Metaskills: Five Talents for the Future of Work

by Marty Neumeier

The seemingly intractable problems we face today, says author Marty Neumeier, are symptoms of a more basic problem—our inability to deal with interconnected, non-linear, amorphous challenges. It’s not that our problems are too difficult, but that our skills are too basic. Success in the post-industrial era asks that we move our thinking from the static, the linear, and the step-by-step to the dynamic, the holistic, and the creative. In this breathtaking vision of professional mastery, Neumeier presents five metaskills—feeling, seeing, dreaming, making, and learning—to help you reach your true potential in the creative workplace of the future.

Genres: Business, Design, Personal Development, Futurism, Nonfiction, Technology, Science

286 pages, Paperback

First published November 16, 2012

About the author

Marty Neumeier is an author, designer, and brand adviser whose mission is to bring the principles and processes of design to business. His series of “whiteboard” books includes ZAG, named one of the “top hundred business books of all time,” and THE DESIGNFUL COMPANY, a bestselling guide to nonstop innovation. An online presentation of his first book, THE BRAND GAP, has been viewed more than 22 million times since 2003. A sequel, THE BRAND FLIP, lays out a new process for building brands in the age of social media and customer dominance. His most recent book, SCRAMBLE, is a “business thriller” about how to build a brand quickly with a new process called agile strategy. In 1996, Neumeier founded Critique magazine, the first journal about design thinking. He has worked closely with innovative companies such as Apple, Netscape, Sun Microsystems, HP, Adobe, Google, and Microsoft to help advance their brands and cultures. Today he serves as Director of Transformation for Liquid Agency in Silicon Valley, and travels extensively as a workshop leader and speaker on the topics of design, brand, and innovation. He and his wife divide their time between California and southwest France.

Reviews

[Arun Mahendrakar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book that I've read about Marty Neumeier and I must say I'm pretty impressed with the author. His approach to help readers reach their full potential seems unconventional and very promising.

The chapter on Seeing is very well written and to-the-point where the author tells us to see the system as a whole and not just the immediate issue in front of us. The chapter on Learning emphasizes on 'autodidacticism'. "Learning to learn is personal growth squared" - well said sir, well said.

There are many places in the book where the author gives us 'n ways of' pointers, like 9 common archetypes (page 92), 5 prompts on the art of framing (page 115), 12 timeless principles about Learning (page 182) and so on. They act as quick guides that you can refer to any time.

I have read books like
* Steal like an Artist by Austin Kleon - talks about identifying and knowing who you are
* Mindset by Carol Dweck - tells us what actually makes you 'smart'
* Switch by Chip and Dan Heath - how to induce change upon yourself and others
* Drive by Daniel Pink - how to excel at just about anything

So if you have read books like the above, some sections of this book will seem like a repeat. As an example, in the book Steak like an Artist, Austin says "Whether you’re in school or not, it’s always your job to get yourself an education." while Marty in his book says "Instead of expecting traditional schools to do what they can’t do, take your education into your own hands.". I found a few other examples from the above books that were mentioned here. Hence 4 star!

[Jaakko · Rating 3 out of 5]

Knowledge-wise the author doesn't go very deep on any of the areas it discusses, and a lot of argumentation is anecdotal or based on quotes from some well or not-so-well known thinkers, which makes it sometimes painful to read (worth maybe 2 stars). However as a thought provoker the book fairs reasonably well and we had inspired discussion with a couple of colleagues based on the thoughts author proposes and hence the average rating.

If you're interested in the future of work and the role that will be left for humans in it, this book is worth a read.

[Jack Oughton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every now and then you come across a book that sparks so many great ideas inside your head that you have to re read it at least twice. For me, this was one of those books. Many, many 'Eureka' moments here.

I can't believe that I hadn't heard of Marty until now but I'll be following the rest of his work like, I dunno... some kind of hawk that likes to read books. We all learn, and thus I recommend this book to all. Meta is better :3

[Priscilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very in-depth book on how our 5 skills influence a brand, Feeling, Seeing, Dreaming, Making, and Learning. I read this book while doing The Metaskills challenge which added a lot more depth to each section. The more is full of insights and steps to analyze and building a brand.

[Ante Rogosic · Rating 5 out of 5]

As Alvin Toffler said in Rethinking the Future, “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write…but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”

This is one of the books that requires 100% focus. The concepts presented in this book are entirely different from everything that you have learned in school. Machines are taking over jobs that do not require creativity, humanity, or leadership. To effectively adapt to a rapidly changing world and technology, you will have to work on your five metaskills, which are:

FEELING: including empathy, intuition, and social intelligence.

SEEING: the ability to think whole thoughts, also known as systems thinking.

DREAMING: the metaskill of applied imagination.

MAKING: mastering the design process, including skills for devising prototypes.

LEARNING: the autodidactic ability to learn new skills at will. Learning is the “opposable thumb” of the five talents since it can be used in combination with the other four.

[Desmond Du · Rating 5 out of 5]

“What happens when a paradigm shifts? Do we simply wake up one day and realize that the past seems irreversibly quaint? Or do financial institutions fail, governments topple, industries break down, and cultures crack in two, with one half pushing to go forward and the other half pulling back?” — Marty Neumeier

This is a real page turner that break down how we make meaning in our lives and how get to strive for excellence by developing metaskills. The writing is simple to understand and accompanied by visuals and models to highlight the author's point.I highly recommend everyone to read this book during these unprecedented times to future-proof yourself.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspiring read. Some of it may seem a little redundant, but I think it was necessary. The multiple re-wordings & examples make it easy to comprehend the concepts Marty presents. So simple that it kind of makes you think, "no duh!" But in fact, it's not that obvious at all...not until after reading the ideas in the book. If you are looking for ways to grow in feeling, seeing, dreaming, making, and learning, then this is a good foundational book to read for inspiration and growth in all faucets of your life.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

As has happened throughout the last couple of centuries, many of the jobs today will not exist in 10-20 years. AI is coming for a lot of jobs, especially those lower level knowledge workers stuck in offices. Here, the author wants to emphasize computers can not replicate emotions, especially empathy. The machines only know from the past, but can not synthesize responses to conditions they have not seen previously. To thrive in the coming decades, it is how to take advantage of the coming AI wave by being the mushy, emotional human in the middle.

[Elvis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is ok. Too much theory and wishful thinking. A lot of the things said in the book are viewed as smart and new, but then it is so abstract that it doesn't matter at all. Anything can be written there, since its nothing but a daydreaming thought, which might be good or might not.

Its more of a self help book.

[Stephan Riess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Want to prepare for the future? Here you go.

[Raymond Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am fascinated by job automation and the sociological impacts, and this was a great exploration of how people can avoid having their work become commoditized.

[Mikah Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marvellous book.

[Ossi Honkanen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The five skills that enable us to remain relevant in the robot age. Good overview of the skills, great for introspection, but also for building creative organisations.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Metaskills: Five Talents for the Robotic Age Neumeier makes the case for five essential skills that robots can't replace. Those skills are feeling, seeing, dreaming, making and learning. To be employed in today's day and age, you need an assortment of all of these skills.
Overall, I've been impressed with his work. Metaskills is the longest book of his to date, but the book has a great pace.

It will be interesting to revisit this book in 10-15 years and see if these meta-skills hold up. I for one would be more than happy if they did. These skills after all, are profoundly human. Neumeier has vision.

[brian andrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read on the talents or skills required to stay ahead of the curve of work,
feeling, seeing, dreaming, making and learning.
I got this out through the local library, and kept it for several months, dipping in and out of chapters.
I enjoyed reading the book, made me sit and think about the skills I had and require, and those that cannot be replicated.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really sympathise with the intent of this book, and think that the skills he has singled out are among the most important. For me the chapters on Seeing and on Dreaming were the most useful. However, I only give three stars as there were few surprises and little that was new.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read...it's not really about the robotic age but more about how you can lead a more fulfilling life in the 21st century and beyond. Every part of the book resonated and it is a quick but effective read.

[Dillon Ashcroft · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of those books I wish I had of read a while ago. Covers a lot of ground and enjoyable to read. A few points I disagree on, like the term the robotic age and some other little things, but often those things help to make sense of the work as a whole.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recommend this book to everyone. The five chapters are the five Metaskils: Feeling, Seeing, Dreaming, Making, and Learning. I found all five to be inspirational. At Making, I found the content so practical that I had to start talking notes.

[Jeffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Provocative. Marty is a maven. Prose style often gets abstract and theoretical. I can follow it, but his ideas would be served if he finessed the arts of Story and Image.

[Merlin Zuni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic and inspirational.

[Skalk · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great Book. Make sure you get off the Robot Curve before its too late.

[Petri Poikolainen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and very interesting topic in general.

[yamiyoghurt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would give this book 7 stars if I could. A really spot on book about the problems of our age and the skills we need to develop to navigate it. A really inspiring read.

[Alyssa Foll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent read by Marty Neumeier. I like "The Designful Company" and "Brand Flip" the best of his works, but I do think this lengthier book touches on some very important concepts.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm continuing to learn about "soft skills".

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every person should read this. It basically covers the what the workplace will look like in 30 years and what skills will be most valued.