MIND SET! --- RESET YOUR THINKING AND SEE THE FUTURE by John Naisbitt. Collins, 2006
QUOTE: Ancient Chinese Proverb
"It is not our feet that move us along, but it is our minds!"
PROLOGUE (pxi)
INTRODUCTION (pxiii-xx)
[1] Part 1 --- MINDSETS (pxviii-xix)
Mindsets work like "fixed stars" in our heads. Holding on to them, our mind drifting like a ship in an ocean of information, finds orientation. They keep our metaphorical ship on course and guide it safely to its destination. (p8)
In daily work, all mindsets work together, each meshing with the others, bringing clarity in a confusing world. You will experience them as cognitive "TOOLS" that can transform your life and business. (p9)
[2] Part 2 --- PICTURES OF THE FUTURE (pxix-xx)
This part of the book answers the question: "WHAT WILL BE?" It deals with the major trends ahead and their impact on our life and business.
We all need to have a picture of the "future" in order to get clarity in a changing and confusing world. How will global commerce, trade, production, and services be affected in a world where literacy and the novel are in decline and visual communication is in the ascendancy? Will China, the omnipresent job-eater through out-sourcing, be the metaphorical dragon that devours us or the dragon we ride?
The "pictures" of the future contained in this book are not speculation or a reach into the unknown. They are based on an analysis of the present, under the guidance of the Eleven Mindsets described in Part 1. By reading this book, you will be able to recapitulate why the author arrived at certain conclusions and how he kept focus on the whole and didn't get lost in the details or things that will only be momentary blips on the big picture screen of the emerging global economy.
The pictures of the future will give you the "frame" of the picture. You will need to apply it to your own fields of interest and endeavors in order to profit from the future yourself!
PART 1 --- MINDSETS (p1-78)
This part of the book lays the ground to "reset your thinking" In applying the Eleven Mindsets, you will sometimes experience the need to discipline your mind and sometimes feel you just need to let your mind flow.
1) Mindset #1 --- While many things change, most things remain constant (p3-9)
Idea Insert --- The DNA of Change spirals around the pillars of constancy (p10)
2) Mindset #2 --- The future is embedded in the present (p11-19)
Idea Insert --- In the stream of time, the future is always with us (p20)
3) Mindset #3 --- Focus on the score of the game (p21-31)
Idea Insert --- The score of the game cannot be bribed (p32)
4) Mindset #4 --- Understanding how powerful it is not to have to be right (p33-38)
Idea Insert --- Having to be "RIGHT" shackles your mind (p39)
5) Mindset #5 --- See the future as a picture puzzle (p41-45)
Idea Insert --- Mix and match until you see the new picture (p46)
6) Mindset #6 --- Don't get so far ahead of the parade that people don't know you're in it (p47-55)
Idea Insert --- The sender has to stay within the range of the receiver (p56)
7) Mindset #7 --- Resistance to change falls if benefits are real (p57-61)
Idea Insert --- You don't bend down unless something is worth picking up (p62)
8) Mindset #8 --- Things that we expect to happen always happen more slowly (p63-75)
Idea Insert --- Expectations always travel at higher speeds (p76)
9) Mindset #9 --- You don't get results by solving problems but by exploiting opportunities (p77-91)
Idea Insert --- Change is the father of innovation (p92)
10) Mindset #10 --- Don't add unless you subtract (p93-97)
Idea Insert --- Never throw more balls than you can juggle (p98)
11) Mindset #11--- Don't forget the ecology of technology (p99-108)
Idea Insert --- Technology is the great enabler, but not in a vacuum (p109)
Technology enables when it is in balance with needs and skills and our human nature!
Each stone thrown into the water has rippling effects; each new technology has consequences that are seldom explored. When a new technology is introduced, make it a rule to ask:
[1] What will be enhanced?
[2] What will be diminished?
[3] What will be replaced?
[4] What new opportunities does it present?
PART 2 --- PICTURES OF THE FUTURE (p111-250)
1) CULTURE --- A visual culture is taking over the world (p113-155)
A farewell to Gutenberg's world of scripture, a welcome to MTV's world of vision? There is an unprecedented visual assertiveness in the world today, from art and architecture to high-end fashion and the design of common goods. It is an MTV world, a world where visual narrative is overwhelming literary narrative.
Idea Insert --- Applying mindsets (p156)
[1] Mindset # 1---
[2] Mindset #2 ---
[3] Mindset #11 ---
2) ECONOMICS --- From nation-states to economic domains (p157-180)
Idea Insert --- Applying mindsets (p181)
[4] Mindset # 5---
[5] Mindset #10 ---
[6] Mindset #2 ---
3) CHINA --- The periphery is the center (p183-211)
Idea Insert --- Applying mindsets (p212)
[7] Mindset # 8---
[8] Mindset #5 ---
[9] Mindset #9 ---
4) EUROPE --- Mutually assured decline (p213-231)
Idea Insert --- Applying mindsets (p232)
[10] Mindset # 3---
[11] Mindset #4 ---
[12] Mindset #9 ---
5) OUR EVOLUTIONARY ERA --- Reservoir of innovation (p233-249)
Idea Insert --- Applying mindsets (p250)
[13] Mindset #11---
[14] Mindset #4 ---
ENDNOTES (p251-262)
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ( p263-266)
INDEX (p267-282)
AUTHOR'S CREDITS (p283)
John Naisbitt's first published book in 1982, Megatrends, was at the top of the New York Times bestseller list for more than two years and sold more than nine million copies.
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