These columns, I fear, are assuming a familiar pattern, referencing and/or advocating a publication, past or recent, that has a core insight or a set of ideas that has an application to this industry that we all treasure so deeply. That pattern won’t be broken this month, alas.
If you haven’t heard of him or come across his work, let me introduce you to Angus Fletcher. He is the professor of story science in the Project Narrative hub of the English Department at Ohio State University. Now, if that role and position title itself doesn’t massively intrigue you, you should possibly stop reading this column right now. Fletcher last month published a book titled “Primal Intelligence: You Are Smarter Than You Know,” a quite readable discussion of the rather heady topic of how primal intelligence and narrative science converge with the neuroscience of cognitive development and brain functioning. Turns out he is well qualified to address these issues, as he holds joint degrees in neuroscience (University of Michigan) and literature (Yale University). In addition to his teaching in Columbus, he has consulted with the U.S. Army Special Operations and some of the most creative companies (Sony, Disney, Amazon, etc.) in the world. They seem to think he’s onto something.
Let’s start with this notion of primal intelligence. It’s defined by Project Narrative and Fletcher as the brainpower that drives intuition, imagination, commonsense and smart emotion. It is a realm of cognitive functioning beyond the scope of the more pedestrian rational intelligence, the sort of capability that is represented by standard computer processing and especially Artificial Intelligence. Primal intelligence only exists in human persons because it requires self-awareness, a capability impossible for AI. Most importantly, primal intelligence is one of the cognitive attributes that distinguished some of the leading and yet diverse innovators of our time, giants such as Marie Curie, Abraham Lincoln, Steve Jobs, Maya Angelou, Nicola Tesla, William Shakespeare, to name just a few.
As you can tell from that list of luminaries, primal intelligence powers significant outcomes in creativity and adaptive thinking that yield breakthrough products, world-changing scientific advancements, and unparalleled artistic achievements. I won’t try to summarize all the foundational concepts underpinning primal intelligence, all the elements that comprise its possibilities, or all the applications for its potential impact. The book does all that quite well. I want to focus, instead, on the relevance of primal intelligence for our narrower world, specifically the arena of knowledge work and the workplace settings for that activity.
Recall the description above of the locus for all this thinking about primal intelligence with Fletcher and his hub at OSU. It’s the English Department, and his title is Professor of Story Science. Fletcher believes that one of the key aspects of primal intelligence is narrative, the practice of storytelling. He even calls it “storythinking.” He thinks that there is a basis in neuroscience for what he calls narrative cognition, that the stories we formulate, tell ourselves, and present to each other in the world can significantly shape our cognitive processing, our outlooks, and our behavior. Potentially powerful stuff, a good deal more important, for my money, than debating the merits of the old or new Cracker Barrel logo.
When it comes to applying the notion of primal intelligence and the power of narrative, let’s start with the world of businesses and organizations and corporations. Decades ago, Peter Drucker convinced many of us that understanding the concept of knowledge work, distinguished from tactical task processing, was a crucial focus for understanding how work becomes meaningful and impactful for individuals and the performance of their organizations. His thinking on knowledge work shaped a good deal of the emergence of new workplace tools, improved processes, and new space configurations. Perhaps it’s time to evolve beyond merely understanding knowledge work to grasping the neuroscience that underpins primal intelligence and storythinking. Perhaps it’s time for organizations to focus on the power of narrative and story to shape cognitive patterns, work processes, creativity practices and the overall cultures that are created from this sort of focus.
And then there is our own industry. I have been beating a now-worn drum skin for some time about the critical importance of innovation for the very survival of our industry as we know it, as a way to create some industry differentiation, and to propel crucial and badly needed product development. It seems an idea such as primal intelligence could be a catalyst for our product development thinking and processes. What might be the ways that narrative cognition could be used to spark our thinking about new and innovative products that might enliven our workplace industry and prompt our customers to believe we might be thought leaders about work and the workplace? It seems like it’s been a while since manufacturers and their R&D departments have been perceived in that lofty light. They used to be.
Finally, this notion of primal intelligence seems to have the potential to spawn some new insights on the very nature and form of the future of work. No one would deny that we are living and working in an era of great change and challenge, and it appears that too much of the current thinking on the essence of work and the shape of the organizations where it happens is reactionary, simply a secondary response to external influences. Primal intelligence and narrative cognition might just be the propellant to lead instead of just follow.
If all of the above seems misguided or overblown, I apologize in advance. But, at least read Angus Fletcher’s book and reflect on its implications for you and your life and work. You’ll be better for it.