Topics

empathy

Why Good Listening Matters in Business

September 2, 2016 —

Why Good Listening Matters in Business

Listen Up There are a lot of differing opinions about what good listening really means, let alone what it can do for your business. In one camp, good listening simply means not speaking over others when they are talking. While others think listening is about verbal acknowledgement.  And there are those who wait until the speaker is done, then promptly repeat everything back to them. But are any of these really impactful, productive ways of listening? Falling Short This kind of one-dimensional listening falls short for many reasons. It isn’t what great listeners are actually...
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Is Your Brand Working to Positive or Negative Energy?

June 28, 2016 —

Is Your Brand Working to Positive or Negative Energy?

Strategies for addressing the energy of your business in good times and bad: We came across this interesting insight by John P. Kotter in his post entitled “To Create Healthy Urgency, Focus on a Big Opportunity” on the Harvard Business Review blog. “There are two basic kinds of energy in organizations. Energy triggered by a big opportunity, can create momentum in the right direction and sustain it over time. Energy based on fear or anxiety, might overcome complacency for a time, but it does not build any momentum or maintain it. Instead it can create a panic, with all the obvious negative...
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Is it Time for Your Business to Embrace the Purpose Economy?

July 21, 2015 —

Is it Time for Your Business to Embrace the Purpose Economy?

According to Aaron Hurst, we’ve moved from the Information Economy to the Purpose Economy. He states that this is a natural evolution, which is taking us from the first levels of human organization, the hoe-and-plow Agrarian Economy, through the smokestacks of the Industrial Economy, to the data farms of the Information Economy, and now to the human-centric Purpose Economy. Each of these economies been built on top of the proceeding, and represent evolutions more than revolutions. In his book, Hurst states: “When I say purpose, I mean more than serving others and the planet. Service is...
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Gaining Customer Trust Through Both Experienced and Sensed Empathy

November 6, 2014 —

Gaining Customer Trust Through Both Experienced and Sensed Empathy

Barclay’s Bank wanted to create a more empathetic understanding of customers with mobility issues. In this video, a Barclay’s office manager is outfitted with a special suit designed to recreate the physical world of his own elderly Mother. The suit includes weights that make it hard for the manager to take steps, or to raise his hands. Goggles dim his vision and cast a yellow light over the scene. Headphones distort his hearing. Electric sensors make him feel the pain of arthritis in his joints. In this way, the manager literally “walks in the shoes” of his mother – and every other...
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How to Mindfully Lead Change

September 29, 2014 —

How to Mindfully Lead Change

Empathy in leadership In this thought-provoking video, KPCB* partner John Maeda reminds us of the importance of empathy in leadership. He suggests that leadership is a design problem, and notes that the best design comes from people who ask and listen before putting forward their ideas. Mindful leaders are, by nature, empathetic. They know that failing to listen first creates irrelevant communications and misunderstood gestures from leaders. As John Maeda says, “The people are there in the room, but nobody’s hearing what you say.” Connect more meaningfully To connect meaningfully to...
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