Sensemaking: the power of the humanities in the age of the algorithm

Author: Christian Madsbjerg

Publisher: Hachette

The Fuzzy and the Techie: why the liberal arts will rule the digital world

Author: Scott Hartley

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

According to the authors, it is time to stop worshipping algorithms and rediscover the value of arts and humanities in business. For Christian Madsbjerg, a strategic innovation consultant, there is a liberal arts deficit which is in danger of preventing businesses from engaging with the culture, language and history of their customers. If businesses accept pure data as their only truth, they are in danger of losing their ability to understand people. The best chief executives can read a novel ad a spreadsheet.

For Scott Hartley, a venture capitalist and start-up advisor, the “techies” are more in danger of being replaced by automated processes, while the “fuzzies” who studied liberal arts with their creative skills and broad understanding of communication techniques and ideas may well populate Silicon Valley C-suites in greater numbers in the future. In fact, it is already happening, with many start-ups in the tech industry being established by fuzzies.