Maria Ross is the founder of Red
Slice, a consultancy that advises entrepreneurs, startups, and
fast-growth businesses on how to build an irresistible brand story and
authentically connect with customers. She is a keynote speaker who
regularly speaks to audiences on marketing and building an engaging brand
story that drives growth and impact. Maria understands the power of
empathy at both a brand and personal level. She is author of
The Empathy Edge: Harnessing the Value of Compassion as an Engine for
Success.
"When you encourage empathy among your workforce and
parlay that mindset outward to customers, your company will thrive. Why?
Because empathetic businesses better understand their customers and can
anticipate their wants and needs - delivering solutions to the market that
customers crave."
's
perspective, and using that vantage point to shape your leadership
style, workplace culture, and branding strategy. Pairing her knowledge
as a branding expert with proven research and fascinating stories from
executives, change-makers and community leaders, Maria Ross reveals
exactly how empathy makes brands and organizations stronger and more
successful.
Ross shows why your business needs to cultivate more empathy now, and
shares the habits and traits of empathetic leaders who foster more
productivity and loyalty.
Contents
Introduction: Empathy at Work
PART I: Why More Businesses Need To Cultivate Empathy
1. Empathy Explored
"Empathy isn't dictated to us by focus groups or a statistical
analysis. Empathy is the powerful (and rare) ability to imagine what
motivates someone else to act." - Seth Godin
What is Empathy?
Better than Gold: The Platinum Rule
Empathy Overwhelm
2. The Business Advantage of Empathy
"Empathy as a way of understanding the world is understood. - Jane
Fulton Suri
Empathy Spurs Innovation
Empathy Aligns You with you Customers Wants and Needs
Empathy Improves Employee Performance
Empathic Brands - and Workplaces - Appeal to Millennials and Gen Z
Empathy Drives Sales, Growth, and Market Performance
3. The Empathy Veneer
"Authentic brands don't emerge from marketing cubicles or
advertising agencies. They emanate from everything the company does. -
Howard Schultz
PART I
I: The Empathetic Leader
4. Benefits of Empathetic Leaders
"Measure your impact in humanity not the likes but lives you touch:
not in popularity but in the people you serve... There will be
times when your resolve to serve humanity will be tested. Be prepared.
People will try to convince you that you should keep your empathy out
of your career. Don't accept this false premise. - Tim Cook
A Catalyst for Entrepreneurship
More Loyalty
Decisiveness
Agility and Connection
Adaptability
5. Habits and Traits of Empathetic Leaders
"Leadership is about empathy. It is having the ability to relate to
and connect with people for the purpose of inspiring and empowering
their lives." - Oprah Winfrey
Practice Presence
Listen More, Stay Humble
Be Curious
Explore with Your Imagination
Cultivate Confidence
Get in the Trenches
Find Common Ground
Empathic Leaders Build Empathic Cultures
PART
III: The Empathetic Culture
6. Benefits of Empathetic Cultures "Empathy takes time, and efficiency is for things, not people."
-Stephen Covey
Higher Retention, Less Turnover
More Productivity and financial Gain
Better Customer Service
7. Habits and Traits of Empathetic Cultures
Start Small
Create an Environment of Trust
Enable Open Communication
Facilitate Intergenerational Understanding
Leverage Accountability and Rewards
Hire for the Culture You Want to Create
PART I
V: The Empathetic Brand
8. Benefits of Empathetic Brands "I believe it's more than just doing right things for a
customer. It is doing the right thing with empathy, sympathy, concern,
and care." - Shep Hyken
What Makes Brands Empathetic?
Healthy Market Performance and Longevity
Increased Customer Retention and Loyalty
Forgiveness When You Fail (and You Will)
Good Press and Word-of-Mouth Referrals
9. Habits and Traits of Empathic Brands "Get closer than ever to your customers. So close that you can
ell them what they need well before they realize it themselves." -
Steve Jobs
Align on Mission
Speak Your Customer's Language
Hire People Who Are Passionate about Customers
Implement the Right Customer Service Policies
Accept Feedback as a Gift
Offer a Personal Touch
Do Good
Ask...and Echo Back
Conclusion: More Empathy, More Success
Empathy has no script. There is no right way or wrong way to do it.
It's simply listening, holding space, withholding judgment,
emotionally connecting, and communicating that incredibly healing
message of "You're not alone". Brene Brown
Fostering the Next Generation of Empathetic Leaders
Maria Ross,
author of The Empathy Edge, joins the podcast to explain why more
businesses need to harness make empathy their competitive advantage.
Frejz Books -
Maria Ross Discussion
The problems your business faces may stem from a single issue: lack of
empathy. Maria Ross reveals exactly how empathy makes brands and
organizations stronger and more successful. We had a great discussion
with Maria about her book Empathy Edge, where she gives practical tips,
big and small, for how to align your mission and values and hire the
right people, cultivating a more empathetic
When you encourage empathy among your workforce and parlay that mindset
outward to customers, your company will thrive. Why? Because empathetic
businesses better understand their customers and can anticipate their
wants and needs - delivering solutions to the market that customers
crave. The more in tune with your customers you can be, the faster you
can deliver such products or services to them before your competitors
catch on.
In my work helping businesses craft strong, successful brands, the most
powerful exercise is creating ideal customer profiles. Not generic
proclamations such as, "We serve women between the ages of 25 and 60."
but an actual, detailed sketch of a person. Someone with a name, age,
family life, interests and more. I instruct them to make this person as
real as possible, based on research, past customers and their own common
sense. What makes this person tick? What is their life like? What do
they fear, value, crave or worry about? It is only through completing
this type of exercise that a company can see the world through its
customer's eyes and understand what drives buying behaviors. The more
empathy one can muster when crafting this profile, the more useful it
can be to the business.
