Coming September 15, 2026
Launching across all major outlets
A Note from Alec
"I wrote this book for people who are already working hard and thinking hard but feel the ground shifting under them. Over thirty years in markets and organizations, I've seen that intelligence and experience aren’t enough when conditions change quickly. What matters is a better way of deciding: a process that can absorb uncertainty, learn from mistakes, and improve over time. The Adaptability Quotient is my attempt to lay that process out so you don’t have to build it the hard way, trade by trade or crisis by crisis."
Early Praise
- Steven Levitt, professor emeritus at the University of Chicago and New York Times bestselling co-author of Freakonomics​
"I’ve never read a book that so accurately captures how the most successful people I know think and act. As I turned the pages, I kept asking myself, 'Why isn’t this what we teach in schools?'"
“The Adaptability Quotient offers a powerful framework for navigating an increasingly complex and uncertain world. Alec Litowitz draws on decades of experience to articulate a disciplined approach to thinking, grounded in rigor, continuous learning, and better decision-making. Moving beyond theory, he provides a practical system for building teams and individuals that adapt, evolve, and perform at the highest levels. This is essential reading for anyone seeking to sharpen judgment and thrive amid constant change.”
- Ken Griffin, founder and CEO, Citadel
- Steven Kotler, New York Times bestselling author of The Rise of Superman and The Art of Impossible
"A clear, compelling guide to thinking under pressure. Litowitz shows that success in a fast-moving world isn’t about being right. It’s about adapting faster than everyone else. Essential reading for anyone navigating uncertainty."
- Eli J. Finkel, professor at Northwestern University and author of The All-or-Nothing Marriage
“The Adaptability Quotient is deep, important, and compulsively readable—among the best works of nonfiction I've encountered in a decade. It’s an astute guidebook for crafting a successful, fulfilling life in unstable times.”
​- Nick Polson, professor of econometrics and statistics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and co-author of AIQ
“The Adaptability Quotient is a practical method for thinking clearly, deciding well, and holding on to your agency when the ground keeps shifting. Substantive, sharp, and genuinely readable.”
“I’m always fascinated when someone proposes a new way of thinking, layering creativity into process. Alec Litowitz set out to understand how people and institutions thrive when the ground shifts beneath their feet. In the process, he created the field guide to human adaptability. The Adaptability Quotient is a timely and sophisticated guide to expand your mind.”
​- Lawrence R. Armstrong, chairman of Ware Malcomb and New York Times bestselling author of Layered Leadership
“Litowitz’s masterpiece combines decades of insights gleaned from decades of entrepreneurial accomplishment, widespread reading, and thoughtful reflection. There is a lot to digest here, with no fluff, and the book is superbly organized and engagingly written. This is a manual, a handbook for our uncertain times. Read and reread, especially if you are starting a business, want to build an enterprise that lasts, or just seek a good and fulfilling life in a world in which machines seem to be taking over.”
- Amar Bhidé, professor at Columbia University and author of Uncertainty and Enterprise
"From one of the business world’s true superstars, comes The Adaptability Quotient, a book that provides a path to navigate the radical changes that now face the world. Litowitz argues persuasively that the key to success in an era of quantum change is adaptive intelligence, which is the ability to rapidly reframe a problem, update one’s thinking, and act decisively under uncertainty. The Adaptability Quotient serves as an indispensable guidebook to the current era.
​- Richard Vague, author of The Paradox of Debt and An Illustrated Business History of the United States, and former secretary of banking and securities for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
"When machines can out-think us, what makes us irreplaceable? Litowitz answers the existential question on all our minds. The Adaptability Quotient hands the advantage back to humans with an actionable framework for navigating uncertainty. It will leave you feeling nothing short of energized about our future."
​- Faisal Hoque, founder of SHADOKA and NextChapter, #1 Wall Street Journal / USA Today / LA Times bestselling author of TRANSCEND and REINVENT, and executive fellow at IMD Business School
Book Reviews
The Playbook You Were Given Is Broken
The Old Scripts
The career ladders and institutions that once guided you no longer exist.​
​The New Reality
AI-driven information overload.
Unknowable uncertainty.
Rapid change that outpaces any static plan.​
The Upgrade
While others work harder with flawed tools, high performers upgrade how they think. This book is the manual.
The Framework
Three Phases. One Repeating Loop. Infinite Compounding.​​
Metacognition —
Think About How You Think​
Master your built-in hardware. Balance your fast, biased intuition with your slow, analytical reasoning to catch blind spots and stop rationalizing emotional choices.
Simulation —
Model Reality Before You Act
Structure messy data into decision trees. Map potential scenarios from a baseline of uncertainty, and eliminate fatal risks before optimizing for upside.
Experimentation — Launch Small, Learn Fast
Move from theory to cheap, reversible tests. Use clear signals to protect your project from disaster, treating setbacks as data rather than personal verdicts.
Pre-Order Now & Share with Your Community
Pre-order now to secure your copy and join the first wave of readers discovering how AQ can help them navigate a rapidly changing world. Whether you’re facing disruption, information overload, or the growing influence of AI, The Adaptability Quotient offers practical tools to think clearly and make better decisions under uncertainty.
Tools You Can Use Immediately
Actions You'll Take Before You Finish the Book​​
Maximum Entropy Start
Assume you don't know which outcome is more likely. Let data earn its way in and don't fit facts to your favorite story.
​
Strong Opinions, Weakly Held
Commit to an explicit hypothesis. Change it fast when evidence demands it.
​
Metacognitive Switch
​Ask in real time: "Is this System 1 or System 2? Is this reaction driven by fear, ego, or actual information?"
​
Impute, Don't Amputate, Outliers
When data doesn't fit your model, ask: "What would have to be true for this result to make sense?"
​
Parallel Paths
When the stakes are high and uncertainty is large, pursue multiple options until evidence clearly favors one.
​
Design for Shallow Failure
Test new strategies with limited capital, small audiences, short windows, and reversible commitments.
Pre-Order Now
Alec Litowitz spent three decades making high‑stakes decisions in live markets as the founder and former CEO of Magnetar Capital, and is now the head of Qstar Capital.​
The Adaptability Quotient distills what worked across finance, entrepreneurship, and institution‑building, turning it into a field guide for people who can’t afford to learn the hard way every time.
