Humans Are Underrated Audiobook By Geoff Colvin cover art

Humans Are Underrated

What High Achievers Know That Brilliant Machines Never Will

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Humans Are Underrated

By: Geoff Colvin
Narrated by: Geoff Colvin
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About this listen

As technology races ahead, what will people do better than computers?

What hope will there be for us when computers can drive cars better than humans, predict Supreme Court decisions better than legal experts, identify faces, scurry helpfully around offices and factories, even perform some surgeries, all faster, more reliably, and less expensively than people?

It’s easy to imagine a nightmare scenario in which computers simply take over most of the tasks that people now get paid to do. While we’ll still need high-level decision makers and computer developers, those tasks won’t keep most working-age people employed or allow their living standard to rise. The unavoidable question - will millions of people lose out, unable to best the machine? - is increasingly dominating business, education, economics, and policy.

The best-selling author of Talent Is Overrated explains how the skills the economy values are changing in historic ways. The abilities that will prove most essential to our success are no longer the technical, classroom-taught left-brain skills that economic advances have demanded from workers in the past. Instead, our greatest advantage lies in what we humans are most powerfully driven to do for and with one another, arising from our deepest, most essentially human abilities - empathy, creativity, social sensitivity, storytelling, humor, building relationships, and expressing ourselves with greater power than logic can ever achieve. This is how we create durable value that is not easily replicated by technology - because we’re hardwired to want it from humans.

These high-value skills create tremendous competitive advantage - more devoted customers, stronger cultures, breakthrough ideas, and more effective teams. And while many of us regard these abilities as innate traits - “he’s a real people person”, “she’s naturally creative” - it turns out they can all be developed. They’re already being developed in a range of far-sighted organizations, such as:

  • The Cleveland Clinic, which emphasizes empathy training of doctors and all employees to improve patient outcomes and lower medical costs
  • The U.S. Army, which has revolutionized its training to focus on human interaction, leading to stronger teams and greater success in real-world missions
  • Stanford Business School, which has overhauled its curriculum to teach interpersonal skills through human-to-human experiences

As technology advances, we shouldn’t focus on beating computers at what they do - we’ll lose that contest. Instead, we must develop our most essential human abilities and teach our kids to value not just technology but also the richness of interpersonal experience. They will be the most valuable people in our world because of it. Colvin proves that to a far greater degree than most of us ever imagined, we already have what it takes to be great.

©2015 Geoff Colvin (P)2015 Penguin Audio
Career Success Employment Technology & Society Career Business Thought-Provoking
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Critic reviews

“Geoff Colvin’s fresh take on how to respond to the rise of brilliant machines and the changing nature of work is as wise as it is inspiring.” (Dominic Barton, global managing director, McKinsey & Company)

“Beautifully written and deeply researched, Humans Are Underrated is one of the most creative and insightful leadership books I have ever read. It is a triumph!” (Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian)

“A powerful exposition of the strengths and limitations of technology in shaping our lives and addressing today’s greatest challenges. More than ever, as Colvin demonstrates, we need people who embody the most human of qualities. An uplifting account of the enduring potential of humanity itself.” (Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever)

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Powerful and simple.. motivation to be human again

The future can be bright when we accept that Humans like to work with humans who like humans. It's that simple.

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Humans are underrated

Unexpectedly insightful and very much welcomed. I listened to the audio version of it while traveling on the road and think I may listen to it again.

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A must read for innovators!

The obsession for technology can be terribly misleading in Digital Transformation endeavors. Companies must understand, develop, and use inherently human social skills, if they want to stay alive in the XXI century.

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Very positive in the end

Scares you about what computers are doing to is, and then picks us up. Nicely done. Lots of great examples.

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must read for the new economy.

Effectively breaks down the impact of robots and AI on the future workforce. better news for women than men but it's not all lost for any of us. In fact it could very bright if we have our eyes open to what is coming.

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Ahead of its Time

Reading and understanding this book will provide you with an advantage for decades to come, especially if you put the concepts into practice.

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Great big idea book

So insightful. This is the type of thing you need to wrap your head around in order to feel supremely confident in your future if you have a big chunk of your career ahead of you. Really fun to read and very applicable.

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