Humility Is the New Smart: Rethinking Human Excellence in the Smart Machine Age

Review
“I loved this book. Drawing from research on human cognition, the authors explain why all of us are ill-equipped to cope with the coming smart machine age. And they offer a path forward in the form of five NewSmart principles, which are profound and powerful. This is a book about new thinking—the kind of generous, curious thinking that will allow us to thrive in a world in which machines do so many things better than we ever will.”
—Amy C. Edmondson, Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management, Harvard Business School, and coauthor of Building the Future
“This book has a very important message: new forms of relationships and a more humane attitude toward each other will become essential ingredients of a new way of being. Humility, more personal relationships, and collaboration will no longer be options but the key to health, productivity, and a sense of well being.”
—Edgar H. Schein, Professor Emeritus, MIT Sloan School of Management, and author of Helping, Humble Inquiry, and Humble Consulting
“Machines will soon be smarter than we are and do most of our jobs. Hess and Ludwig provide valuable insights into the roles that humans will play and how we can adapt to the new realities. The values they prescribe are so uplifting for humanity that I wonder why we can’t start now; why do the machines need to evolve before we do?”
—Vivek Wadhwa, Distinguished Fellow and Professor, Carnegie Mellon University Silicon Valley
“Humility Is the New Smart challenges everything we think we know about a ‘good’ education. Today, in the Smart Machine Age, it’s no longer about how much you know but how you know—the questions you ask—and how you interact with others. A fascinating and challenging book for all educators.”
—Tony Wagner, author of The Global Achievement Gap and Creating Innovators
“Fascinating and perceptive, Humility Is the New Smart is an excellent book for leaders and everyone who wants to remain employed in the Smart Machine Age.”
—Marshall Goldsmith, Thinkers50 #1 Leadership Thinker in the World
“The forces of the Smart Machine Age are already upon us, and like time and tide they cannot be held back. Hess and Ludwig are out front with this insightful, practical, and compelling guide to navigating, transforming, and leading organizations for this new age in which the nature of work and the workforce will be dramatically different.”
—Admiral Gary Roughead, US Navy (Retired), former Chief of Naval Operations
“As a venture capitalist, I have a front-row seat to the way advances in robotics, sensors, and artificial intelligence are changing the way we work—and it’s happening faster than you think. Once again, Ed Hess is out front in his research—this time on the skills and behaviors that will determine whether people and organizations succeed or fail as they adapt to the new reality of working side by side with machines. From CEOs to students, thus is a must-read.”
—Frank H. Foster, Managing Director, Frontier Venture Capital
“This book was a revelation to me. Who knew that the secret to survival in this intimidating new world of machine intelligence was for us to become more human? In both our business and our private lives, we can choose fear and ego and retreat into ourselves in the face of these challenges, or we can embrace collaboration and positivity instead. Hess and Ludwig show us how to make the life-affirming choice.”
—Jeanne Liedtka, coauthor of Designing for Growth and Solving Problems with Design Thinking
“An insightful, practical, enriching book for individuals and organizational leaders. NewSmart can be a key to unlocking immense organizational value, one human interaction at a time.”
—Sean Ryan, Senior Vice President, McGraw-Hill Education
“This book makes the compelling case that true competitive advantage requires human excellence. If you want to be an agile, adaptive, and enabling leader, this book is a must-read.”
—Marvin Riley, President, Fairbanks Morse Engine
“Original and counterintuitive