Excellent read and very nice to get some insight into how empathy is a critical consideration when creating products in large technology corporations. Losing sight of why you’re creating a product based upon who and how people will use it is a big disconnect. A company must strive to understand their users who will choose a competitor’s product when it works better for them. Managers are responsible for making sure everyone is on the same page focused on consumer oriented solutions within a cohesive team environment rather than promoting their own divisive personal agenda. Any employee who fails to understand the critical role of empathy for users and fellow employees will be a liability.
Unfortunately there is significant conflict, alienation, polarization, and disengagement in our culture which inhibit the cultivation of empathy. Business is almost always portrayed as a dog eat dog world by mass media to capitalize on the dramatic potential inherent in these scenarios. These scripts would be dead on arrival as business plans.
I hope the critical role of empathy within business is a message which filters down to younger people so they can orient themselves to listen, understand, serve, respect, and cooperate with others. Good managers are role models who maximize their potential by identifying how their strengths can support user focused development.