Silos, Chauvinism, and Insight: A discussion with Christian Madsbjerg

January 12, 2022

Christian Madsbjerg is the cofounder of ReD Associates, and author of Sensemaking: The Power of the Humanities in the Age of the Algorithm and The Moment of Clarity. We’re also so pleased to announce that he’ll be speaking at our inaugural Advancing Research conference (March 30-April 1 in NYC). Register for Advancing Research 2020 here.

In this episode of Rosenfeld Review, Christian Madsbjerg and Lou discuss the differences between social sciences research and data science, and the challenges that arise when organizations try to align them. Christian and Lou also touch on academic chauvinism, the shortcomings of anthropology (despite how much Christian appreciates the subject), and the importance of looking at “people as people.”

Christian’s recommended reading: Radical Empiricism by William James and The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure by Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff (the book is an expansion on an article of the same title which appeared in The Atlantic in 2015.

More about Christian
In addition to working closely as an adviser to senior executives, Christian Madsbjerg writes, speaks, and teaches on the practical application of the human sciences in business. His work has been featured in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The Washington Post, Der Spiegel, and Bloomberg Businessweek. His latest book, Sensemaking: The Power of the Humanities in the Age of the Algorithm, was published in the spring of 2017 by Hachette Book Group. His book The Moment of Clarity, co-written with ReD partner Mikkel B. Rasmussen and published by Harvard Business Press in the fall of 2014, has been translated into 15+ languages. Christian is currently teaching at The New School in New York City and working on a new book about the power of observation. He studied philosophy and political science in Copenhagen and London and has a Masters from the University of London.