The need for empathy check
Posted by wisdomtree on August 23, 2008
Ever wondered why people just can’t get it! Ever wondered why some people make such a mess? Tim Kelley (in his book The art of Innovation) talks about the need for “Empathy Check”. There’s no point in blaming people for being dumb. The key to success is to understand,”what went wrong?” Why are people unable to get it right?
People are just people. We need to make a periodic ” empathy check”. What is empathy check? Empathy check is all about listening to those who can’t get it. It’s really about finding our purpose. Empathy check works at two levels. Firstly, it helps us to re-visit our vision. Secondly, It helps us to understand a) why are in this work? b) To whom is our services targeted? c) What needs are we trying to fulfill? Sometimes, We are so preoccupied with fulfilling needs, responding to the competition, and getting familiar with change that we forget “people” whom we are called to serve. If our engagement does not touch people, it would have no impact. It makes no sense to be speaking and doing things when we do not serve real people and their real needs. We need to factor the human component in our engagement and engage in periodic “empathy checks”.
