3 Ways to Make Kindness Your Business Strategy in 2025

I'm going out on a limb and claiming that businesses that embrace kindness as a strategy will see incredible success in 2025. Kindness might not be the first thing that comes to mind when crafting a business strategy, but in 2025, it could be your most powerful differentiator.

My family has a saying we use to kick off every day.

"Have Courage and be Kind"

The wife started saying this to my son as we got him ready for school. It grounds us for the day and sets the reminder to always be kind in all things we do in life and business. I truly believe kindness is the most powerful thing in the world.

The business world needs kindness. Customers and employees crave authenticity and human connection; leading with kindness isn’t just a good idea; it’s smart. People love working with kind individuals, and they enjoy buying from kind companies.

We see evidence of this every day, and with the chaos in the world and the global economy, I can't think of a better time for businesses to go all in on kindness.

Here are a few ways you can kick off your kindness strategy for 2025.

1. Build a People-First Culture

Let's face it, too many companies claim to have a "people first culture" but fail to demonstrate it. It's time to put your money where your mouth is. The best talent isn’t just looking for jobs; they’re looking for workplaces that value them as humans. Foster a culture where employees feel supported, respected, and heard. Small actions like regular check-ins, celebrating achievements, and offering flexible work arrangements can make a huge difference.

When it comes to recruiting talent, demonstrate kindness and humility in your hiring process. That means, giving people honest feedback, providing an efficient interview process, and treating prospective employees like they already work for your company. Your reputation is on the line. Lead with kindness. Kind companies attract and retain Kind people.

I've always prioritized kindness in building teams and coaching leaders. By listening intently and focusing on personalized coaching plans, I worked to create environments where employees feel empowered to thrive.

During my time at Zoom, the philosophy of “Delivering Happiness” wasn’t just a slogan, it was a strategy. The company’s focus on making every interaction positive, both internally and externally, played a pivotal role in its success.

We proved Kindness can be a real strategy.

One of the big steps in building a people-first culture is starting with developing your front-line leaders. I've now had the chance to build multiple sales manager excellence programs for companies like Zoom and Workiva that focus on up-leveling managers into better coaches and leaders. Your front-line leaders are the force multipliers. A manager can make or break someone's career, and your culture starts and ends with your leaders.

Action Step:

Build a front-line leadership program that centers around leading with kindness and humility. Your culture is only as good as your leaders. Here is a blueprint to get started below.

Metrics to Track Success:

Monitor employee satisfaction surveys and retention rates. A culture of kindness should result in happier, more engaged employees who stay longer.

2. Create Memorable Customer Experiences

People want to do business with companies that are easy to work with and genuinely care. They also want to do business with companies and individuals that are Kind and don't revert to pushy sales tactics when the "end of quarter" comes around. Kindness in customer interactions builds loyalty and turns buyers into advocates. When you put the needs of your customer and prospect ahead of yours, good things generally happen and the "invisible" barrier between you and the buyer comes down.

Here is a 5-minute read on actionable ways you can build a customer-centric sales process.

I've spent my entire career honing my sales process to be as customer-centric as possible. Any time I've "drifted" away from that, the results weren't great, and the relationships suffered. I've coached my sales teams to prioritize understanding customers’ unique challenges and goals over simply pushing products.

Check out this video for an easy-to-implement tactic to improve your customer and prospect interactions.

Action Step:

Train your teams to communicate with empathy and understanding. Use tools like video messaging to humanize your outreach and create connections that stand out. Below is a short crash course on how to implement a winning video sales strategy.

Metrics to Track Success:

Measure Net Promoter Scores (NPS) and customer retention rates. Look for shortened sales cycles and increased referrals as kindness becomes a core part of your customer experience.

3. Leverage Technology to Free Up Time for Connection

Tools like AI and automation can take repetitive tasks off your team’s plate, giving them more time to focus on meaningful interactions. This lets employees and customers feel valued and prioritized. Today most sales teams spend less than 30% of their time actually selling. Imagine how much more impactful sales discussions would be if your reps had more energy and time to prep for them.

I believe tools like AI and automation have the ability to amplify what makes people special. The human connection can be enhanced by these tools not replaced by it.

Sellers who are enabled with the optimal tools and workflows are more productive and frankly happier. Happiness leads to better outcomes for them and their customers. Again, Kindness for the victory.

Action Step:

Automate mundane tasks like data entry and scheduling. Use AI insights to personalize customer engagement and better support your team’s well-being.

Metrics to Track Success:

Track time saved on administrative tasks and correlate it with increased time spent on customer interactions. Monitor feedback to ensure that technology enhances rather than detracts from the human connection.

The Kindness Advantage

Kindness isn’t just a feel-good idea; it’s a strategic move that drives better talent, stronger customer relationships, and a standout reputation.

In 2025, companies that lead with kindness will outshine competitors. I am 110% sure of this and will seek out companies who are making kindness a strategy as I continue my search for a new opportunity this year.

Wishing you all an amazing year ahead.

Let's make 2025 a great one.

#AlwaysBeKind