In a world where algorithms write strategies, generate designs, and analyze markets, what makes your work truly matter? Whether you're anxious about artificial intelligence (AI) or eager to use it well, Human Magic reveals that your professional value and irreplaceable advantage lies in cultivating five distinctly human capabilities: curiosity, creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration. At the centre lies practical wisdom – the meta-capability that orchestrates them all.
Drawing on three decades of research across hundreds of organizations and pioneering one of business education's first comprehensive AI integrations, Johan Roos shows why these capabilities become more valuable in the age of AI. Each chapter follows a deliberate rhythm: grounding capabilities in historical wisdom, revealing how AI can erode them, then offering amplification practices and self-assessments to help readers strengthen what makes them irreplaceable. Discover how to move from feeling like "AI concierges" to becoming irreplaceable partners who shape outcomes that truly matter.
Table of Contents:
1. Our Choice – Erosion or Amplification?; 2. Curiosity – From Quick Answers to Deeper Questions; 3. Creativity – From Polished Outputs to Original Insights; 4. Critical Thinking – From Shallow Reasoning to Clear Judgment; 5. Communication – From Data Dashboards to Hybrid Authority; 6. Collaboration – From Human Teams to Bionic Collaboration; 7. Practical Wisdom – From Technical Mastery to Wise Action; 8. Your Human Magic – From Individual Capabilities to Irreplaceable Value; 9. What Do Leaders Do? – From Algorithmic Citizenship to Professional Practice; Appendix 1: Practicing Human Magic; Appendix 2: How This Book Was Written
About the Author :
Johan Roos is Professor and former CAO at Hult International Business School, Executive Director at Peter Drucker Society Europe, and co-inventor of the globally adopted LEGO® Serious Play® method.
Review :
"Human Magic shows how to nurture profoundly human capabilities---curiosity, creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration---that turn young people from task-doers into changemakers and leaders." --- Asheesh Advani, President, Junior Achievement Worldwide; co-author of Modern Achievement
"Tech can do a lot, but human ingenuity remains vital. This book helps reconnect with the essential capabilities we risk relaxing or forgetting at work." --- Christopher Ahlberg, Co-Founder, Recorded Future
"Johan Roos shows how to steer AI toward humanity's benefit. The urgent choice: succumb to worry and passivity, or take charge with clarity, method, and optimism." --- Guillaume Alvarez, Chief Strategy Officer, Think Young
"Johan Roos reframes the human-machine tension as a choice about who we want to become. With scholarly rigor and leadership empathy, he shows our competitive advantage comes not from smarter algorithms but from wiser humans---renewing what Peter Drucker called our most important resource: the human being." --- Eduardo Braun, author of People-First Leadership
"AI produces a thousand variations instantly but cannot observe unspoken needs, imagine breakthrough solutions, or integrate judgment with data. Johan Roos shows how to systematically develop empathy and taste---capabilities AI cannot replicate." --- Tim Brown, Chair Emeritus, IDEO; author of Change by Design
"Human Magic provides founders with a framework for strengthening the human-centered capabilities essential to drive venture creation, innovation, and sustainable transformation in the AI era." --- Niclas Carlsson, President & Founder, Founders Alliance
"AI presents the magician's curse: how to keep wonder alive when everyone believes anything can be done? Human magic is harder and more needed than ever. Johan Roos shows how." --- Laurent Choain, Chief Leadership, Education & Culture, Forvis Mazars
"Johan Roos shows how leaders preserve their critical role through Practical Wisdom and five capabilities that complement AI. His tools are grounded in both theory and practice." --- David Collis, Executive Education Fellow, Harvard Business School
"Human Magic provides a timely reminder that our most valuable capabilities must be cultivated deliberately as AI transforms work. Johan Roos offers tools for ensuring technological progress amplifies, rather than erodes, what makes us human." --- Amy C. Edmondson, Novartis Professor of Leadership, Harvard Business School
"The essential playbook for the AI era. Johan Roos cuts through the hype to reveal what defines Human Magic: Curiosity, Creativity, and Wisdom. Not competing with algorithms, but leveraging them to amplify our irreplaceable capabilities. Essential for leaders navigating efficiency versus erosion." --- Gunther Friedl, Managing Director, Dieter Schwarz Stiftung
"Human Magic reminds us that AI's highest purpose is not to outthink us but to deepen us. Johan Roos shows how to use AI not as a crutch but as a catalyst---to question more deeply, imagine more boldly, and connect more meaningfully." --- Rick Goings, Chairman Emeritus, Tupperware Brands Corporation; Founder, World Youth Clubs; Chairman, Rollins College
"Johan Roos shows how to work with AI so it sharpens rather than softens our minds. Like poor posture, AI misuse feels natural at first but weakens the muscles we need most. When AI answers everything, we must learn to ask better questions." --- Jyoti Guptara, narrative leadership expert; author of Business Storytelling from Hype to Hack
"As a fourth-generation owner, I learned through hard experience what Johan Roos articulates. I now lead 90+ companies by putting human magic first. Read this book and learn what I wish I'd known earlier." --- Lovisa Hamrin, Chairman and owner of HERENCO
"When headlines warn AI will replace us, Johan Roos proves the opposite: our most human qualities are becoming more valuable. An essential guide for leading with clarity and purpose amid algorithmic change." --- Dr. Stephen Hodges, CEO, Efekta Education Group, London
"Artificial intelligence can serve the worst---the subjugation of unthinking individuals---or the best, by stimulating curiosity and creativity. Johan Roos offers not only a brilliant analytical framework, but above all, a method for choosing the better path." --- Xavier Huillard, Chairman, VINCI Group
"Johan Roos shows how to lead purposefully as technology accelerates. Human capabilities---curiosity, critical thinking, collaboration, creativity---remain our most valuable asset in an era of augmented intelligence." --- Sherif Kamel, Dean, Onsi Sawiris School of Business, The American University in Cairo
"Johan offers the best solution to avoiding overuse of algorithmic planning. AI has its uses but cannot match the magic of the human mind. These human capabilities must not atrophy through AI overuse." --- Philip Kotler, S.C. Johnson & Son Distinguished Professor of International Marketing
"A luminous book that updates ancient wisdom: inner flourishing remains the source of pure reason and original ideas. AI remains an extraordinary servant, not master." --- Unni Krishnan, Founder, LivingMachine Institute
"Machines will always surpass humans in processing speed but cannot replace our ability to reason, innovate, communicate, and advocate. This is human magic. Johan Roos shows the promise of AI---and how to harness it." --- Pierre Le Manh, President and CEO, Project Management Institute (PMI)
"At Hult, we've witnessed firsthand how AI transforms business education. Johan Roos proves that human capabilities---curiosity, creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration---become more essential as AI advances, not less. This is the roadmap for developing them." --- Matt Lilley, President, Hult International Business School
"While AI debate often fixates on threats, Johan Roos offers an optimistic alternative: strengthen human capabilities rather than fear displacement. His framework is both practical and profound." --- Peter Lorange, Honorary President, IMD
"Human Magic delivers a powerful manifesto on humanity's unique superpowers and why the human condition must be preserved, regardless of how advanced the intelligences we invent become." --- Hamilton Mann, Bestselling author and originator of Artificial Integrity
"Too many leaders risk letting creative problem-solving, curiosity, and good judgment fade as AI produces seemingly coherent answers. Johan Roos shows how risky it is to outsource our thinking to machines---and what practices to adopt instead. Plus, the title wins my vote for best of 2026!" --- Rita McGrath, author of Seeing Around Corners; Columbia Business School
"Johan Roos has written not just a lively and very readable account of how AI may impact our lives at work and beyond, but a book which helps us better understand what it means to be human. By developing the concept of practical wisdom, this book spotlights how we think as humans, and how, supported by AI, we can think our way to better. Whether as a leader, a citizen or as a parent, this is a book to be read and discussed" --- Dr James Mountford, Editor-in-Chief, BMJLeader
"At GE Appliances, empowering people to think like entrepreneurs only scales when people have the right capabilities. That's what Johan Roos gets exactly right. This book is a practical blueprint for AI-enabled organizations." --- Kevin Nolan, President & CEO, GE Appliances, a Haier company
"AI will accelerate strategy, growth, and commercialization 100x. But as Johan Roos shows, speed without direction is just noise. We need human curiosity, creativity, and judgment to guide wisely." --- Alex Osterwalder, Founder & CEO, Strategyzer
"AI generates options; scientists provide judgment. Johan Roos shows how to preserve human capabilities that make AI valuable rather than dangerous in high-stakes decisions." --- Sanjiv Patel, CEO, Relay Therapeutics, Boston
"Johan Roos captures what truly makes us irreplaceable. AI can automate, but only humans can care, imagine, and lead with wisdom. A profound and timely reflection for every leader." --- Magnus Penker, CEO & bestselling author of Play Bold, Innovation 360 Group
"The question isn't whether to use AI. It's whether you'll master the partnership or become a well-paid concierge approving decisions you didn't author toward purposes you didn't choose. Stop optimizing. Start choosing. The professionals who matter won't outcompete algorithms---they'll cultivate the human magic that gives technology meaning and purpose." --- Deborah Perry Piscione, Chief Future Officer, Work3 Institute; co-author of Employment is Dead (Harvard Business Review Press, 2025)
"Throughout history, each new technology first relieved our muscles, then our brains---carrying atrophy risk. Yet humanity always adapted. AI is a huge milestone with enormous risk and potential. Johan Roos shows how to use it as an extension of our capabilities, not a replacement." --- Roman Przybylski, CEO, Grupa Kęty
"Venture capital already uses AI for research and analysis, but AI will not replace the entrepreneurs whose vision and creativity have built the world's most successful companies. Johan Roos demonstrates why the five human capabilities---Curiosity, Creativity, Critical Thinking, Communication, and Collaboration---remain irreplaceable in entrepreneurship. Essential reading for anyone leading in the age of AI." --- Steve Rees, CEO, Paro Capital; Founder, Atila Ventures
"Leaders who think AI replaces security analysts will fail. Those who use AI to amplify human judgment will win. Johan Roos provides the methodology." --- Helmut Reisinger, CEO for EMEA and Latin America, Palo Alto Networks
"At MIT's Lifelong Kindergarten, we study children as creative, curious, and collaborative learners. Johan Roos shows these same qualities---the most human of our abilities---are essential for business leaders thriving in the AI age." --- Mitchel Resnick, LEGO Papert Professor of Learning Research, MIT Media Lab
"Johan Roos bridges academic rigor and business reality. Human Magic provides step-by-step guidance for leaders incorporating AI into their daily work---theory made actionable." --- Joshua Rottenberg, CEO, Computrol Systems
"Beyond productivity or displacement, Johan Roos shows how AI can be a catalyst for renewal, purpose, and agency. Human Magic bridges the philosophical with the pragmatic---a toolkit for staying human in the age of intelligent machines." --- Matt Sigelman, President, Burning Glass Institute
"In a world where intelligence is becoming artificial, human capabilities differentiate tomorrow's leaders. Johan Roos provides practical tools to help you strengthen what makes you irreplaceable." --- Brian Solis, futurist; bestselling author of Mindshift and Transform
"Johan Roos shows how curiosity, creativity, and wisdom help us use AI to amplify---rather than replace---our humanity. As educators, we must ensure AI strengthens the capabilities of leaders we develop." --- Karen Spens, President, Norwegian School of Management
"Human Magic does for the AI age what Peter Drucker did for the management revolution: it reaffirms management as a liberal art grounded in human capabilities, not merely as a technique. Johan Roos shows why curiosity, creativity, critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and wisdom remain the irreplaceable core of leadership--- and how to cultivate them systematically." --- Richard Straub, President and Founder, Global Peter Drucker Forum
"As organizations become human-AI hybrids, work scope narrows and cognitive capabilities erode. Johan Roos's counter-strategy: don't just rely on AI---grow your essential capabilities together." --- Yoshi Takashige, Senior Advisor, Ridgelinez/Fujitsu
"In an era when AI reshapes work, Johan Roos reminds us that progress depends on people. This book ensures that as machines get smarter, people grow wiser and more valuable." --- Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., President and CEO, SHRM
"A profound and important work by one of the finest management scholars of our time." --- Bart Victor, Emeritus Cal Turner Professor of Moral Leadership, Owen Graduate School of Management, Vanderbilt University
"Johan Roos issues a wake-up call about AI eroding leadership autonomy and capability, then provides practical lessons for using AI to amplify rather than diminish our impact." --- Lola Woetzel, Managing Partner, Global6; Senior Partner Emeritus, McKinsey & Company
"Twenty-five years ago, Johan Roos showed how thinking with your hands reveals insights spreadsheets miss. Today, he shows why that matters more than ever in the age of AI." --- Howard Yu, LEGO® Professor of Management and Innovation, IMD; Director, Center for Future Readiness
