The Empathy Edge

The Holy Grail of brand success is to really understand and engage with your ideal customer. But how do some brands seem to do this so effortlessly, while others throw marketing campaign after marketing campaign out there and get nowhere? Today, my guest is Sandeep Dayal. Sandeep advises senior executives at Fortune 500 companies in industries spanning pharmaceuticals, financial services, and cons...

Is it even possible to center humanity in our work and our systems?  We have become numb to the fact that so many of our government policies, social programs, and even corporate cultures exist to serve every other purpose but our shared humanity.  They fail to acknowledge that humans are complex and that we can't compartmentalize inputs in order to get successful outputs. The solution is to become...

One of the most common myths about leadership is that arrogant, over-confident people are better leaders. Humbitious leaders shatter that myth. Research has shown that humility, when combined with ambition, can significantly improve your performance and the performance of your teams and organization. Humility is not weakness, lack of self-esteem, or low assertiveness; in fact, it is the exact oppo...

You think your organization's challenges are tough? Try healthcare, where lives are on the line! Not only has this industry been stretched to its limit during the pandemic, we have issues of healthcare literacy, inequities across certain populations, and burnout among our most talented practitioners. My guest today offers us energy and profound hope on the future of healthcare and how we can apply...

Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that leadership has changed. Not just because of our recent pandemic, but because of what research is telling us works, and what employees are demanding from their workplace cultures. But when we say we have to "redefine leadership", what does that actually mean? It means killing the notion of the command and control "Alpha Leader" and understanding...

So…your leaders and colleagues could all improve their emotional intelligence, or EQ, to better collaborate - and you want to change your company culture for the better - but where the heck do you start? Today, I talk with Rich Hua, Global Head of EPIC Leadership at Amazon. Rich's personal journey from self-professed non-emotionally intelligent person to where he is today will inspire even those o...

You know the meeting: rambling conversations, tangents, and vague instructions. Not only is this frustrating, but it's downright unempathetic to people! What is this lack of clarity costing you in terms of productivity, engagement - and bottom line budget?  Today my guest, The Queen of Clarity, Ann Latham, shares why we aren't clear and what it's costing us.  Today, Anne talks about how clarity un...

"We are finding that putting people first and delivering results are not two separate goals." So says my guest today, Donato Tramuto. Today, we talk about the case for compassionate leadership and how to achieve it. We discussed so much in this very poignant and passionate interview where we each shared some very personal stories and philosophies - Donato talks about how his childhood hearing loss...

What gets in the way of empathy? Our judgements, ego, and biases. It can even impact our ability to connect with colleagues and our customers. But good news: My guest today, CEO and empathy activist Rob Volpe shares research and stories from his latest book Tell Me More About That: Solving the Empathy Crisis One Conversation at a Time.  He shares 5 steps to overcome empathy barriers and apply the...

Are you engaging in violent or nonviolent communication? Knowing how to make the shift is vital to being an effective leader - and communicator. Today, I got the chance to speak to Ben Easter, founder of Lucid Shift Coaching. Ben and I unfortunately both share the title of brain injury survivor - and in this episode, he shares how that experience led him to learn all he could about effective commu...

Every single human experiences death and loss at some point and yet our systems and organizations are not set up to be empathetic to those needs. When a loved one dies, not only are there a thousand logistical tasks like booking a funeral home, getting life insurance paid out, or canceling credit cards - you have to deal with all of this in the worst possible emotional state. The more employers ca...

What do you get when you cross hip hop, YouTube, and science education? You get my guest today, Maynard Okereke. Maynard is a science communicator best known as the Hip Hop M.D for making science fun for kids - and getting them involved in S.T.E.M. fields.  Today Maynard shares his story about how he got from civil engineering to being the Hip Hop MD - and we share the crazy story of how we met mo...

How can you design high empathy interactions to create better relationships at work….at scale? Today, I'm talking with Aaron Hurst, the foremost expert on the science of purpose and fulfillment at work, about successful cultures and how technology enables empathy and collaboration so each person can find fulfillment.  We discuss the important early role of empathy in Aaron's life, through his gran...

What exactly is Conscious Capitalism? It's a way of looking at business responsibly, ethically, and mindfully. It's a global movement that redefines how we look at business and asks us to look at not just shareholder value, but STAKEHOLDER value. Here's a bit from the Conscious Capitalism Credo: We believe that business is good because it creates value, it is ethical because it is based on volunta...

According to research, empathy, when combined with ambition, is the #1 trait of successful salespeople. If you've ever struggled with sales, if you lead a team of salespeople, or if you just want to get better at selling your ideas, this episode is for you! I got the chance to talk to my friend and sales expert, Leah Neaderthal, and she's dropping all kinds of wisdom on what it takes to successful...

What does it mean to leverage your culture as a competitive advantage? What does culture even mean, and why is it so important that an organization articulate and live out its values? This episode will answer all your questions, especially if you've ever thought culture is "just HR's problem." My guest, author, educator, and culture expert Josh Levine, founder of culture design consultancy, Great...

Why so many brand communities (and even social cause communities) fail is because they are not truly communities. They are simply a collection of people. For a community to thrive for the long term, you need mutual concern, ongoing stewardship - and yes, empathy. If you build it without that - I promise you, they won’t come. My guest today, Carrie Melissa Jones shares how to build a successful com...

Do you know what your risk fingerprint is? Like your actual fingerprint, your risk fingerprint is unique to you and based on your biology, but also your experiences and environment. Your risk fingerprint shapes what you see as risk or what you don’t believe is risk. It shapes how you make decisions, connect with people, and live your life. Understanding the risk profiles of others is what my guest...

In order to be the best leader you can be, you have to be present and attuned to what your teams are going through. That requires regulating ourselves and our own emotions. Things get even stickier when you throw trauma into the mix. You get triggered, or they get triggered, and ultimately nobody wins. But how do you recognize trauma in the workplace? And what can you do to ensure you create a saf...

How well do you understand your own emotions? Do your emotions ever get in the way of producing quality work or collaborating effectively? Chances are, yes. This is why social-emotional learning, or SEL, is so important for us to teach children at home and at school. For us adults, we can still master SEL skills so that we, too, can be stronger, more compassionate leaders, colleagues, and citizens...

If you have experienced disharmony in your workplace, it might not be because other people are evil and out to get you! It may just be that there’s a clash of different mindsets and a whole host of assumptions being unfairly made. How many great ideas are you missing out on because of this friction? My guest today is author, speaker, and consultant Karen Cornwell. Her goal is to give you the abili...

How can poetry help a team better collaborate and connect? You’re about to find out! My guest is Michelle Kaplan, and today we talk about the important role that creativity plays in sparking conversation, breaking down walls, and building trust for better collaboration. We discuss the role poetry, and creativity in general, can play at work - and how it leads to empathy, vulnerability and trust in...

How do we shift from an individualistic culture that incentivizes power grabbing and consumerism into a more community-driven culture where everyone gets their needs met - and yes, innovative leaders can still make money and succeed? It’s possible, if we get creative, build new systems, and create new incentives for a game we ourselves invented! Today’s very philosophical conversation with Raman F...

This might be one of my favorite podcast interviews ever. Not just because I got to interview a dear high school friend who has positively impacted the world, but because of one word: HOPE. Today, I speak with Eric Dawson, CEO and founder of Peace First and co-founder of Rivet, about empathy for today’s young changemakers, whether younger people are more or less empathetic than prior generations,...

What does empathetic marketing even look like in today’s digital age, where everything seems to be done over email or social media? And what are some principles to help marketers embrace and turn it into action? Today’s guest, social media marketer Pat Timmons, wrote a great book called Feel Something: How to Embrace Empathy and Build Trust with Your Audience. As a frontline marketer, Pat has lear...