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The Moment of Clarity: Using the Human Sciences to Solve Your Toughest Business Problems
Christian Madjsberg and Mikkel Rasmussen, principals at ReD Associates, argue for the role of a new set of tools to understand the “soft” factors that influence how people buy and consume ideas and products. Drawn from the authors’ work with companies like Lego, Samsung, Adidas, Intel, IBM, and Coke, the book will teach you how to understand people holistically in their environments—how they live, what they think and do all day, what their habits are, and how they understand the world. For brand fanatics and business leaders alike.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2014
58 people are currently reading
1054 people want to read
About the author
Christian Madsbjerg
5 books46 followersChristian Madsbjerg is a founder of ReD Associates and the Director of its New York office. ReD is a strategy consulting company based in the human sciences and employs anthropologists, sociologists, art historians, and philosophers. Christian studied philosophy and political science in Copenhagen and London. He lives in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
March 1, 2014
An outstanding book for anyone in Marketing who is faced with an abundance of data but a poverty of insight.
In Leo Tolstoy’s nonfiction magnum opus The Kingdom of God Is Within You, he writes: “The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him.”
If you are not open to questioning even the most basic assumptions about your company and your customers, then you risk missing the new ideas that will be the future of your business.
In Leo Tolstoy’s nonfiction magnum opus The Kingdom of God Is Within You, he writes: “The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him.”
If you are not open to questioning even the most basic assumptions about your company and your customers, then you risk missing the new ideas that will be the future of your business.
December 8, 2014
I enjoyed reading this and found the case studies interesting. The book looks at how big companies can become stuck in their habitual ways of running, ways which no longer work when the world changes. I liked the case studies about Adidas struggling to understand non-competitive "sports" such as yoga and Lego losing touch with the essence of "play". The authors outline a process called "Sensemaking", to help companies such as these solve their problems using human sciences. It would have been nice to have some more specifics about how the Sensemaking process solved the problems these companies faced. I would say this book is aimed at CEO's or people with a degree of influence in their companies, as not everyone can embark on 6-month ethnographic studies when they feel they might have lost touch with their market.
March 23, 2019
Finding business strategy books that are clear in their intentions is a rare ocurrence. While this book doesn't quite nail it, it aims to subvert the conventional wisdom that uses the scientific method as a basis for all business research, which is all too prevalent on most MBA's frame of reference: trial and error and experimentation that treats people as fixed variables and voilà. Too good to be true? You bet. The book makes that clear.
While the authors don't go for it all the way, they make a bit of a critique of the Homo oeconomicus, in service of building better products for the market. It is a strange but interesting way to go about making market players more effective in catering to the needs, desires and erratic behaviour that people exhibit when you treat them as consumers and only that.
For the uninitiated, it provides some references to phenomenology which sound more like Husserl than Heidegger but refer to the latter nonetheless. This is the third time I've seen Heidegger quoted in service of business objectives. The first was in relation to gamification ethics and the other one in regards to his method of inquiry. This is an interesing paradox, given Heidegger's distrust of modernity and his rejection of machines.
In sum, it's an allright book. It provokes and entices more than it explains, it has a couple of useful business cases (the rest are a bit bland) and it is a light read. As someone living under the stuffy influx of American culture, the Europeanness of the authors is refreshing. God bless the Danes.
While the authors don't go for it all the way, they make a bit of a critique of the Homo oeconomicus, in service of building better products for the market. It is a strange but interesting way to go about making market players more effective in catering to the needs, desires and erratic behaviour that people exhibit when you treat them as consumers and only that.
For the uninitiated, it provides some references to phenomenology which sound more like Husserl than Heidegger but refer to the latter nonetheless. This is the third time I've seen Heidegger quoted in service of business objectives. The first was in relation to gamification ethics and the other one in regards to his method of inquiry. This is an interesing paradox, given Heidegger's distrust of modernity and his rejection of machines.
In sum, it's an allright book. It provokes and entices more than it explains, it has a couple of useful business cases (the rest are a bit bland) and it is a light read. As someone living under the stuffy influx of American culture, the Europeanness of the authors is refreshing. God bless the Danes.
October 9, 2018
Tried to disrupt how we think about doing traditional market and user research but left me a bit confused about what knowledge we could actually gain or if the point was making sense out of ambiguity. Love that they used Genevieve Bell as an example.
October 9, 2017
Moment of Clarity proposes an exploratory technique for business problems centered around people with unknown unknowns. The technique called sense-making leverages methods from philosophy (phenomenology), anthropology (ethnography), and sociology. It starts out with reframing the problem with purposeful naïveté, collecting data through aforementioned techniques with a focus on experiences, looking for patterns, creating key insights and building business impact. A leader leveraging this approach will care, have a perspective and connect different worlds within the organization. Excellent cases on LEGO, Intel and Adidas are presented.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 10, 2015
Excellent introduction to the method of 'sensemaking', using a combination of classical management consultancy practices and the insights from classical humanities studies such as philosophy and ethnography.
Gave me quite a few insights as to what my humanistic background can contribute sensibly with at a higher level of business management.
Gave me quite a few insights as to what my humanistic background can contribute sensibly with at a higher level of business management.
November 5, 2016
I found this book engrossing and a good introduction on how to approach extremely challenging, vague business problems. I particularly connected with the first few chapters, jotting down notes several times to aid my thinking. I would recommend this book to anyone working on or interested in business strategy - not only is it short, the content is invaluable.
March 23, 2015
The idea of so called "sensemaking" is generally interesting, but the book is too repetitive and shallow (way too much PR stuff). If you're going to read it, just leaf through it and pick up the rare good bits here and there.
February 14, 2022
"IF YOU HAVE JUST ONE single takeaway from our book, we hope it is this: getting people right is the key to taking your business out of a fog"
A book that challenges the way we look at problems and go about solving them. If you are into a business or company that deals with people then you should at least read this book once to get an idea of a completely different methodology of problem-solving.
Study the experience behind everything. This won't be captured in your data. This has to be analysed through human sciences.
Concept of phenomenology. How it can be useful to figure out the why or how people interact with things.
How ethnography can be used to collect the required data for such methodologies.
Sensemaking and its 5 phases.
It also has examples of companies like Lego, Coloplast, Adidas, Intel explaining how they used the sensemaking process to get out of the fog.
A book that challenges the way we look at problems and go about solving them. If you are into a business or company that deals with people then you should at least read this book once to get an idea of a completely different methodology of problem-solving.
Study the experience behind everything. This won't be captured in your data. This has to be analysed through human sciences.
Concept of phenomenology. How it can be useful to figure out the why or how people interact with things.
How ethnography can be used to collect the required data for such methodologies.
Sensemaking and its 5 phases.
It also has examples of companies like Lego, Coloplast, Adidas, Intel explaining how they used the sensemaking process to get out of the fog.
March 19, 2018
Um livro sobre sensemaking.
O título NÃO corresponde ao conteúdo. NO original, ver-se-ia "The Moment of Clarity" ou o momento de clareza, ao invés de "A filosofia nos negócios".
Um bom livro, mas não um calhamaço dedicado aos filósofos. São mais análises de cases, com citações esparsas de uma ou outra frase de um filósofo.
Em suma, o autor prega o "Sensemaking" como a solução para os problemas, quando o seu negócio começa a não dar bons resultados. No fundo, trata-se de usar o bom senso e voltar-se para as necessidades dos clientes.
O título NÃO corresponde ao conteúdo. NO original, ver-se-ia "The Moment of Clarity" ou o momento de clareza, ao invés de "A filosofia nos negócios".
Um bom livro, mas não um calhamaço dedicado aos filósofos. São mais análises de cases, com citações esparsas de uma ou outra frase de um filósofo.
Em suma, o autor prega o "Sensemaking" como a solução para os problemas, quando o seu negócio começa a não dar bons resultados. No fundo, trata-se de usar o bom senso e voltar-se para as necessidades dos clientes.
April 9, 2019
A useful book for anyone, especially business leaders, who is interested in implementing qualitative research into their business. As a researcher, the first three chapters are a bit of a throw-away and quite sales-pitchy, but part 2 is quite useful. The case studies are all interesting reads and there are some useful take aways in the theory chapter and next steps chapters. You can definitely, however, tell this is written from an agency stand point and implementing research in-house is quite a different ball game. Nice read with a bit of useful information but nothing mind-blowing.
November 28, 2017
A real eye-opener on how insights are generated. His choice and narration of the stories is much stronger than his theorizing. Absolutely LOVED the depiction and critique of the "creativity religion" ☺
March 20, 2020
Really objective, clear view of one of the most obvious leadership behavior so scarce today that is sensemaking. People wait for answers to come ready, without criticizing or asking if the simple data process make sense or not. Really great reading for revisiting the common sense.
May 15, 2022
I read another Harvard Business Press book in an attempt to better myself as a leader and a person. The biggest value I found in this book is that unconventional ways to address problems can be tremendously helpful.
July 5, 2018
A must read for market researchers and strategists.
August 6, 2018
The authors talk about the importance of human sciences in addition to hard sciences when businesses forget about it's core value propositions
February 24, 2019
If you don't know how human sciences operate in the world of business and organizations, I suggest starting with The Moment of Clarity. Books like this are important to argue for a more interdisciplinary approach and broaden our understanding of the value of this in problem-solving.
The book deals with the qualitative sciences in contrast to the quantitative, and why in particular ethnography can be a very useful approach to researching and understanding the experiences and needs of customers.
It's probably a better book if you're not trained in human sciences, but if you are, it still gives you a bit perspective and possibly a language to explain what you do. But I wasn't too happy about the depth—I had hoped for more.
The book deals with the qualitative sciences in contrast to the quantitative, and why in particular ethnography can be a very useful approach to researching and understanding the experiences and needs of customers.
It's probably a better book if you're not trained in human sciences, but if you are, it still gives you a bit perspective and possibly a language to explain what you do. But I wasn't too happy about the depth—I had hoped for more.
February 20, 2020
Muy interesante el punto de vista que plantea
December 4, 2022
The book provoked some thinking about the business
February 20, 2024
Smisleno, korisno, pogadja u centar. Pojedina poglavlja bespotrebno duga. Preporuka za citanje svakom preduzetniku
May 6, 2015
If you're looking for a how-to guide showing you how to enact the human-centered qualitative research that Christian Madsbjerg and Mikkel Rasmussen have become known for, The Moment of Clarity will not meet your expectations. If you are instead seeking to undersatnd what Madsbjerg and Rasmussen mean when they talk about sensemaking and thick description, you're more likely to be satisfied with this book.
Madsbjerg and Rasmussen do their best at offering a few philosophical guidelines around which deep qualitative market research can be constructed. The examples in the book are not as compelling or useful. The authors haven't found a clear way to communicate about their ideas and their methods, and often distance themselves from the attempt to establish such clarity - ironic, given the book's title. That they urge their readers to avoid reducing deep qualitative analysis to a few simple rules, speaks well of their preservation of sincerity and subtle understanding in a commercial culture that demands quick and simple ideas. Their struggles to bring coherence to the practice of applied qualitative inquiry beyond the superficialities of focus groups are in large part due to the lack of a strong literature on the subject outside of academia. They are to be thanked for beginning the larger effort to bring this challenging subject to the attention of a corporate audience.
Madsbjerg and Rasmussen do their best at offering a few philosophical guidelines around which deep qualitative market research can be constructed. The examples in the book are not as compelling or useful. The authors haven't found a clear way to communicate about their ideas and their methods, and often distance themselves from the attempt to establish such clarity - ironic, given the book's title. That they urge their readers to avoid reducing deep qualitative analysis to a few simple rules, speaks well of their preservation of sincerity and subtle understanding in a commercial culture that demands quick and simple ideas. Their struggles to bring coherence to the practice of applied qualitative inquiry beyond the superficialities of focus groups are in large part due to the lack of a strong literature on the subject outside of academia. They are to be thanked for beginning the larger effort to bring this challenging subject to the attention of a corporate audience.
March 5, 2014
The Moment of Clarity is about understanding people, whether customers, employees or anyone around us.
As such is mixes practical advice with theory about society, particularly business around us.
The book has two parts - 'Getting people wrong' and 'Getting people right'. As one can guess the first part is about what businesses and managers are doing wrong, while the second part gives us the concept of sensemaking. That is using a mix of participant observation, qualitative data gathering and holistic analysis to arrive at new insights about what really matters to customers.
The underlying theme of the book is about getting a true understanding of your customers that comes from understanding human behaviour.
Not the easiest of reads, and there are better books on the topic in the marketplace.
http://books-reviewed.weebly.com/lead...
As such is mixes practical advice with theory about society, particularly business around us.
The book has two parts - 'Getting people wrong' and 'Getting people right'. As one can guess the first part is about what businesses and managers are doing wrong, while the second part gives us the concept of sensemaking. That is using a mix of participant observation, qualitative data gathering and holistic analysis to arrive at new insights about what really matters to customers.
The underlying theme of the book is about getting a true understanding of your customers that comes from understanding human behaviour.
Not the easiest of reads, and there are better books on the topic in the marketplace.
http://books-reviewed.weebly.com/lead...
April 20, 2014
The authors explains new ways of setting up strategical direction in organizations by focusing on human aspect. Although I find the topic interesting, the focus of the book need significant improvements. General introduction to the issue probably need a chapter or so, and I feel that the author should give more details on the case studies and/or practical issues on implementation.
December 29, 2016
This book was almost too short. The authors do an excellent job of going beyond the small views that companies take in understanding their users. Our reliance on data and analytics has pulled us away from truly understanding the consumers and customers using our products and services. I'd like to learn more about the methods for pattern clarification they used in the book.
April 28, 2014
I liked the concept of the book and the points it made but was waiting all the way through for the boom moment of clarity ... it was sort of there but not much of a boom.
November 17, 2014
كشخص خلفيته عن إدارة الأعمال صفر، وجدت أن أسلوب الكتاب والتفصيل فيه مفيد جداً وممتع وفتح آفاق عن المشاريع والأعمال لم أفكر بها من قبل.
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October 31, 2014658.834 M1836 2014
April 5, 2017
The idea of this book hit me as interesting. It was recommended in a UX context but I think it sells itself short by focussing on just 'sensemaking' - which is a term used a lot in modern business in a different way. A better way of covering the topic would find their framework - which is there! - and follow it to demonstrate many stories that make sense. Nevertheless this inspired me to re-think some of my methods
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews