This is a mantra worth reminding, as marketers seem to forget it all the time. No one wants to hear about your product. And there are beautiful examples of what can be achieved when this becomes an assumption underlying your content strategy. It also works, by the way.
Tag: empathy
Bold
If you have to be bold about one thing in life, be bold about picking yourself. The time of waiting for others to pick us is over. Bosses, teachers, examiners, recruiters are nowadays just as powerful as we let them. Be the one to pick yourself instead. To do what you are passionate about. To … Continue reading Bold
Let go
To be a leader, in life and at work, you need to let go. Let go of schedules and outcomes, experience and opinions, details and plans. Let go of control. Let go of yourself. Let go of your definition of reality. Let go of your certainties. If you cling to any of these, being a … Continue reading Let go
Graceful humility
If your story is about how good you are, how much money you make, how big of a house you own, how many cars you have, how resounding your title is, how easily your product sells, how fantastic your company is, how many employees you have hired in the past year, how much revenue you … Continue reading Graceful humility
Worth accepting
The very same event can be described by those involved in very different ways. The same person can describe the same event in different ways at different times. Does this mean one version is the correct one and the others are wrong? When we describe what is happening to us we almost never stick to … Continue reading Worth accepting
Training empathy
We must say "I am sorry" and "thank you" as many time as it is needed to strip the expressions of any trace of shame, defeat, capitulation. We must say that often, over and over again. Even when we are not fully convinced we should. Even when the other person's behaviour does not fully justify … Continue reading Training empathy
Happiness
No one is responsible for your happiness but you. Not your boss, who is delaying your promotion until next year. Not your partner, who is distracted by their troubles and can't always give what you would like. Not your kids, who have been fussy lately, always trying to catch your attention as soon as you … Continue reading Happiness
Defuse
Caught in the heat of an argument, the challenge is to find the lucidity to defuse. Do that while you are in a position of power, and you will have made real progress. Going head against head, second guessing, paying back, raising your voice, smashing and controlling. Those are short-lived strategies that will just feed … Continue reading Defuse
Inspiring change
If all you give people are facts, they will take note and move on with their lives. Give them a story they can feel and relate too, and you will have their long-term attention. Give them empathy for their own story, and you will have them ready to change their behaviour.
On a journey
When your focus is on self-awareness and self-understanding, there's a risk to end up feeling lonely and isolated. Partly because it's yourself you are focusing on, and partly because it is difficult to relate what we feel and think to others ("Am I the only one who feels or thinks this?"). The importance of those … Continue reading On a journey
