Adaptive Curiosity - by Diane Hamilton (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Find direction and meaning when AI reshapes your career and identity

In Adaptive Curiosity: How Humans Find Purpose in the Age of Intelligent Machines, behavioral scientist and Fulbright Specialist Dr. Diane Hamilton provides a structured method for rebuilding direction when automation displaces the roles, routines, and identities that once organized professional life. Drawing on her Curiosity Code Index(R) and research across thousands of organizations, Hamilton shows how curiosity becomes a stabilizing force during disruption.

Hamilton identifies four FATE inhibitors--Fear, Assumptions, Technology, and Environment--that block reinvention and offers a repeatable process for overcoming each one. Readers learn to select meaningful pursuits, use intelligent tools as creative partners, and build contribution through learning, relationships, and community. The book moves beyond diagnosis to practical life design in an AI-driven world.

Readers will also find:

• A validated framework for diagnosing the specific psychological barriers that prevent individuals from engaging with new opportunities
• Practical strategies for converting curiosity into sustained direction, contribution, and purposeful action during career transitions
• Methods for using AI and intelligent tools as collaborative partners rather than threats to professional identity and relevance
• Guidance for managers and executives leading teams through technological disruption, forced transitions, and organizational restructuring
• Techniques for rebuilding identity and meaning when traditional career structures no longer provide a clear forward path

Ideal for professionals navigating automation-driven career shifts, mid-career adults reassessing direction after disruption, managers guiding teams through technological change, and students preparing for a non-linear workforce, Adaptive Curiosity delivers a practical system for turning uncertainty into purposeful reinvention.

From the Back Cover

PRAISE FOR ADAPTIVE CURIOSITY

"Hamilton, a published expert on the topic, outlines an original and highly productive form of curiosity--an adaptive form. Better still, she shows us how to use it to spark contributions that reflect our true purposes while avoiding traditional obstacles to doing so. Being curious about this book is not enough. We need to read it."
--ROBERT CIALDINI, New York Times Bestselling Author of Pre-Suasion and Author of Influence

"How do humans stay relevant in the age of intelligent machines? Dr. Hamilton offers a practical framework for navigating uncertainty with curiosity, helping readers rediscover meaning beyond traditional work structures."
--JIM MCKELVEY, Square/Block Co-Founder, Author of The Innovation Stack

"We are living through the fastest reinvention of work in human history, and most people are unprepared. In Adaptive Curiosity, Diane Hamilton doesn't just explain the shift, she gives you the mindset to thrive in it. This is the playbook for staying relevant in the workplace when AI changes the rules of engagement."
--JAY SAMIT, Bestselling Author of The Second Act Advantage

"The world of work is changing, and we need curiosity to navigate it. Dr. Diane Hamilton shows us that Adaptive Curiosity is a skill anyone can build to find meaning and contribute in a fast-moving world."
--DORIE CLARK, Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling Author of The Long Game

About the Author

DR. DIANE HAMILTON is an internationally recognized behavioral scientist, global keynote speaker, author, and Fulbright Specialist whose work focuses on curiosity, human behavior, and organizational performance. She developed the scientifically validated Curiosity Code Index, which identifies the factors that inhibit curiosity, and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar as one of the leading minds in management and leadership. She serves on the faculty of Duke Corporate Education and previously served as MBA Program Chair at the Forbes School of Business & Technology. A Forbes contributor, her articles have generated more than two million views, and her work has appeared in Inc., Investor's Business Daily, SHRM, and other leading business publications.