Empathy-Based Innovation

Can empathy be a catalyst for innovation??

Across history there have been examples of empathy & compassion thriving people to come up with inventions and innovations that have helped humanity move forward. What is rarely mentioned is that the spark that helps the human brain to make new connections, sometimes is born out of the deep bond between human beings.

In this article you're going to have access to the podcast interviews of the contributors in order to make your experience even richer. Feel free to download and listen while you're busy.

Empathy & Diversity

If new ideas and innovation occur because of those new neural connections, it’d be in our best interest to find human connections among those who differ from us, whether it might be gender, race, religion, country of origin, etc. Establishing those connections (and having the right attitude, of course) will invite new ways to perceive reality, and with that, new approaches to solve the problems of our organization.?

This, Mi Gente, is the whole point of diversity, equity and inclusion.

Jenny Lopez Reed is not only a public speaker and leadership coach. She’s a top executive in an global pharmaceutical firm, she’s also an executive board member of STEM research firms and non-profit organizations. She speaks about the importance of applying empathy in understanding different markets:

“People succeed [through empathy] because you can see things from a different lens and really connect faster to many people that come from different, experiences, countries, different perspectives.”?

She continues with a practical example: “I'm in a company that headquarters in the U.S., but sometimes whenever the procedures, or rules are said are through the lenses of the U.S. corporate world and doesn't really work well in other countries. So, I have been able to quickly identify some of them, and then work with them.”?

Lopez-Reed applies a direct questions approach to apply empathy:

“Hey, let's talk about it before we say anything. What is your situation? How is your market? How can we work together? How can I help you? Same thing, if I have to go to the UK or Japan.

So, just thinking on that versus saying, ‘Hey, this is what we're going to do’, and then you replicate what I said.”?

Communicating & Executing Your Ideas

Even when cultural differences are not an issue, helping teams and clients adopt the vision and mission of your organization is a skill that any leader would benefit from. Using empathy to achieve this state can be crucial in obtaining the type of human connection that our organization might need.

Melissa Pickering is a global authority in innovation. Along with being a serial entrepreneur, among her titles are Disney Imagineer, a LEGO Group Executive and a Tedx speaker. When asked about her ability to motivate others to take action, she says the following:

“In terms of creating an energy that people want to be around and be part of, having empathy, understanding where individuals are, and how to bring them into a team or a project is definitely something that I get excited about. I think it is probably the most rewarding part of my job.”

Melissa’s approach towards Empathy & Execution proposes that it’s important to establish a channel of communication with the customer from the early stages of product development. From her experience at LEGO , she relates:

“So, say, ‘You know what? every two weeks we're going to put whatever maturity the concepts in, whether it's just some PowerPoint slides or it's a working prototype, doesn't matter. We're going to bring kids in and test it.’”?

Pickering proposes that early adoption of empathy - developing procedures will translate into the cultural fabric of the team and a more successful product:

“Just getting in that regular cadence of being seen [in] the development in front with the customer is just a natural way. Then the team becomes more readily thinking about how to continue on the path of designing a product that isn't overly complex and meets the need of the user.”

Empathizing with Storytelling

Once you have the data, implementing empathy to connect with the customer at the human level becomes a necessity in the life of any proposal, project or organization.?

Dr. Karin Kricorian is the VP of Decision-Science Products at Disney . She relies on data to optimize the experience of visitors of Disney parks as well as Disney product customers. She's a believer in?empathy:

“You need to be able to put yourself in the shoes of the consumer or the person you're trying to convince. Putting yourself in their shoes and trying to see the world as they see it, so that you can do your work better, whether it's making your presentation better or tweaking things in your algorithm. I think that empathy is so, so key.”

You would think that someone at that level would solely focus on isolating the data to obtain the greatest accuracy possible, and she obviously excels in making sure that accuracy is reached when collecting data. But when it’s a matter of interpreting and communicating the knowledge that our data gives us, she reminds us of the importance of including a crucial tool: Storytelling.?

She proposes:

“Ultimately, we're social animals. We want to understand the world. We can't understand everything objectively. A story again, tells us where to look. It tells us how to organize information in a way that's going to be easier to process, easier to remember and easier to use in whatever we need to use it for.”

Far from a romantic point of view, Dr. Kricorian is rather practical in the reason why storytelling needs to be implemented when using data to communicate findings:

“Storytelling in the presentation of data is absolutely critical. Just dumping data, it just doesn't work in terms of having the kind of impact you want to have. People absolutely need stories, because stories help solve problems. Stories, help us organize the world, organize our understanding of everything, explain things to ourselves, explain things to other people."?

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Empathy as a Differentiator

Empathy can in fact make your organization stand out, especially in the most cutthroat type of sectors. An example of such sectors is the high-risk investment environment and the Venture Capital (VC) and innovation ecosystems.

Sid Krommenhoek , one of the cofounders of Album VC . When interviewed about the difference of his firm with other VC firms:

“What makes [Album VC] different is empathy. We have started startups successfully, sold startups, and successfully navigated companies after acquisition”.

Sid attributes a deeper connection to this success: “I've been through an IPO, and I've also of course had failures. I think those experiences give me a certain level of empathy with entrepreneurs that is real and that founders would tell you they can feel."?

?In order to truly experience empathy, we need to make sure we understand how the other(s) feel about certain subject. We must not simply assume that our present experience is a reflection of other people’s.

Dr. Alicia Castillo Holley is the founder of Wealthing VC , a firm that invests in Series A, B and C rounds of innovation-based companies. She applies a diversity & inclusion approach towards investment and focus in the fields of Life Science,?Agriculture and Energy, among others. She talks about recognizing our limits in the empathy we exercise:

“Empathy is such a difficult feeling, we think and feel that we understand another person, but in reality, we are seeing a mirror of our own reality in that person. We are projecting our own experiences.”

Self-reflection seems to be an effective remedy to projecting our own experience onto others. Dr. Castillo - Holley continues:?

“In order to develop empathy, we need to answer three questions: Am I genuinely interested in understanding how the other person feels?? Am I capable of understanding how that person feels? Can empathy add value to our connection?’”

Adopting empathy at the personal and professional level is not a skill that will permeate the culture of our organizations automatically. We need to be intentional in adopting it by implementing procedures that will help it abide not only in the internal culture of our organization, but in the success of our customers as well. That way can open a whole universe of understanding, excitement, and human connection. These are primal conditions in which innovation can thrive, and the organization along with it.?

Have you ever felt more creative because of the connections you make? Tell us in the comments.