If you had majored in the
Humanities or Social Sciences you were a fuzzy. If you had majored in Computer
Science, you were a techie. This informal division quietly found its way into a
default assumption that has misled the business world for decades – that it’s
the techies who drive innovation. This book clearly articulates the importance
of the liberal arts in our techno centric world.
But in this brilliantly contrarian
book, Hartley reveals the counter-intuitive reality of business today; it’s
actually the fuzzies not the techies who are playing the key roles in
developing the most creative and successful business ideas. Author looks inside
some of the world’s most dynamic new companies, reveals breakthrough fuzzy –
techie collaborations and explores how such associations are at the centre of
innovation in business, education and government and why the liberal arts are
still relevant in our techie world.
The book’s early chapters explore
how, underappreciated and largely unnoticed, “fuzzy” skills have already proven
themselves to be complements to coding talent. Numerous examples, from
Palantir’s national security insights to Stitch Fix’s wardrobe recommendations,
make the point that combining human and algorithmic intelligences often leads
to better results than a purely automated approach. Fuzzy insights provide the
driving force for new businesses, whether it is social messaging application
Slack or school/parent communication tool Remind. In later chapters, Hartley
uses example after example to make the case that the liberal arts’ concerns for
ethics, understanding of human motivations, and insights into social dynamics
can find a productive home in the technology world.
Author also highlights the human
skills needed to find the “novel patterns” in big data, shows How high-tech
tools such as satellites have become much more accessible to breakthrough
thinkers of all backgrounds, and offers case studies of and shout-outs to blended
businesses such as StitchFix, which utilizes both algorithms and skilled
stylists, and Talkspace, which provides access to lower-cost therapy via an
online platform. He also dips into the idea of design ethics, such as those
involved in programming self-driving cars or providing people with default
choices that affect behavior.
When you look at many of the great
creative minds of our times and humanity in general, brilliant people are good
at many things. Da Vinci, known as a painter and sculptor among other things but
also the earliest person to sketch the idea for the helicopter. Many brilliant scientists
and mathematicians are also often great musicians or painters too.
This
is a revelatory and original book of particular importance in India, where
students are unduly pressurized to gain admission into institutes of technology
in the hope that they will be at the forefront of change and innovation in the
VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) world. Our greatest leaders
are those who have depth of human understanding and empathy.
