Blue Ocean Strategy, Business Change Management, Corporate Anthropology, Culture Change

Andrea and Andrew Simon Take an Anthropological Approach to Help Businesses Soar

Posted on by Andrea Simon

Andrea and Andrew (more commonly known as Andi and Andy) Simon are no strangers to change. In fact, as culture change experts, change is right up their alley. Recently featured in WAG Magazine, the Yorktown Heights couple are proof positive that change, though hard (and often painful), can be a good thing for individuals and businesses. (Read the full article here.) Specializing in helping businesses take a fresh look at their organizations, the Simons believe that “the way forward is all around you.” 

“Our mantra is that we take observations and turn them into innovations,” Andi tells WAG Mag. Earning her Ph.D. in anthropology, then going into academia and banking before founding Simon Associates Management Consultants (SAMC) over 10 years ago, Andi explains that she and Andy “both enjoy working with people. We also are very curious. At times it is hard to help someone see things in new ways, much less change their behavior. Our approach is designed to help us better understand why people do things, then we find ways to help companies take this knowledge and add value innovatively.” 

Turning their clients into explorers

One of the ways the Simons help their clients “see with fresh eyes” is to take them out exploring. Together, they “hang out” and observe customers and non-customers using (or not using) their clients’ products or services. They watch what is happening, then find unmet needs to be solved.

“It’s difficult to change people’s mindsets,” says Andy, a former executive who grew Questar Assessment Inc. into a highly successful competitor in the K-12 educational market and then joined SAMC in 2011. “Tools such as Blue Ocean Strategy®, Innovation Games, Change Map and the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI) can help enormously to bring about culture change.” 

Award-winning book details Simons’ success at organizational change

Andi and Andy’s success in helping businesses grow and thrive prompted Andrea to write her Axiom Award-winning book, “On the Brink: A Fresh Lens to Take Your Business to New Heights,” which highlights seven clients who came to SAMC when they were stuck or stalled. “We helped them see opportunities that were right in front of them,” Andrea says of the book, a toolbox of practices and ideas for businesses. 

To order your copy of “On the Brink: A Fresh Lens to Take Your Business to New Heights,” click on the link below.