Ethnographic Thinking: From Method to Mindset

by Jay Hasbrouck

Overview

This second edition of Ethnographic Thinking: From Method to Mindset serves as a primer for practitioners who want to apply ethnography to real-world challenges and commercial ventures. Building on the first edition, each chapter now includes a section focusing on practical advice to help readers activate key insights in their work.

The book’s premise — that the thought processes and patterns ethnographers develop through their practice have strategic value beyond consumer insights — remains the same. Using real-world examples, Hasbrouck demonstrates how a more holistic view of an organization can help it benefit from a deeper understanding of its offerings within dynamic cultural contexts. In doing so, he argues that ethnographic thinking helps organizations increase appreciation for openness and exploration, hone interpretive skills, and cultivate holistic thinking; allowing them to broaden perspectives, challenge assumptions, and cross-pollinate ideas between differing viewpoints.

Ethnographic Thinking: From Method to Mindset is essential reading for managers and strategists who want to tap into the full potential that an ethnographic perspective offers, as well as those searching more broadly for new ways to innovate. It will also be of value to students and practitioners of applied ethnography, as well as professionals who would like to optimize the value of ethnographic thinking in their organizations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781040008645
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	04/12/2024
Series:	Anthropology & Business
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	156
File size:	878 KB

About the Author

Jay Hasbrouck is an anthropologist who drives product innovation and growth through insight into human behavior, culture, and universal needs. He has held positions at Intel, IDEO, Meta, and Google, as well as founding his own consultancy, Filament, and serving as partner at Ethnoworks. He holds a PhD in Social Anthropology and an MA in Visual Anthropology, both from the University of Southern California, USA.

Table of Contents

A Starting Place: Design Thinking and Ethnographic Thinking PART I: A Few Core Qualities of Ethnographic Thinking 1. Cultivating Curiosity 2. Expanding Awareness 3. Deferring Judgement 4. Adapting Thoughtfully PART II: The Praxis of Ethnographic Thinking 5. Immersing Fully 6. Facilitating Tactically 7. Documenting Diligently PART III: Analysis, Strategy, and Influence 8. Analyzing Holistically 9. Situating Intentionally 10. Storytelling Empathically Conclusion

Editorial Reviews

This is an extremely valuable book for beginning students of ethnography, graduate students in cultural anthropology and sociology, and practitioners who apply ethnography to real-world issues and commercial ventures. Through closely reported, finely-crafted, wide-ranging, and richly illustrative cases, Jay Hasbrouck demonstrates how well-designed and executed ethnographic fieldwork coupled with anthropologically-informed thinking can generate uncommon insight.”
Robert J. Morais, Principal Emeritus of Weinman Schnee Morais Inc. and Adjunct Professor at Columbia Business School, USA

"Anyone who is engaged in business or tech innovation should read this book"
Ian Smith, Director, Being Guided, UK (Reviewed on Medium)

"Hasbrouck has deftly curated the history of anthropology and design thinking paradigms into an applied method of 'Ethnographic Thinking'. Today, curiosity, awareness, and flexibility are often consultancy buzz words used in sales strategies, customer centricity and organizational adaptation experiments. However, Hasbrouck smartly moves our exploration of a theoretical method to a practical mindset for powerful and relevant innovation and creativity practices. The “Ethnographic Thinking” approach expands the design thinking practice to include the social dynamics and interactions in the context of cultural viewpoints and assumptions.”
Karen S. Walch, Emeritus, Thunderbird School of Global Management, USA

From the Publisher