The Fuzzy and the Techie

Scott Hartley first heard the terms ‘fuzzy’ and ‘techie’ while studying political science at Stanford University. If you had majored in the humanities or social sciences, you were a fuzzy. If you had majored in the computer sciences, you were a techie. This informal division quietly found its way into a default assumption that has misled the business world for decades-that it’s the techies who drive innovation. But in this brilliantly contrarian book, Hartley reveals the counter-intuitive reality of business today: it’s actually the fuzzies-not the techies-who are playing the key roles in developing the most creative and successful new business ideas. He looks inside some of the world’s most dynamic new companies, reveals breakthrough fuzzy-techie collaborations, and explores how such associations are at the centre of innovation in business, education and government, and why liberal arts are still relevant in our techie world. This is a revelatory and original book, of particular importance in India where students are unduly pressurized to gain admission into institutes of technology in the hope that they will be at the forefront of change and innovation in the VUCA world.