Five Minds for the Future adapted from the work of Gardner, H. (2008).

Five minds for the future. Paper given as an oral presentation at the
Ecolint Meeting in Geneva. Retrieved January 25, 2015 from the web: www.howardgardner.com

The
Synthesizing
Mind

The
Disciplined
Mind

The Ethical
Mind

The Creating
Mind

The
Respectful
Mind

Brief Descriptions of the types of Minds:

1.

The Synthesizing Mind distills meaning from complex situations in an effort to understand and explain the nature of reality. The mind
attempts to manage intricacies in developing theories, taxonomies, sets of rules, principles and the like.
2. The Creating Mind is playful and is involved with thoughts and feelings as they relate to events. It is not involved with superficial
concepts like celebrity or wealth. This mind is concerned with change and possibilities.
3. The Respectful Mind is on a constant quest for peace, both from within and from without. It seeks to preserve social wellbeing through
justice. The Respectful Mind is empathetic.
4. The Disciplined Mind seeks rigor and informed thought. It values knowledge and understands multiple perspectives. The Disciplined
Mind utilizes strategic thinking.

Five Minds for the Future adapted from the work of Gardner, H. (2008). Five minds for the future. Paper given as an oral presentation at the
Ecolint Meeting in Geneva. Retrieved January 25, 2015 from the web: www.howardgardner.com
5. The Ethical Mind attempts to foster communal and responsible citizenship. This mind believes that everyone has a stake in the
community and that the state of the community is a matter of importance for everyone.

Your Assignment
Choose three current leaders in the area of Business in which you are most interested (marketing, accounting, entrepreneurship, etc.). Rate
these leaders in how strongly or weakly you believe they have developed the different minds as described above.* Create a graphic of some sort
(concept map, chart, etc.) to display the relationship between the leaders strong and not-so-strong uses of their minds.
In no fewer than five paragraphs, analyze what you found. End with a paragraph on how you believe business leaders in your area of interest
are developing the Five Minds for the Future.

*Admittedly, the descriptions of the Five Minds are brief. You may use additional literature to bolster your understanding of the Five Minds. If
you do so, do not forget to cite the sources you use appropriately.