Empathy

I am a firm believer in the power of empathy for good in this world. But it's a skill that takes work to develop and practice to maintain. (I certainly struggle to do so). Turns out it's valuable in business as well. As a supplier, the tendency is to focus on looking at our customers, analyzing, trying to understand our relationship, trying to find ways to increase business. But the range of insights gained from considering how the customer sees us, having the empathy to put on their shoes for a bit, is astounding.

Now, do this all the way up and down the value chain. Our customer is someone's supplier and so on. It's quite revealing if you're honest and fully embracing the empathy, really trying to see the world from their points of view.