Dan Pink interviewed by Oprah
800-CEO-READ
February 17, 2009
In case you missed it, here is Oprah's interview with Dan Pink, featured in the December 2008 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine. Oprah interviewed Dan about "how right-brain thinkers are wired for 21st-century success," a concept from his groundbreaking book A Whole New Mind. Dan Pink is also the author of Free Agent Nation, The Adventures of Johnny Bunko, and the forthcoming DRIVE: The Surprising Truth About Human Motivation and How It Can Change Your Life (out in December '09).
In case you missed it, here is Oprah's interview with Dan Pink, featured in the December 2008 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine. Oprah interviewed Dan about "how right-brain thinkers are wired for 21st-century success," a concept from his groundbreaking book A Whole New Mind.
Dan Pink is also the author of Free Agent Nation, The Adventures of Johnny Bunko, and the forthcoming DRIVE: The Surprising Truth About Human Motivation and How It Can Change Your Life (out in December '09).
Read the entire interview on oprah.com.
Here's a snippet from the dialogue:
Oprah: Let's talk about a right-brain ability you think we should all develop.
Daniel: I'd say "design." Design is the ability to create something that has significance as well as usefulness. Even hospitals are bringing in designers to redo waiting rooms. A young designer in New York re-created the prescription bottle because she noticed that her grandparents were getting their medications confused. She put the medicine's name in large type at the top instead of the doctor's name, and Grandpa gets a green band on his medicine bottle and Grandma gets a yellow band so they can see the difference more clearly. That's an example of how design can literally save lives.
Oprah: How do we begin to create more design in our lives?
Daniel: Carry a notebook and write down examples of good and poor design. After a week, you'll begin to realize that nearly everything is the product of a design decision. The type of lid you put on the cup of coffee you bought this morning was a design decision. So were the shoes you're wearing.
Oprah: Before reading your book, I'd always thought of design in terms of fashion. But then I started noticing the plates that I chose for my home, the kinds of kitchen counters, the knobs, the cabinets, all were about the design.
Daniel: I'm not trying to turn everyone into star designers. I'm trying to help people become more literate about design.
(Photo by George Burns. Source: www.oprah.com.)
Oprah: Let's talk about a right-brain ability you think we should all develop.
Daniel: I'd say "design." Design is the ability to create something that has significance as well as usefulness. Even hospitals are bringing in designers to redo waiting rooms. A young designer in New York re-created the prescription bottle because she noticed that her grandparents were getting their medications confused. She put the medicine's name in large type at the top instead of the doctor's name, and Grandpa gets a green band on his medicine bottle and Grandma gets a yellow band so they can see the difference more clearly. That's an example of how design can literally save lives.
Oprah: How do we begin to create more design in our lives?
Daniel: Carry a notebook and write down examples of good and poor design. After a week, you'll begin to realize that nearly everything is the product of a design decision. The type of lid you put on the cup of coffee you bought this morning was a design decision. So were the shoes you're wearing.
Oprah: Before reading your book, I'd always thought of design in terms of fashion. But then I started noticing the plates that I chose for my home, the kinds of kitchen counters, the knobs, the cabinets, all were about the design.
Daniel: I'm not trying to turn everyone into star designers. I'm trying to help people become more literate about design.
(Photo by George Burns. Source: www.oprah.com.)
