2017.9.7 NEW ARRIVALS

Sensemaking: The Power of the Humanities in the Age of the Algorithm

AUTHOR: Christian Madsbjerg

PUBLISHER: Hachette Books

GENRE: Education

Based on his work at some of the world’s largest companies, 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.

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.

Girl Code: Unlocking the Secrets to Success, Sanity, and Happiness for the Female Entrepreneur

AUTHOR: Cara Alwill Leyba

PUBLISHER: Portfolio

GENRE: Business

Women around the world have responded to Cara Alwill Leyba’s “Girl Code” with a resounding yes. Companies like Kate Spade and Macy’s have brought her in to teach “the code,” and Inc. magazine has named “Girl Code” one of the “Top 9 Inspiring Books Every Female Entrepreneur Should Read.” Here’s how Leyba says she came up with “Girl Code”:

A few years ago, I made a crazy claim in the first edition of “Girl Code” that in today’s competitive marketplace, the fiercest thing a female entrepreneur can do is to support other women.

Something dynamic happens when women genuinely show up for each other. When we stop pretending everything is perfect and show the messy, beautiful parts of ourselves and our work. When we talk about our fears, our missteps and our breakdowns. And most importantly, when we share our celebrations, our breakthroughs and our solutions.

I’m convinced that there’s no reason to hoard information, connections or insight. Wisdom is meant to be shared, so let’s start sharing what we’ve learned to make each other better. Let’s start building each other up. Let’s live up to our potential and start ruling the world.

“Girl Code” is a road map for female entrepreneurs, professional women, “side hustlers” (those with a day job plus a small part-time business) and anyone in between. This book won’t teach you how to build a multimillion-dollar company. It won’t teach you about systems or finance. But it will teach you how to build confidence in yourself, eradicate jealousy and ultimately learn the power of connection.

Machine, Platform, Crowd: Harnessing Our Digital Future

AUTHOR: Andrew McAfee, Erik Brynjolfsson

PUBLISHER: W.W. Norton & Company

GENRE: Business

From the authors of the best-selling “The Second Machine Age” comes a leader’s guide to success in a rapidly changing economy.

We live in strange times. A machine plays the strategy game Go better than any human, upstarts like Apple and Google destroy industry stalwarts such as Nokia, and ideas from the crowd are repeatedly more innovative than corporate research labs.

MIT’s Andrew McAfee and Erik Brynjolfsson know what it takes to master this digital-powered shift: we must rethink the integration of minds and machines, of products and platforms, and of the core and the crowd. In all three cases, the balance now favors the second element of the pair, with massive implications for how we run our companies and live our lives.

In the tradition of agenda-setting classics like Clay Christensen’s “The Innovator’s Dilemma,” McAfee and Brynjolfsson deliver both a penetrating analysis of a new world and a toolkit for thriving in it. For start-ups and established businesses, or for anyone interested in what the future holds, “Machine, Platform, Crowd” is essential reading.