Sensemaking: The Power of the Humanities in the Age of the Algorithm [Hardcover]

AFinancial Times Business Book of the Month

Based on his work at some of the world's largest companies, including Ford, Adidas, and Chanel, Christian Madsbjerg'sSensemakingis 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 newMoneyballfix--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 methodsensemaking.

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,Sensemakingis a powerful rejoinder to corporate groupthink and an indispensable resource for leaders and innovators who want to stand out from the pack.Christian Madsbjergis a founder of ReD Associates and the Director of its New York office. ReD is a strategy consulting company based in the human sciences and employs anthropologislC$