EP184 - Business Anthropologist at the ADP Innovation Lab, Martha Bird: Become the Moving Center of Your Life

One Idea Away Podcast

It’s our human tendency to want connection and a shared purpose with those around us, but how do we find that place between personal and practical? Martha Bird, business anthropologist, shares her wealth of knowledge and experience to find connectivity on an individual level and with the world around you.

Since receiving her PhD in Anthropology, Martha has worked with global brands to create meaningful services, experiences, and products by both questioning and contextualizing the social and cultural dynamics of technology. She currently supports innovation and global product development to ensure future generations of ADP’s human capital management technologies and teach them the wisdom of human cultures. Plus, how everyday encounters can unfold new practices and transform the way that we work.

Martha’s a dedicated proponent of energetic curiosity while honoring reality. She approaches digital technologies as cultural and social products shaped by regional, technological, and organizational context.

Take the anthropological ride and learn how to become the moving center of the your life while celebrating the cultures around you.

Key Takeaways:

The rippling effect. You can turn on a light by a flip of a switch, you no longer use paper maps but Google Maps, and you can see what your friends are up to by scrolling their feed instead of calling them–small technologies used daily, constantly. But how does it all affect you on a core level? The eye-opening SURPRISE is . . . [07:03].

The mindful contradiction. Would you rather lead by wonder or fact? Martha defines herself as an openhearted pragmatist who can wander through life until she knows when she must buckle down hard on reality. Want to know her secret? The mystery starts HERE . . . [09:18].

The workplace boost. Looking for a way to feel engaged, acknowledged, and maybe even a little more respected at work? There’s a growing trend that Martha’s studying and trying to instill to break the cold, isolated work culture of the Western world. It comes down to this ONE word . . . [29:02].

Tune in and turn the volume up for a dose of inspiration and life lessons. You're never more than One Idea Away from a whole, new reality.

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