Andrea Simon
Biography

Dr. Andrea J. Simon PhD ("Andi") is an international leader in the emerging eld of corporate anthropology and the founder of Simon Associates Man-agement Consultants (SAMC). By employing the tools of anthropology to business environments, Andi enables CEOs, senior executives, and nonpro t leaders to see their companies with more observant eyes, achieve aha moments, and discover new and pro table opportunities.

Before founding SAMC in 2002, Andi held executive management positions in both financial services companies and health-care organizations, including The First National Bank of Highland (now a division of M&T Bank), Citibank, Monte ore Medical Center, and St. Joseph's Regional Med-ical Center. She has also taught as a tenured professor of anthropology and American studies at Ramapo College in New Jersey and as a visiting professor of entrepreneurship at Washington University in St. Louis.

As a seasoned speaker, Andi greatly enjoys presenting the power of corporate anthropology to new audiences. Since 2007 she has conducted over 250 speaking engagements and interactive workshops for groups seeking creative solutions to their business challenges, including Vistage International, the National Association of Electrical Distributors, the Family Firm Institute, and the American Bankers Association.

Andi's in demand perspective on business innovation has been featured in multiple media outlets, including Good Morning America, Forbes, The Washington Post, and Businessweek. She is also a regular guest blogger for FierceHealthcare and the Executive Street blog.

The Power of Corporate Anthropology
How “Fresh Eyes” Can Lead to Phenomenal Growth

New Markets Await
Techniques to Outsmart Your Competitors and Create Your Own Demand

Demography Is Destiny
How Changing Times Impact Your Business and Why You Should Pay Attention

Six Tips for Trying Times

1. You are not what you do:
It’s hard to separate the two. Change requires you to separate what you do from who you are.

2. Change is literally pain—but staying the same is worse:
Change is literally pain—research is showing us how the brain hates the pain of change. Habits are easier, but not necessarily good for your survival. So, how to enjoy the pain of change? Practice! In this economy, fight it; staying the same is even worse pain than change. Denial of change just delays the pain.

3. Explore—get out of the office and into the field:
The more ideas you have the more likely you will have a good one.
From inside the office you can only imagine your options. You have to go exploring outside. Spend a day in the life of a customer. Begin to see, feel and think about them in new ways.

4. Change is a team sport:
Ideas come from many minds, so you don’t have to do it alone. Surround yourself with the right colleagues. People in different stages of change can inspire you or bring you down. It is not one “diet” you are going on to change your company’s physique. You need at least 4 ways to change the team. So get your entire organization involved. And you need someone to push you along. Find a coach, consultant, change agent—there is no need to change alone.

5. A picture is worth a thousand words:
Brain science is teaching us that the old adage is true. You have to visualize it. Once you have some ideas flowing, try to tell a story about them; draw a picture; get your team together to start to tell a customer or a potential customer about what you imagine to be the new idea, product, solution, system, operational innovation.

6. Forget the survey stuff:
Your customers cannot tell you what they need or want, or what solutions would be better than what they have. You are going to have to discover it for them, and then with them. The story is that Henry Ford said: “If I asked people how to improve their transportation, they would have told me to make their horses go faster.” They want more of the same, cheaper if you can please.

Buyers are also liars—they will tell you what they think you want to here, “like they always watch PBS, and then turn on the Wrestling match.” This is all about “seeing, feeling and thinking” about your business in new ways.

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Andrea Simon

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