The introduction of the Apple iPad has spawned a flurry of Tweets and reTweets of Steve Jobs' famous quote "You can't just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they'll want something new." Jobs is right. It is inherently difficult for a human to articulate what it is they really want in a product. Here me o
ut. I am not saying that there is lack of opinion, everyone has one of those, but what I am saying is that humans do not understand their own needs and motivations deeply enough to communicate them effectively. This is one of the reasons that many companies are turning to anthropologists to dig deeper into the cultural-psycho-social context within which those customers live.
Steve Jobs has the ability to tap into the wider cultural trends and anticipate their shifts and turns. He is part of the very group he targets. He sees the trends from both the inside and the outside. Though it may seem that Jobs stands alone in this ability, this is precisely the perspective an anthropologist can offer a company. So you may not be able to "just ask customers what they want" but with an anthropologist on the team a company can more effectively anticipate the larger cultural wave those customers are riding.
Paula Gray
the anthropologist
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ut. I am not saying that there is lack of opinion, everyone has one of those, but what I am saying is that humans do not understand their own needs and motivations deeply enough to communicate them effectively. This is one of the reasons that many companies are turning to anthropologists to dig deeper into the cultural-psycho-social context within which those customers live.Steve Jobs has the ability to tap into the wider cultural trends and anticipate their shifts and turns. He is part of the very group he targets. He sees the trends from both the inside and the outside. Though it may seem that Jobs stands alone in this ability, this is precisely the perspective an anthropologist can offer a company. So you may not be able to "just ask customers what they want" but with an anthropologist on the team a company can more effectively anticipate the larger cultural wave those customers are riding.
Paula Gray
the anthropologist
After reading this article, I feel that I need more info. Could you suggest some resources please?
Hi Jae,
A great book that talks about tapping into the wider culture is "Chief Culture Officer" by anthropologist Grant McCracken. http://twurl.nl/vss5mh He calls it keeping "a finger on the pulse of contemporary cultural trends."
We have also been featuring a webinar series on utilizing anthropology in product management, market research and design with Gavin Johnston, the Chief Anthropologist with the consulting firm Two West, Inc. http://www.twowest.com/ The next webinar in the series covers how to apply information you gained during an in-depth customer ethnography, specifically to technology products. You can register for the next webinar, and also listen to the archives at http://aipmm.com/aipmm_webinars/
Let me know if you need further resources.
Thanks for your thoughts!