Why Do Companies Need Anthropologists?

Understanding the future of technology used to be a simple science. You kept an eye on scientific journals, visited the odd corporate R&D lab, and kept a close watch on the price/performance curves that indicated the falling price of computation. These days, unfortunately, the greatest source of disruptive innovation often comes from consumers themselves - which is why some of the world's largest companies are investing in specialist research divisions run by savvy anthropologists. One of the most influential of these new breed of innovation gurus is Genevieve Bell - who is the chief anthropologist at Intel Corporation. 

I had the chance to sit down with Genevieve during the CES show in Vegas this year and had a fascinating chat about the relationship between consumer behaviour and new technological breakthroughs. Genevieve believes that one of the most important reasons companies need to embrace consumer focused thinking is to bridge what she calls 'the imagination gap'. Watch the following clip to discover exactly what she means by that, and how leaping across it can help you drive your own business to greater heights of product innovation.