Posts Tagged empathy

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Being empathetic seems like one of the most intuitive and obvious necessities in business (that is empathy with your customer).  Obviously this is not the case as books are being written to help businesses see this point.  I recently read “Wired to Care” by [author], which centers on the concept of empathy regarding your “end user.”  One of the biggest issues in business today is the focus on profits, particularly short-term profits. This is especially difficult with publicly traded companies as the reputation and stock price often lives and dies by quarterly results, thanks to a fickle, impatient, and often uneducated public response.  This creates corporate actions opting for short-term, short-lived results over long-term growth when it may require short-term “sacrifices” (how much of a sacrifice is it if the long term result is so much better!).  I really enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone looking to improve their “connection” with their client, which is about everyone.  I definitely buy into the philosophy that a customer-centered business is and/or will be the most successful (especially for the long-haul).  In fact, the Business Blueprint model is entirely centered in the “value exchange” with your customer and empathy is one of the keys to optimizing it. Empathy has many auxiliary benefits, not just improved products and services but brand loyalty, and customer retention.

One of my favorite examples given in the book was of a company called Zildjian which was founded 400 years ago (that’s right, 4 centuries!). You’ve gotta love an American company that is older than the U.S. of A! (it was founded in Constantinople by Avedis Zildjian, an Armenian Alchemist. Check them out …) The company has been officially recognized as the oldest continually family-owned biz in America.  Some of the companies current success as the worlds best cymbal maker is attributed to the fact that Armand Zildjian played drums himself and had very close friendship with many of the best drummers of the time.  This relationship with the drums allowed him to create a better, more innovative product that continues to lead the “pack” today in cymbal quality.  A company that old requires some open mindedness (obviously it was not founded on “drum” products) and empathy-driven innovations. The ability to adapt to the variations and evolution of customer demand is a large part of this empathy that innovators must embrace in order to create 400 year old successful companies.

How will your company get to age 400? What strategies and core values can you implement now that will drive long term success?