Sensemaking

The Power of the Humanities in the Age of the Algorithm

De: Christian Madsbjerg

Narrado por: Jeremy Maxwell

Based on his work at some of the world's largest companies, including Ford, Adidas, and Chanel, Christian Madsbjerg's Sensemaking is a provocative stand against the tyranny of big data and scientism, and an urgent, overdue defense of human intelligence.

Humans have become subservient to algorithms. Every day brings a new Moneyball fix--a math whiz who will crack open an industry with clean fact-based analysis rather than human intuition and experience. As a result, we have stopped thinking. Machines do it for us.

Christian Madsbjerg argues that our fixation with data often masks stunning deficiencies, and the risks for humankind are enormous. Blind devotion to number crunching imperils our businesses, our educations, our governments, and our life savings. Too many companies have lost touch with the humanity of their customers, while marginalizing workers with liberal arts-based skills. Contrary to popular thinking, Madsbjerg shows how many of today's biggest success stories stem not from "quant" thinking but from deep, nuanced engagement with culture, language, and history. He calls his method sensemaking.

In this landmark book, Madsbjerg lays out five principles for how business leaders, entrepreneurs, and individuals can use it to solve their thorniest problems. He profiles companies using sensemaking to connect with new customers, and takes readers inside the work process of sensemaking "connoisseurs" like investor George Soros, architect Bjarke Ingels, and others.

Both practical and philosophical, Sensemaking is a powerful rejoinder to corporate groupthink and an indispensable resource for leaders and innovators who want to stand out from the pack.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"At Ford, we believe the key to creating products and experiences that truly make people's lives better is to deeply understand our customers. Technology alone isn't enough. So we've changed our product development process to focus on the customer experience--and not just the vehicle itself. In Sensemaking, Christian Madsbjerg explains with depth and structure how this is done."—Mark Fields, president and CEO, Ford Motor Company

"This book makes powerful sense. Madsbjerg is a fascinating fellow, philosophically astute and immensely business savvy. Packed with a rich array of concrete examples and thick data, Madsbjerg shows how the problems of the coming century are cultural and how we require the tools of the humanities--especially philosophy--in order to confront them successfully. This is essential reading for anyone in the world of business and everyone with a concern for how human beings make sense of their world. Highly recommended."—Simon Critchley, Hans Jonas Professor of Philosophy, The New School

"Having helped some of the world's largest companies transition for the digital age, it's clear to me that those best positioned to win in today's marketplace possess a deep and human understanding of their customers. Companies must master not just big data, but thick data--insight into culture, history, and the social structures underlying human behavior. Sensemaking is the road map for how this works, and it is essential reading for anyone looking to thrive in a world of digital disruption."
—Francisco D'Souza, CEO, Cognizant

"Almost twenty years ago, I wrote, 'To be qualified to be a chief executive officer, you must be broad-gauged, widely read, and have many diverse interests.' This remains just as true in today's world, where companies have become enthralled with quantitative analysis. Christian Madsbjerg's Sensemaking is a powerful defense of human intelligence to solve problems. Anyone who dreams of leading a company should read it--and heed his wonderfully contrarian advice."
—Jeffrey Fox, bestselling author of How to Become CEO and How to Become a Rainmaker

Humanities matter!

perhaps one of the most eloquent ways to understand that in a modern world of algorithms and speed, there is no substitution for the human element. anyone in tech, especially on the engineering side and leadership roles needs to read this as life is not a science, but an art.

Stimulating book with some academic limits

Interesting book and worth the read, but doesn't address limitations of his approaches, over-assumes, and generalizes (a lot). The generalizations are particularly annoying; he makes a lot of claims about how quantitative thinkers view the humanities and about how "people" think about either quantitative or qualitative reasoning. There's little evidence to support many of his claims, which is frustrating as a scientist. However, if you can be aware of (and look beyond) these things, the book does make a wealth of interesting points about the unique value of humanistic thinking. In particular, there are a lot of great examples, references, and arguments here. Overall worth the read if you can maneuver the "take you like and leave the rest" approach.

Worth your time

What I liked about this book is the way I which it expands your thinking. Give more weight and acknowledges the value of education outside of STEM.