LISA (not her real name), is an undergraduate studying finance and banking at a local college of business. She feels intimidated by the information explosion on competencies required to thrive in the future.
She knows that 3.5 per cent of graduates are unemployed. And so, she wants to know what it takes to succeed in life.
In 2006, Howard Gardner, a Harvard professor in psychology, wrote an insightful book on this topic. He titled it as "Five Minds for the Future".
His book cleverly culls all the skills highlighted by the extant literature on the topic for success in the future.
We amplify Gardner's categories of mindsets for success by blending them with the skills advocated by literature.
First is a disciplined mind. Gardner would advise Lisa to master one discipline so well that she can communicate knowledgeably on it.
While her first degree is a good start, to become an expert, Lisa would have to undertake post-graduate education in finance and banking.
She would need to attend conferences and workshops to further accumulate knowledge.
That way she can sharpen her expertise to become more relevant in the marketplace. It is important that Lisa does not fall into the trap of knowing a bit of everything but an expert of none!
The second mindset that Lisa should cultivate is the synthesising mind. This mindset builds on the disciplined mind.
When she is anchored on a particular discipline, that will give Lisa the confidence and knowledge to make sense of the information coming from disparate sources.
Indeed, in an era of information explosion, this mindset is especially important.
A synthesising mind is especially relevant for evidence-based decision-making. It allows Lisa to amass information and decide what is relevant for a decision.
With a synthesising mind, Lisa can make an informed decision by observing commonalities across multiple sets of information. These commonalities would then point Lisa to an appropriate answer to an issue.
Charles Darwin had such a synthesising mind. A naturalist, Darwin spent many years collecting and collating information on how species evolved.
He spent another 20 years to find patterns from the information gathered. This gave him fodder to write his magnum opus — "The Origin of Species".
This book highlights his seminal thesis that species evolve through natural selection; that is, the species that survives is one that quickly adapts to the environment.
The third mind that Gardner would have Lisa master to survive in a competitive environment is the respectful mind.
Lisa would need this mindset to excel in collaboration and teamwork — essential skills for her to make better decisions and to execute them.
For her to do well in a team, Lisa would have to display empathy to others and their differing viewpoint. She would need to hold others in higher esteem.
The fourth mind is the ethical mind. This mindset requires Lisa to live by her values.
William Shakespeare in his play Hamlet speaks through Polonius who is advising his son on how to behave: To thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man".
The fifth mind is the creative mind. This mindset is needed if Lisa is to create value and solve problems. The other mindsets would combine with the creative mindset to allow her to churn out novel solutions for problems.
For example, Isaac Newton was an expert in physics. Legend has it that one day, as he was sitting on a garden bench, he saw an apple fall from the tree.
By making associations among different sets of knowledge, he came up with his ground-breaking law of gravity.
The creative mind therefore requires Lisa to be as curious as a cat. Albert Einstein had this to say: "The important thing is not to stop questioning".
As with Lisa, it behoves for all of us to exhibit these mindsets if we want success in life.
The writer is AIMST University's Vice-Chancellor