Christian Madsbjerg Knihy

"Christian Madjsberg and Mikkel Rasmussen, principals at ReD Associates, argue for the role of a new set of tools to understand the "soft" factors that influence how people buy and consume ideas and products. Drawn from the authors' work with companies like Lego, Samsung, Adidas, Intel, IBM, and Coke, the book will teach you how to understand people holistically in their environments-how they live, what they think and do all day, what their habits are, and how they understand the world. For brand fanatics and business leaders alike. "--

Christian Madsbjerg's SENSEMAKING challenges the dominance of big data and scientism, advocating for the value of a liberal arts education and human intelligence in problem-solving. He argues that reliance on algorithms has led to a decline in critical thinking, as we increasingly depend on machines to make decisions for us. This obsession with data often reveals significant shortcomings, posing risks to businesses, education, governance, and personal finances. Many companies have lost sight of their customers' humanity and undervalue liberal arts skills among workers. Madsbjerg contends that the most successful enterprises derive their strength not from quantitative analysis but from a deep engagement with culture, language, and history. He introduces the concept of sensemaking, outlining five principles that business leaders, entrepreneurs, and individuals can apply to tackle complex challenges. The book features examples of companies successfully utilizing sensemaking to reach new audiences and highlights the work of sensemaking "connoisseurs" like investor George Soros and architect Bjarke Ingels. Madsbjerg offers both practical advice and philosophical insights, making this a vital resource for leaders and innovators seeking to differentiate themselves in a data-driven world.

We've forgotten how to pay attention, Christian Madsbjerg says in his provocative new book. Listening carefully and observing intentionally are crucial human skills, yet we're not born knowing how to do them. And thanks to the ubiquity of social media, increasing social isolation, and the use of empty imagery and ideology as stand-ins for direct observation, we're losing our ability to interpret the world at a time when we desperately need to do that. Madsbjerg, a consultant and a professor at the New School, noticed this disturbing trend and in 2015 began to coteach a course on human observation called Human Observation. To his surprise, the course has been oversubscribed since the beginning, with hundreds of students - philosophy and business majors, undergrads and graduate students - signing up for it, and hundreds more on waiting lists. In this book, Madsbjerg argues that most of us are stuck in bad habits of looking at the world without truly seeing it, and he guides us through t