Comments on: At the Heart of Business

By: Validation: Using Twitter to Build Loyalty | Touch Points

Validation: Using Twitter to Build Loyalty | Touch Points — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:36:15 +0000

[...] At the Heart of Business [...]

By: Bonnie Zimmerman

Bonnie Zimmerman — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 12:44:09 +0000

Great post. Engaging in dialogue and listening to customers ought to be at
the heart of every service provider. Instead of assuming you know what the
customer needs, probe, ask questions and gather ideas for adding value.
It makes sense to help companies help their associates develop the skills to
do this well. This is a very fertile and low cost area for businesses.

By: Lindy Asimus

Lindy Asimus — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 03:55:21 +0000

Well aimed. It seems that empathy is greatly enhanced when individuals learn to step into the other person’s (customers, staff whoever) and see the situation as it appears to that person. Without understanding their perspective we have little idea how our own behaviors are received by others. When the gap between our intention to communiciate; what we actually communicate and what others receive from our communication is the same, there is much more opportunity for rapport, and commonality of purpose.

By: Susan Mazza

Susan Mazza — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 00:10:32 +0000

Excellent post Steve. Empathy is at the heart of relating effectively. The phrase “relational deficit disorder” is right on – it is rampant. Companies have got to do better in this regard. It takes a commitment from the top and persistent attention from leaders and managers throughout but it does not have to cost a lot. You provide some great examples of how the focus and investment in this regard pays off. The “soft stuff” label is a cop out in my opinion – anything that can be felt so explicitly is far from soft!

By: Deb Evans

Deb Evans — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 15:38:19 +0000

Simply excellent.