Reviews Coach: Lessons on the Game of Life

Michael Lewis
(W. W. Norton, 2005)
Where do people get the discipline and
A Whole New Mind focus to accomplish big tasks? Lewis, the
Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age author of Moneyball, credits his high school
Daniel H. Pink baseball coach for his own success. But the
(Riverhead Books, 2005) firebrand intensity that motivated Lewis
Our egos took a beating in the Industrial Revolution when we learned ma- and his teammates 30 years ago is now
itself under fire. Parents are complaining
chines could perform some tasks better than people. But hey, we still had our
aboutthe coach's high expectations and
brains, right? Surely, no machine could ever match the power and intricacy
tough standards; they want indulgent
ofthe human mind.
treatment for their offspring. But without
But then came computers, and soon the brain's superiority was being chal-
uncompromising mentors like his former
lenged. Deep Blue whupped Garry Kasparov, Time magazine nominated the coach, Lewis says in this brief but spar-
PC as 1983's "Person" of the Year, and microproces- kling book, children may never develop
sors appeared that could perform four billion calcu- sufficient character to overcome future

A WHOLE lations a second without ever getting tired or cranky.

Is it any wonder that knowledge workers feel hope-
challenges.

NEW MIND lessly outclassed?

Leave the computers to the problem solving, says
DisneyWar
James B. Stewart
(Simon & Schuster, 2005)
Pink, a contributing editor for Wired magazine.
This account of Michael Eisner's fall from
Logic and analytical skills only get you so far, which
grace received lots of press when it was re-
is how come Westem countries don't lose much by leased in February. But buried in the mass
outsourcing routine technical work to countries like of detail from journalist Stewart is a lesson
DANIEL H. PINK
India. lnA Whole New Mind, Pink argues that what for all companies whose stock-in-trade is
really matters is, well, meaning. And beauty. And creativity and fantasy. Eisner's reputation
empathy. And joyfulness. Those and other innately himian qualities produce and initial success at Disney were built on
the kinds of innovations that resist commoditization and resonate with cus- his instinct for recognizing stories that
tomers, many of whom, after all, are human themselves. would delight audiences. But his penchant
The creative, relational skills required for this new era-here dubbed the for storytelling was accompanied by a care-
lessness with the truth that, Stewart argues,
Conceptual Age-are the domain ofthe brain's right hemisphere, long consid-
undermined his business relationships.
ered the poorer hemisphere by business. Conventional wisdom says such skills
are tough to acquire, but Pink begs to differ. Learning to tell stories better Moral Intelligence: Enhancing
won't transfonn you into a Toni Morrison any more than studying physics will Business Performance and
make you the next Stephen Hawking. But anyone can acquire sufficient com- Leadership Success
petency to get by, says the author. Doug Lennick and Fred Kiel
(Wharton School Publishing, 2005)
To prove it. Pink sets out to develop his own right-brain aptitude by, for ex-
Consultants Lennick and Kiel reframe the
ample, taking a drawing class. There, he learns to synthesize information and
term "moral intelligence"-most commonly
relationships, detect pattems, and combine elements. (He also gets pretty
applied to childhood development-in
handy with a pencil if his self-portraits done before and after the class are any unsurprising ways for a business context.
indication.) For those wishing to give their own creative muscles a similar work- Like emotional intelligence-the concept's
out, the book is full of exercises and resources. The Web-based self-assessments groundbreaking progenitor-moral intelli-
are a pleasant diversion, but you probably won't discover much about yourself gence is a combination of behavior as well
you don't already know. as smarts, here applied to justice and re-
A Whole New Mind is a breezy, good-himiored read, even if the advice is a bit sponsibility rather than to empathy and
facile. The search for deeper meaning in work will likely appeal to aging baby self-awareness. But unlike Daniel Cole-
boomers and to those grown jaded from corporate misbehavior and the single- man's work, this book offers no studies
minded pursuit of profit. And while most readers won't rush to ditch their linking corporate success with individual
integrity. And the dilemmas described in
spreadsheets, they might be inspired to pick up a few paintbrushes to go with
its wide-ranging, feel-good anecdotes
them. After all, who would disagree that even half a mind is a terrible thing
come with too-easy answers. 9
to waste? - M. Ellen Peebles
-John T. Landry

30 HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW

Copyright © Harvard Business Publishing. All Rights Reserved. This content is intended for
individual research use only, subject to the following:

Unless permission is expressly granted in a separate license, this content may NOT be used
for classroom or teaching use, which includes teaching materials, electronic reserves, course
packs or persistent linking from syllabi. Please consult your institution's librarian about the
nature of relevant licenses held by your institution and the restrictions that may or may not
apply.

Unless permission is expressly granted in a separate license, this content may NOT be used in
corporate training and/or as corporate learning materials. For corporate users, please consult
the specific terms of your company's license(s) for complete information and restrictions.

For more information and teaching resources from Harvard Business Publishing including
Harvard Business School Cases, eLearning products, and business simulations please visit
hbsp.harvard.edu.