Metaskills: Five Talents For The Robotic Age

The Industrial Age has taught us how to break problems into parts, but not how to build parts into solutions. We're baffled when confronted with complex challenges like recession, political gridlock, climate change, childhood obesity, pollution, and failing schools. We see them as separate ills, each requiring a separate remedy. Why are so many jobs disappearing? Why are a few people getting rich while others struggle? How can we pay for healthcare? Why can't trusted institutions behave ethically? What's the cause of governmental gridlock? How can we afford to educate our children? How do we stop damaging the ecosystem? Why do we create ugliness?

Author Marty Neumeier suggests that these problems are merely symptoms of a larger issue—our inability to deal with interconnected, non-linear, and amorphous challenges. Success in the post-industrial era requires shifting from static, linear thinking to dynamic, holistic, all-at-once approaches. This book presents five metaskills—Feeling, Seeing, Dreaming, Making, and Learning—that can help individuals stay ahead of machines, foster creativity, and find greater purpose and fulfillment.

Metaskills serves as a manifesto and a practical framework for leaders, policymakers, and creators across disciplines, offering insights into what it means to be human in the 21st century.