.09 per gallon for regular unleaded gasoline to fuel the vehicles they rely on to get to and from work everyday. This represents an increase of $1.14 over the same time last year.
Immigrant employment rising, StatsCan report says
By Eric Beauchesne, Canwest News Service
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Wed, May 14 2008
OTTAWA - Immigrant employment, seen as a way to offset projected labour shortages, increased sharply last year in Canada, easily outpacing that of native-born workers, Statistics Canada reported Tuesday.
