Aesthetic Intelligence: How to Boost It and Use It in Business and Beyond — From an LVMH Leader on the Power of the Senses

Longtime leader in the luxury goods sector and former Chairman of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton North America reinvents the art and science of brand-building under the rubric of Aesthetic Intelligence.

In a world in which people have cheap and easy access to most goods and services, yet crave richer and more meaningful experiences, aesthetics has become a key differentiator for most companies and a critical factor of their success and even their survival. In this groundbreaking book, Pauline Brown, a former leader of the world’s top luxury goods company and a pioneer in identifying the role of aesthetics in business, shows executives, entrepreneurs, and other professionals how to harness the power of the senses to create products, services, and sensory experiences that stand out, resonate with their customers, and create long-term value for their businesses. The power is rooted in Aesthetic Intelligence—or “the other AI,” as Brown refers to it.

Aesthetic Intelligence can be learned. Indeed, people are born with far more capacity than they use, but even those that are naturally gifted must continue to refine their skills, lest their aesthetic advantage atrophy. Through a combination of storytelling and practical advice, the author shows how aesthetic intelligence creates business value and how executives, entrepreneurs and others can boost their own AI and successfully apply it to business. Brown offers research, strategies and practical exercises focused on four essential AI skills.

Aesthetic Intelligence provides a crucial roadmap to help business leaders build their businesses in their own authentic and distinctive way. Aesthetic Intelligence is about creating delight, lifting the human spirit, and rousing the imagination through sensorial experiences.

Aesthetic Intelligence provides a crucial roadmap to help you master the principles of sensory experience and create lasting value:

• Brand Building Strategy: Learn why aesthetics is a key differentiator in a crowded market and how to reinvent the art and science of building your brand.
• Luxury Goods Insights: Gain wisdom from the former Chairman of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton North America on how the world’s top luxury companies create long-term value.
• Actionable Leadership Frameworks: Discover four essential, learnable skills to boost your own Aesthetic Intelligence and lead your teams to create products and services that resonate.
• Consumer Behavior and Delight: Go beyond data to understand how to create delight, rouse the imagination, and harness the power of the senses to forge deep connections with your customers.

For more than 25 years, Pauline Brown has acquired, built, and led global luxury brands. In January of 2016, she joined the faculty of the Harvard Business School, where she introduced a new course for graduate students, called “The Business of Aesthetics.” Since 2016, she also has been hosting a weekly talk show on SiriusXM, called “Tastemakers,” on which she interviews business leaders, innovators, and influencers in creative sectors. Prior to her career as a writer, speaker, and lecturer, Pauline was the Chairman of North America for the world’s leading luxury goods company, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, where she provided regional leadership for 70 brands in 5 sectors, including fashion & leather goods, watches & jewelry, perfumes & cosmetics, wines & spirits, and selective retailing. While at LVMH, Pauline also served on the Board of Directors of L Capital, a private equity fund backed by LVMH, as well as the Boards of several LVMH subsidiaries, including Donna Karan, Marc Jacobs, and Fresh Cosmetics.