1. Purge any elitist tendencies from your soul. It blinds you to the opportunities and people around you. Remember that, statistically speaking, scoring in the 95th percentile on the SAT or GRE proves without doubt there are a few million people out there that are still smarter than you are. No one cares if you can quote Foucault or Goffman, the measure outside of the academic world is what you can actually do, how you contribute and how well you can communicate your insights to everyone.…
Author: mark
Why isn’t ethnography.com more focused on ethnography? Um, ‘cause I don’t feel like it.
A friend asked me how many people regularly read this blog. Well, not a lot. There is a good reason for this. I have owned the domain ethnography.com for about a decade, as well as several other anthropology related domains. On the other hand, while I am an ethnographer, my professional life is focused on the strategy and innovation, of which ethnography is just one of the tools in my toolbox.…
A quick guide to business case studies for social scientists
“Project X Challengers” is a series from Digital Manga Publishing that shows the history of the development of different breakthrough products in the distinctive manga style from Japan. Currently, there are three books in the series: “Nissin Cup Noodle”, “7-11 bring the convenience market to Japan” and “Datsun Fairlady Z (Project X 240Z Challengers)”.
You have to get used to the back to front, right to left reading convention but after that they are a wealth of information.…
CEO’s Arent Anthropologists!
I read a lot of blogs, but I usually find myself responding to the Business Week Blogs more than others. Today is no exception. Bruce Nussbaum recently gave a speech at the Royal College of Art stating that CEOs Must Be Designers, Not Just Hire Them. Think Steve Jobs And iPhone.
My Response:
So Bruce, I have to disagree: CEO’s should be CEO’s, but a good CEO knows how to spot talent.…
Business Travel is a magical experience.
If you have spent any time in an airport at all you have seen my co-workers and I. When I say co-workers, I don’t mean the people I work with at Jump. I mean every poor bugger that has to fly across three time zones countless times a year. Even if we are not all working for the same company, we are co-workers in spirit. We are the people moving at a brisk pace down the concourse with a jacket slung over one arm, pulling a piece of luggage with another arm, a cell phone is attached to our heads with duct tape, and we are cramming a $12 slice of $1 pizza into our chattering mouths with a third arm.…
Two Design Anthropology Phrases of Doom
In general, companies hire an anthropologist to conduct an internal or external ethnographic study for a simple reason: to uncover new ways to achieve competitive advantage. This usually like research to understanding new opportunities for products or services, or internally focused to change organizational issues, among other things. Unfortunately, our clients often have no idea what to do with the research. That’s the fault of anthropologists by the way.
Over the years, clients have told me about experiences they have had with social scientists of different stripes.…
Maker Faire Rocks.. again
So I’ve been struggling all weekend trying to think of a unique take on the Maker Faire. Frankly I’ve given up. It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed it and I think it is best to point you to this Wired article. I know it’s cheap not to write my own, but frankly, if you ever been to Maker Faire, its hard to understand the concept of “Maker Faire shock.”…
“broken promise fatigue”
Well, Bruce Nussbaum has being making me think alot apparently, I posted yet another comment to his recent entry asking if CEO’s have “innovation fatigue.”
I think that is partly true, but I wonder if it is more about “broken promise fatigue” rather than “innovation fatigue.” Companies that you listed: the Nikes, GE’s, Apple’s of the world have all seen great returns on big bets, and can also stomach the loss they have experienced in the past as well.…
A tip o’ the Kula Ring to Bruce Nussbaum
I got an exciting little boost today when Bruce Nussbaum, Business Week’s long-time writer on innovation and design coverage, posted my entire response to his entry on “Who Is Tired of innovation?” to his blog. Thanks Bruce, my first “official” business publication. You can find it at his site under the “Clown Theory of Innovation.”
The gist is what is Innovation vs. the emerging Practice of Innovation? The second point is what do we really mean to say when we suggest that someone doesn’t “get it” ?…
There is a picture of a pretty girl on my dresser
It’s the only picture in my bedroom actually. She is in her late teens or early twenties, standing with her back to the camera, and playing the guitar next to a couple of cars. Her hair has been pinned up hastily and she is Jeans and a simple top. Obviously a casual environment. I have pictures of friends and family all over my apartment, yet this is the only one in my bedroom.…
Your Life as a Map
How many people are like me, so enamored of the latest technical plaything our personal sense of risk and reward is totally out of whack?
In what I am readily recognizing as my continuing quest to give up all privacy, I have been playing with Google My Maps feature that lets you create and make public maps that reflect your own interests. In my case, it is the start of my autobiography in map form.…
Indigenous Peoples Organization Files Court Brief to Halt Graduate Fieldwork
California (APP) April 1, 2007 – A cultural conundrum is playing out in the 9th circuit that is sure to be heard before the Supreme Court by Fall. A coalition of organizations aimed at protecting the rights of indigenous people’s has filed a motion to halt all forms of graduate student field work throughout the world. “Frankly, we’re just tired of it.” stated Jason Natuktu, an Inuit Elder of Afognak, Alaska.…