Pink describes the last 150 years as a drama with three acts: Act I is the Industrial Age, Act II the Information Age, and Act III the Conceptual Age. While Acts I and II required factory workers and then knowledge works, Act III seeks out creators and empathizers. In this new age, L-Directed abilities need to be supplemented with abilities that are “high concept and high touch” (51). High concept is “the ability to create artistic and emotional beauty,” to identify patterns, to design narratives, and to combine distinctive ideas into one vision (51). High touch entirely involves empathizing; it is the ability to detect the subtle aspects of human expression and interaction, to find joy within oneself and inspire it in others, and to seek out purpose and meaning (52).

In the Conceptual Age, previous dynamics are switched. MFAs become the new MBAs, and EQ (or empathy quotient) is the new IQ (intelligence quotient). More drastically, the search for money becomes the search for meaning. Pink argues that a microcosm of this shift is represented by individuals as they age; after achieving professional and monetary goals, most people turn their pursuit inward and try to find real purpose in life.