On the Brink: A Fresh Lens to Take Your Business to New Heights

Another contribution to the bursting business-innovation shelves arrives from corporate anthropologist Simon. She begins by describing how she built up a thriving consultancy business, using webinars and workshops to help companies adapt to fast-changing environments. Corporate anthropology may be an unfamiliar term to most readers, but it means exactly what it sounds like: an extension of traditional anthropology to modern business settings. Simon presents her discipline as a methodology for diagnosing and changing company cultures, developing great products and design, and creating strategies for branding, marketing, and sales. She presents case studies from seven different companies, exploring how they handled crises and leadership changes. Along the way, she shows businesspeople how to apply the concepts and methods of anthropology, such as field research and “culture probes.” She also makes a more general case for the qualities of anthropologists, including “always observing to see with fresh eyes” and being willing to “fail early and often.” Corporate anthropology is a clever hook, but there’s not enough that’s truly new in Simon’s suggestions to set this apart in a crowded field. (July)