I hear the word Empathy more and more lately — especially in a business context. One would think that this is a good thing, and it is. But, there’s a really fine line between embracing a word, and completely distorting its true value and meaning.

Enter the buzzword… Recognize any of these?

Agile. Big data. Responsive. Mobile first. Lean. Growth hacking. Game mechanics. Content strategy. Design thinking. User (or human) centered.

They’re a collection of some of the most used (and published) buzzwords of 2013. I hear some of these words now, and shudder — despite being a true practitioner and believer in the underlying methods and principles behind a lot of them.

We’ve taken some really important concepts/ideas, and turned them into words without meaning. They’ve been exploited to the point of no return (in some cases), and a shame.

I beg you, dear industry of mine. Don’t do this to Empathy. It’s the most important thing we can do to truly understand, and accept — somebody else.

Done right, empathy is the cornerstone of real innovation and human evolution. Let’s not ruin that by using it in every conversation… and better yet, let’s definitely not organize an Empathy Conference!