New Book Out

A powerful exploration of how we pay attention that will transform the ways we connect with one another – at home, at work, and beyond.

Paying attention is a crucial human skill, yet many of us have forgotten how to listen carefully and observe intentionally. Deluged by social media and hobbled by the increasing social isolation it fosters, we need to rediscover the deeply human ways we connect with others.

 Christian Madsbjerg, a philosopher and entrepreneur, understands this dilemma. To counteract it, he began a course at The New School in New York City called Human Observation, which lays out the ways that we can learn to pay attention more effectively. The course has been hugely popular since its inception, with hundreds of students filling waiting lists.

In Look, Madsbjerg sets out the key observational skills needed to show how we can recapture our ability to pay attention. Drawing from philosophy, science, the visual arts, and his own life, he offers both practical insights and a range of tools for experiencing the world with greater richness and texture. The result is a dynamic approach to rethinking observation that helps all of us to see with more empathy, accuracy, and connection to others.

Early praise for Look

“In a world poisoned by distraction, Christian Madsbjerg has provided the antidote. Look will help you revitalize your powers of observation, cultivate an independent mind, and generate insights you never knew you had. Prepare to have your thinking sharpened and your perspective widened with every turn of the page.”

Daniel H. Pink, author of the New York Times-bestselling The Power of Regret and Drive 

“If you have any hope of creating something, changing something or understanding anything about how humans behave in the world, you must read this book. You will never think about observing the world in the same way again.” —

Tony Fadell, New York Times-bestselling author of Build, iPod inventor, and Nest founder

“Not only is Christian Madsbjerg's Look an excellent read, it is also the most original manifesto for the power of human intelligence to come across my desk in many years. If you have any curiosity about what makes humans unique and necessary in the coming era of artificial intelligence, you must read this book.”

Mark Hyman, M.D., author of the New York Times-bestselling Young Forever

“This is a truly eye-opening and original book. I've never read anything like it. Christian Madsbjerg sees the world in a completely fresh way—and so can you.”

Tim Harford, author of the New York Times-bestselling The Undercover Economist and The Data Detective

Bio:

Christian Madsbjerg is an author, entrepreneur, and academic who focuses on the practical and commercial application of the Human Sciences. He is the co-founder of the global consulting firm Red Associates. At Red Associates, Madsbjerg served as an advisor to executive teams in some of the world's largest companies, addressing strategy questions through empirical, organized observations of the human world. He also held the Professor of Applied Humanities position at The New School in New York City, where he centered his teaching on 20th-century continental philosophy.

Madsbjerg is the author of several books, including "Look: How to Pay Attention in a Distracted World," "Sensemaking: The Power of the Humanities in the Age of the Algorithm," and "The Moment of Clarity: Using the Human Sciences to Solve Your Toughest Business Problems" (co-authored with Mikkel Rasmussen), which have been translated into 15 languages.

Madsbjerg is the Chairman of the Board at the world-class architectural firm Bjarke Ingels Group, an Independent Director and Chair of the Nomination and Governance Committee at The Metals Company (Nasdaq: TMC), and an Independent Director of the US board of Kvadrat A/S. He also serves as a Director of the Revs Institute, a design museum and research institute.

Madsbjerg's work has garnered recognition and has been featured in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, The Washington Post, Der Spiegel, The Atlantic, and The Economist, among many others.

Madsbjerg is working on a screenplay called H1B.

Books:

Look

How to pay attention in a world of distraction

Look - How to Pay Attention in a Time of Distraction is a new book published with Riverhead in July 2023. Look, explores the key observational skills needed to show how we can recapture our ability to pay attention. Drawing from philosophy, science, the visual arts, and his own life, Madsbjerg offers practical insights and a range of tools for experiencing the world with greater richness and texture. The result is a dynamic approach to rethinking observation that helps all of us to see with more empathy, accuracy, and connection to others.


Sensemaking

The Power of The Humanities in the Age of the Algorithm

Sensemaking was published with Hachette Book Group in March 2017. Inspired by my work with companies like Ford, Chanel, and Coca-Cola, Sensemaking is a stand against algorithms as the only type of analysis and an argument that human intelligence, informed by the study of the humanities, remains essential to success. We might live in the age of algorithms. But what happens when number crunching fails to solve a company's problems?

The Moment of Clarity

Using the Human Sciences to Solve Your Toughest Business Problems

The Moment of Clarity was published with Harvard Business Review Press in February 2014. In The Moment of Clarity, Christian Madsbjerg and Mikkel Rasmussen examine the business world’s assumptions about human behavior and show how these assumptions can lead businesses off track. But the authors chart a way forward. Using theories and tools from the human sciences—, anthropology, sociology, philosophy, and psychology, the Moment of Clarity introduces a practical framework called sensemaking. Sensemaking’s nonlinear problem-solving approach gives executives a better way to understand business challenges involving shifts in human behavior.