Anthropology in Business

It’s been a busy year but when you are doing what you love, it doesn’t seem to matter. I’m getting ready to return to the Copenhagen Business School where I teach one of my favourite subjects – Business Anthropology and Organizational Fieldwork. Conventional business practice ignores emotion – and without emotion there is no change. Emotion is the expression of our beliefs and values and in our global workforce, understanding and interpreting those multi-cultural world views is critical to competitive advantage. One of my go-to basics is a great book by Rita Denny and Patricia Sunderland. I use it as a reference for both consulting workshops and university teaching. They have compiled a collection  that captures the spirit, breadth and depth of work that has been conducted at the intersection of anthropology and business. This is the first major reference work for this rapidly growing field. Over 60 scholar-practitioners from both universities and major corporations from high tech to health care contributed their experiences.

Whether you are interested in change management, innovation leadership or consumer marketing trends, you will find this book to be an invaluable resource.

Handbook of Anthropology in Business

Keeping Up With The Quants

I’m sitting in my little apartment here in Copenhagen, Denmark getting prepared for next week’s classes in advanced market research and competitive intelligence.  Teaching at the Copenhagen Business School as a Visiting Professor is a wonderfully enriching experience – meeting faculty and students from around the world.  Lots of  fresh ideas, interesting discussions and lots of danish pastry and coffee at the faculty table. Hanging out in Copenhagen isn’t all that bad either!

Of course, I also had to visit the university bookstore.  Bookstores are one of my favourite places to hang out and the bookstore at CBS didn’t disappoint.  A new book by Thomas Davenport was filling the shelves – and since it directly ties in with the courses I am teaching, I had to grab it.  “Keeping Up with the Quants” is a great followup to his first book – “Competing on Analytics.”  Davenport and Jinho Kim have done a great job building a beginner’s guide to understanding and using analytics.  From formulating a hypothesis, digging for data, interpreting the data into actionable insights and then communicating your results – the authors provide a roadmap that is both comprehensive and easy to follow.

Critical thinking and analytical skills are now a must in any business that wants to remain competitive.  I gladly added this book to my recommended reading for the students and passed it along as well to other faculty.  Adding to my book collection is always a joy – even if it means I need to buy another suitcase for the journey home.

Keeping Up with the Quants: Your Guide to Understanding and Using Analytics