Executives often know little about the people who buy their companies’ products and services. This is not surprising. To study people, you must care about them. However, most companies eliminate empathy from their operations. In essence, they proceed as if they have calculating, survival-bent reptile brains. Profits drive everything. This is an odd disconnect because corporate livelihoods depend on people – not lizards – and people’s brains are hardwired to be empathetic. Mr. Dev Patnaik - illustrative author, professor, marketer, start-up founder - argues about this topic passionately in his book 'Wired to Care'.
Patnaik insists today’s cold-hearted, bottom-line business world has room for caring companies, and he points to IBM, Nike and Harley-Davidson as examples.The fact that empathy is also a strong business strategy is icing on the cake. As Patnaik explains on his blog, “Empathy isn't about having a visionary leader. It’s about making customer information an easy, everyday and experiential part of working".
Have you heard about mirror neurons? No? Well, let me illustrate the concept to you with a real life story. So here's what happened. Lawrence Taylor, linebacker for the New York Giants in the 1980s and early 1990s, was a fearsome competitor and an awesome physical presence on the field. He played like a man among boys, smashing quarterbacks with gusto. Taylor enjoyed knocking down other players. On November 18, 1985, the Giants played the Washington Redskins, their division rivals, in a high-profile, televised Monday night football game. In the second quarter, Taylor landed a particularly vicious hit on Redskins’ quarterback Joe Theismann, who crumpled to the ground like a rag doll. Normally after a big hit, Taylor had always exalted, but not this time. Instead, Taylor beckoned wildly to the Redskins’ bench for help. What accounted for his dramatic change in demeanor? The answer: mirror neurons.
The human nervous system’s mirror neurons fire in automatic response to other people’s
actions.Thus, on a subconscious level, you are able to emote and replicate the actions of others simply by watching. Now you know why boxing fans physically wince when a heavyweight fighter knocks out his opponent. What's the bottom-line? People care. But here lies the big disconnect.
Despite human beings’ basic hard wiring for empathy, most of the organizations that people create – including businesses – carefully eradicate emotion and empathy from their operations. As a result, businesses become “ethically neutral beasts.” Not surprisingly, such businesses often cannot remain competitive. Customers eventually stop buying from corporations whose actions show a lack of caring, no matter how much the companies’ ads claim that they love their customers.
Fortunately, not all businesses are “heartless” and reptilian. Here's a small story about Harley Davidson, the iconic motorcycle company. Though U.S. car manufacturers have been hugely unprofitable over the past two decades, Harley-Davidson has experienced double-digit sales growth. Why? The answer is basic: Virtually nothing separates the company from the people who buy its motorcycles. The company doesn't call them “customers”; it calls them “riders.” Most Harley employees, from engineers to accountants, also are Harley owners and riders. Cars, called “cages,” are items of derision at the company. Such vehicles can park only at the back of the headquarters building in Milwaukee. The building features countless banners, photos, signs and even motorcycle gas tanks handsomely painted with brilliant images. Everything about Harley celebrates the riders’ lifestyle. In exchange, Harley owners feel only contempt at the idea of riding a foreign-made motorcycle. Members of the Harley Owners Group (HOG), who are all customers, act as evangelists for the company. Any business would find such consumer loyalty priceless. Harley creates loyalty by deeply respecting its customer base: the riders.
Empathy is not just a marketing or business-growth strategy. It also provides companies
and their employees with a noble mission: making customers happy and improving their
lives. Plus, empathetic companies are ethical companies. So, it's time for you to decide. Who do you aspire to be? A reptilian or an empathetic?
Patnaik insists today’s cold-hearted, bottom-line business world has room for caring companies, and he points to IBM, Nike and Harley-Davidson as examples.The fact that empathy is also a strong business strategy is icing on the cake. As Patnaik explains on his blog, “Empathy isn't about having a visionary leader. It’s about making customer information an easy, everyday and experiential part of working".
Have you heard about mirror neurons? No? Well, let me illustrate the concept to you with a real life story. So here's what happened. Lawrence Taylor, linebacker for the New York Giants in the 1980s and early 1990s, was a fearsome competitor and an awesome physical presence on the field. He played like a man among boys, smashing quarterbacks with gusto. Taylor enjoyed knocking down other players. On November 18, 1985, the Giants played the Washington Redskins, their division rivals, in a high-profile, televised Monday night football game. In the second quarter, Taylor landed a particularly vicious hit on Redskins’ quarterback Joe Theismann, who crumpled to the ground like a rag doll. Normally after a big hit, Taylor had always exalted, but not this time. Instead, Taylor beckoned wildly to the Redskins’ bench for help. What accounted for his dramatic change in demeanor? The answer: mirror neurons.
The human nervous system’s mirror neurons fire in automatic response to other people’s
actions.Thus, on a subconscious level, you are able to emote and replicate the actions of others simply by watching. Now you know why boxing fans physically wince when a heavyweight fighter knocks out his opponent. What's the bottom-line? People care. But here lies the big disconnect.
Despite human beings’ basic hard wiring for empathy, most of the organizations that people create – including businesses – carefully eradicate emotion and empathy from their operations. As a result, businesses become “ethically neutral beasts.” Not surprisingly, such businesses often cannot remain competitive. Customers eventually stop buying from corporations whose actions show a lack of caring, no matter how much the companies’ ads claim that they love their customers.
Fortunately, not all businesses are “heartless” and reptilian. Here's a small story about Harley Davidson, the iconic motorcycle company. Though U.S. car manufacturers have been hugely unprofitable over the past two decades, Harley-Davidson has experienced double-digit sales growth. Why? The answer is basic: Virtually nothing separates the company from the people who buy its motorcycles. The company doesn't call them “customers”; it calls them “riders.” Most Harley employees, from engineers to accountants, also are Harley owners and riders. Cars, called “cages,” are items of derision at the company. Such vehicles can park only at the back of the headquarters building in Milwaukee. The building features countless banners, photos, signs and even motorcycle gas tanks handsomely painted with brilliant images. Everything about Harley celebrates the riders’ lifestyle. In exchange, Harley owners feel only contempt at the idea of riding a foreign-made motorcycle. Members of the Harley Owners Group (HOG), who are all customers, act as evangelists for the company. Any business would find such consumer loyalty priceless. Harley creates loyalty by deeply respecting its customer base: the riders.
Empathy is not just a marketing or business-growth strategy. It also provides companies
and their employees with a noble mission: making customers happy and improving their
lives. Plus, empathetic companies are ethical companies. So, it's time for you to decide. Who do you aspire to be? A reptilian or an empathetic?
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