When I launched a career in Corporate Anthropology, it was an unknown discipline outside the academic ranks. It didn't matter that anthropologists pioneered their business efforts in the 1930s, to most organizations Anthropology meant Indiana Jones.
Anthropologists offer a special way of observing situations and assessing behaviors, and as a result they reach conclusions that others miss. Qualitative and ethnographic methods complement more formal methodologies. An anthropologist is not satisfied with a survey answer. Instead, through participant observation, formal and structured interviews, and personal interactions a broader picture of the situation emerges.
The importance of understanding culture and sub-cultures in organizations cannot be overestimated. Anthropologists use the concept of culture to describe and analyze human behavior, values, preferences, and attitudes. All human behavior is culturally contextual; it provides people with rules of behavior, symbols, language, knowledge, and values. Culture drives all social and economic behavior, and is critical to include in any organization analysis and understanding of consumer behavior.
Anthropology is social science that emphasizes the importance of culture on human behavior.
I once led an enterprise transformation initiative that involved 15,000 people and several geographies and I quickly learned that what works in one culture will probably not work in another. Even across departments, change is not cookie-cutter. Across geographies, the cultural differences are significant.
Throughout my career, I have been called upon to: lead mergers and acquisitions; buy and sell companies; evaluate new programs and services; manage the IT organization and implement technology that supports the business and the organization; devise strategies for diversity in the portfolio, products, geographies, and workplace; develop unique approaches to marketing that include thought leadership, storytelling and networking; design advertising campaigns that embrace and leverage human behavior; lead sales and develop relationships. Through all of this, I gained several important insights:
The importance of understanding culture and sub-cultures in organizations cannot be overestimated. Anthropologists use the concept of culture to describe and analyze human behavior, values, preferences, and attitudes. All human behavior is culturally contextual; it provides people with rules of behavior, symbols, language, knowledge, and values. Culture drives all social and economic behavior, and is critical to include in any organization analysis and understanding of consumer behavior.
Anthropology is social science that emphasizes the importance of culture on human behavior.
I once led an enterprise transformation initiative that involved 15,000 people and several geographies and I quickly learned that what works in one culture will probably not work in another. Even across departments, change is not cookie-cutter. Across geographies, the cultural differences are significant.
Throughout my career, I have been called upon to: lead mergers and acquisitions; buy and sell companies; evaluate new programs and services; manage the IT organization and implement technology that supports the business and the organization; devise strategies for diversity in the portfolio, products, geographies, and workplace; develop unique approaches to marketing that include thought leadership, storytelling and networking; design advertising campaigns that embrace and leverage human behavior; lead sales and develop relationships. Through all of this, I gained several important insights:
- Identifying the core culture and shared values of the organization is essential. These go beyond the Mission Statement and declared values. Core values are the informal and implicit rules that people follow to do their jobs. These are an invisible and powerful force directing the organization.
- Finding the respected social leaders in the informal organization and enlisting them as the champions of change will always support success.