What does it mean to leverage your culture as a competitive advantage? What does culture even mean, and why is it so important that an organization articulate and live out its values? This episode will answer all your questions, especially if you've ever thought culture is "just HR's problem." My guest, author, educator, and culture expert Josh Levine, founder of culture design consultancy, Great Mondays, shares his expertise on why you need to intentionally design a culture that helps you innovate, perform, and win. Today we define modern company culture and discuss why culture is the ONLY sustainable competitive advantage. Josh shares how to turn the tide on the great resignation, how to evaluate if your company values are helpful or harmful, and how the proliferation of communities in modern business has led to the consumerization of the employee experience - and what you can learn from that to attract and retain top talent.  Key Takeaways:The larger the company, the further removed the leaders are from the day to day culture of the organization. Working with culture ambassadors within your organization can help you to understand what is happening on the ground. Organizations should reevaluate their culture every 2-3 years. Values are not indelible. They can evolve, and they should do so.Your values are your priorities. While all may be important, you can't work on 40 things at once. You have to understand what are the most important values to your organization and understand what they mean.  "Culture is the cause and effect of every decision that we make. It's not just an input and an output, but it's a cyclical reinforcing system. It's about decisions and behaviors." —  Josh Levine About Josh Levine:Josh Levine is an educator, designer, and best-selling author, but above all, he is on a mission to help organizations design a culture advantage. He's the founder of Great Mondays, a culture design consultancy. Josh's book Great Mondays: How To Design A Company Culture Employees Love was selected as one of BookAuthority’s best culture books of all time.Connect with Josh Levine:  Website: https://www.greatmondays.com/agencyCompany Culture Design Consulting. We help companies find, tell, and live their story. We call it culture design, and believe that when employees know why they work, they are more motivated, more invested, and are happier doing it. And damn it, we believe even Mondays can be great. Twitter: https://twitter.com/akajoshlevineLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akajoshlevineInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/greatmondays_culturedesign/  Don’t forget to download your free guide! Discover The 5 Business Benefits of Empathy: http://red-slice.com/business-benefits-empathy  Connect with Maria: Get the podcast and book: TheEmpathyEdge.comLearn more about Maria’s brand strategy work and books: Red-Slice.comHire Maria to speak at your next event: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-RossTake my LinkedIn Learning Course! Leading with EmpathyLinkedIn: Maria RossInstagram: @redslicemariaTwitter: @redsliceFacebook: Red Slice

Why so many brand communities (and even social cause communities) fail is because they are not truly communities. They are simply a collection of people. For a community to thrive for the long term, you need mutual concern, ongoing stewardship - and yes, empathy. If you build it without that - I promise you, they won’t come. My guest today, Carrie Melissa Jones shares how to build a successful community - and also how to avoid costly failure. Today we talk about why most brands fail at community building - please don’t repeat these mistakes! Why empathy is the key to community design, and how we can cultivate empathy for those we interact with online. She even outlines the first step you need to take if you are building a community from scratch. So many great gems in this episode, and you can check out her book for even more. Key Takeaways:Social networks or social media are not the same as community. The key to community is mutual concern with trust as the cornerstone.Research is important to understanding what your desired community needs. Connect individually or in small groups with those key people who can help you understand what is important.Building a community does require design thinking with empathy, because you're building a community of humans.If the community is not helping people make progress and connection, they will stop participating. "What makes community really unique is that unlike watching a webinar where you could learn something and solve a problem on your own, some problems can only be solved by collective organizing and collective action." —  Carrie Melissa Jones About Carrie Melissa Jones:Community Builder & Researcher, Author, Founder and Chief Strategist, Carrie Melissa Jones ConsultingCarrie Melissa Jones is an author, community builder, and researcher of online communities. Her work has influenced the world’s leading online brand communities including the American Medical Association, Patreon, Google, and two U.S. presidential campaigns. She is the author of the award-winning book Building Brand Communities: How Organizations Succeed by Creating Belonging with Charles Vogl and a student, teacher, and researcher of virtual communities at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Connect with Carrie Melissa Jones:  Website: https://www.carriemelissajones.com/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/caremjoLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carriemjones/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carriemelissajones/Book: https://www.buildingbrandcommunities.com/ Courses: https://www.carriemelissajones.com/training   Don’t forget to download your free guide! Discover The 5 Business Benefits of Empathy: http://red-slice.com/business-benefits-empathy  Connect with Maria: Get the podcast and book: TheEmpathyEdge.comLearn more about Maria’s brand strategy work and books: Red-Slice.comHire Maria to speak at your next event: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-RossTake my LinkedIn Learning Course! Leading with EmpathyLinkedIn: Maria RossInstagram: @redslicemariaTwitter: @redsliceFacebook: Red Slice

Do you know what your risk fingerprint is? Like your actual fingerprint, your risk fingerprint is unique to you and based on your biology, but also your experiences and environment. Your risk fingerprint shapes what you see as risk or what you don’t believe is risk. It shapes how you make decisions, connect with people, and live your life. Understanding the risk profiles of others is what my guest today, Michele Wucker, calls “risk empathy.” It’s yet another factor you will want to consider when creating a high-performing team but also helps you better understand where someone is coming from, rather than making assumptions. Today we talk about how to assess your risk fingerprint, what risk empathy means, and why the term “risk averse” is a destructive stereotype. We also talk about why ensuring you have risk diversity on your team will help you make better decisions.  Key Takeaways:Taking risks is like building muscle - the more you do it, the easier it gets. Risk is a perception based on your own lens.The more control you have, the less risky you see something as being. You're going to have different risk tolerances in different parts of your life. You want to set up a good risk portfolio across your life. "We talk about gender or race when we are looking at diversity, but I think it's very important to look specifically at risk. Generations approach risk very differently because they've had very different risk experiences." —  Michele Wucker About Michele Wucker:Michele Wucker, Strategic Advisor & Author, The Gray Rhino and You Are What You RiskBest-selling author and strategic advisor Michele Wucker coined the term “gray rhino” for obvious, probable, impactful risks, which we are surprisingly likely but not condemned to neglect. A former media and think tank executive, she is founder of the Chicago-based strategy firm Gray Rhino & Company. She is the author of four books including the influential global bestseller THE GRAY RHINO: How to Recognize and Act on the Obvious Dangers We Ignore and the recently published sequel, YOU ARE WHAT YOU RISK: The New Art and Science of Navigating an Uncertain World.Connect with Michele Wucker:  Website: https://www.thegrayrhino.comBook: You Are What You Risk: The New Art and Science of Navigating an Uncertain World.Twitter: https://twitter.com/wuckerLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wucker/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MicheleWuckerInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/michelewucker/ Don’t forget to download your free guide! Discover The 5 Business Benefits of Empathy: http://red-slice.com/business-benefits-empathy  Connect with Maria: Get the podcast and book: TheEmpathyEdge.comLearn more about Maria’s brand strategy work and books: Red-Slice.comHire Maria to speak at your next event: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-RossTake my LinkedIn Learning Course! Leading with EmpathyLinkedIn: Maria RossInstagram: @redslicemariaTwitter: @redsliceFacebook: Red Slice

In order to be the best leader you can be, you have to be present and attuned to what your teams are going through. That requires regulating ourselves and our own emotions. Things get even stickier when you throw trauma into the mix. You get triggered, or they get triggered, and ultimately nobody wins. But how do you recognize trauma in the workplace? And what can you do to ensure you create a safe environment where everyone can contribute and collaborate effectively? My guest, Charna Cassell, is an LMFT and a Certified Embodied Leadership Coach. Today we talk about her fascinating work with leaders and trauma survivors and how essential mindfulness, internal work, and consciousness are in being a congruent leader and communicator. We also share how you can recognize trauma in others and respond effectively. You'll hear about the Window of Tolerance and why expanding yours as a leader enables you to more compassionately navigate traumatic situations with others.  Key Takeaways:We all have our histories, and when we're in stressful situations, those can take over unless you've trained your nervous system to do something different.If you have not addressed your own traumas and histories, it will inevitably come out in all of your relationships, both personal and professional. Learning how to breathe is the most direct way to change your mood or state. When the relationships have been built, you can check in with your coworkers and employees in a healthy, safe manner. But attunement is key and you want to make sure it is done in an appropriate time and manner.  "Your own ability to feel your own emotions is directly correlated with how much capacity you have to be with other people's experience." —  Charna Cassell About Charna Cassell:Charna Cassell:  LMFT and Master Somatic CoachCharna Cassell, an LMFT and a Certified Embodied Leadership Coach, helps people heal and find pleasure in their bodies. For over two decades, she worked as a sex educator and sex toy clerk at Good Vibrations located in San Francisco.  Then, as a Master Somatic Coach and bodyworker, and now, a trauma-trained psychotherapist.Outside of private practice, she teaches sexuality education classes, leads body wisdom workshops, and offers trauma and resilience training in a variety of institutions, nonprofits, and therapeutic settings. As the host of LaidOPEN Podcast, Charna shares her own story, answers your questions, and offers practical exercises. She has conversations with inspirational survivors, trailblazers, and people just like you. Her guests are experts and authors in the field of somatics, trauma, healing modalities, mindfulness, and the arts. Charna’s work and expertise have been featured in Oprah magazine, TeenVogue.com, InStyle.com, Psychcentral.com, and Askmen.com. Currently, Charna’s focused on writing her book, The Authentic Yes: A Guide to Passionate Living  After Sexual Trauma.Charna is in private practice in Oakland, California.Connect with Charna Cassell:  Websites: www.passionatelife.org and  www.charnacassell.com.Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laidopenpodcast/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laidopenpodcastFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/charna.cassellLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charnacassell/Laid Open Podcast: @laidopenpodcast - https://www.laidopenpodcast.com  Don’t forget to download your free guide! Discover The 5 Business Benefits of Empathy: http://red-slice.com/business-benefits-empathy  Connect with Maria: Get the podcast and book: TheEmpathyEdge.comLearn more about Maria’s brand strategy work and books: Red-Slice.comHire Maria to speak at your next event: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-RossTake my LinkedIn Learning Course! Leading with EmpathyLinkedIn: Maria RossInstagram: @redslicemariaTwitter: @redsliceFacebook: Red Slice

How well do you understand your own emotions? Do your emotions ever get in the way of producing quality work or collaborating effectively? Chances are, yes. This is why social-emotional learning, or SEL, is so important for us to teach children at home and at school. For us adults, we can still master SEL skills so that we, too, can be stronger, more compassionate leaders, colleagues, and citizens. My guest today, Dr. Lorea Martinez, and I discuss the positive impact that can have on your workforce, productivity, and performance. In this episode, Lorea and I discuss what SEL means to both children and adults. We talk about the efforts around the world to embed this learning in our schools and how it helps kids become more aware of their emotions, leading to better problem-solving skills and collaboration. Lorea shares the psychology of emotions and how they impact our performance at work and our ability to learn. We discuss how trauma impacts learning and cognitive development in kids and adults, and finally how we create spaces where people can bring their full identities and truly belong. Key Takeaways:We all have a voice and can make a difference in our communities. We all have a purpose in life and we can change the future generations as we learn, ourselves, and teach our children these social-emotional skills. Emotions are part of our cognitive process - we cannot have thought without feelings and all decisions we make are based on emotions.One of the most important things is creating spaces where people can build their most authentic selves. We are hiding from ourselves when we are not embracing the diversity in ourselves and around us.  "Social and emotional learning is the application of emotional intelligence. It's a lifelong process. It's never too early or too late to start practicing and learning emotional intelligence." —  Dr. Lorea Martinez About Dr. Lorea Martinez:Dr. Lorea Martinez, Author & Founder, HEART in MindDr. Lorea Martínez is the award-winning founder of HEART in Mind, a consulting company dedicated to helping schools and organizations integrate Social Emotional Learning (SEL) in their practices, products, and learning communities. An educator who has worked with children and adults internationally, Dr. Martínez is a faculty member at Columbia University Teachers College, educating aspiring principals in Emotional Intelligence. Her new book for educators, Teaching with the HEART in Mind, is currently available. Previously, she was a special education teacher and administrator. She frequently blogs about how to incorporate SEL in teaching practices and parenting at loreamartinez.comConnect with Dr. Lorea Martinez:  Website: https://loreamartinez.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/loreamartLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/loreamartinez/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/loreamartinezSEL/Book: Teaching with the HEART in Mind: https://amzn.to/394f5dO Don’t forget to download your free guide! Discover The 5 Business Benefits of Empathy: http://red-slice.com/business-benefits-empathy  Connect with Maria: Get the podcast and book: TheEmpathyEdge.comLearn more about Maria’s brand strategy work and books: Red-Slice.comHire Maria to speak at your next event: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-RossTake my LinkedIn Learning Course! Leading with EmpathyLinkedIn: Maria RossInstagram: @redslicemariaTwitter: @redsliceFacebook: Red Slice

If you have experienced disharmony in your workplace, it might not be because other people are evil and out to get you! It may just be that there’s a clash of different mindsets and a whole host of assumptions being unfairly made. How many great ideas are you missing out on because of this friction? My guest today is author, speaker, and consultant Karen Cornwell. Her goal is to give you the ability to peel back others’ behaviors and glimpse the underlying mindset so you can work together in a more meaningful way. This is how we can leverage differences to drive more innovation, growth, and engagement in the workplace.Today, Karen and I talk about what gender harmony means, how it impacts mindsets, and how you can assess your own mindsets to better bridge divides and unlock innovation and collaboration. You will love her fabulous example of how empathy in action resulted in multi-million dollar wins for a pharmaceutical company.  Key Takeaways:Our interpretation of events and situations is already colored before we are even aware of what we are doing. This interpretation is different from person to person and is where we either clash or mesh with others around us.Buried in our mindsets, our beliefs, assumptions, and values are what we think is most important about both how the world works and how people work together.Empathetic cultures boost innovation. If people don’t feel comfortable and listened to, your company will flounder and stagnate. "It's getting over your own assumptions and into what somebody else is thinking. Often they're not the same, and in those differences and assumptions is where the miracles lie." —  Karen Cornwell About Karen Cornwell:Karen Cornwell, Speaker, Consultant, AuthorKaren Cornwell spent her career in tech; she lived it, learned from it, and now wants to change the tide for future technology aficionados. She cut her ‘product management’ teeth on designing services to make nuclear power plants more efficient and easier to operate, before moving over to improve services for the semiconductor equipment industry. After years of working in tech, Karen realized that we spend a lot of time tripping over “our differences” in the workplace.Many of these differences are often thought of as “gendered,” as some originate from stereotypical behavior. You developed your mindset based on how you think. The problem is we don’t all think alike and when we judge others’ behaviors according to our mindsets, we often come up short and have trouble understanding others' behaviors. This is why she wrote her book: You Can’t Fix What You Can’t See: An Eye-Opening Toolkit for Cultivating Gender Harmony in Business. Her goal is to give others the ability to peel back others’ behaviors and glimpse the underlying mindset. Once you understand the mindset, the behavior begins to make sense, and so does your ability to work with the other person in a more meaningful way. This is how we can leverage differences to drive more innovation, growth, and engagement in the workplace.Karen delivers a wealth of experience in her stories both in her book and from the stage. She demonstrates an uncanny ability to combine aspects of neuroscience, psychology, sociology, and linguistics that leave you thinking, “that makes sense, now I get it.” She has a BS and MS in Engineering and an MBA from Santa Clara University. Karen lives in Silicon Valley with her Chef husband and their three boys. Connect with Karen Cornwell:  Book Website (including Blog & Podcast):  https://www.youcantfixwhatyoucantsee.com/Consulting Website: https://www.attunovation.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenfcornwell/Twitter: https://twitter.com/CornwellKarenFInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/gendersavvy/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GenderSavvy Don’t forget to download your free guide! Discover The 5 Business Benefits of Empathy: http://red-slice.com/business-benefits-empathy Connect with Maria: Get the podcast and book: TheEmpathyEdge.comLearn more about Maria’s brand strategy work and books: Red-Slice.comHire Maria to speak at your next event: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-RossTake my LinkedIn Learning Course! Leading with EmpathyLinkedIn: Maria RossInstagram: @redslicemariaTwitter: @redsliceFacebook: Red Slice

How can poetry help a team better collaborate and connect? You’re about to find out! My guest is Michelle Kaplan, and today we talk about the important role that creativity plays in sparking conversation, breaking down walls, and building trust for better collaboration. We discuss the role poetry, and creativity in general, can play at work - and how it leads to empathy, vulnerability and trust in the workplace.  She’ll share how she uses poetry as a catalyst, even with skeptical teams. You will love the poignant original poem she reads to us, and how it helped a now-hybrid team recapture the spark they had when they were all in the office together. Finally, she’ll share some tips on how to do all this in remote or hybrid work environments.  Key Takeaways:The doorway to understanding what's important to other people and enabling them to be themselves is for you to start with yourself.Creativity creates empathy. While poetry works for some, creativity is a broad category - art, music, physical activity - any form of mental expansion will help to open and bring empathy to your team. As a leader, it is about how you show up, and what you allow and tolerate in your group scenarios. How are you bringing everyone together? "Incorporating poems creates a safe place where we can talk about some really sensitive, vulnerable issues in a safe way because you're not talking about me versus you. We're using the poem as a vehicle for having discussions that can clear the air, and create clarity about thoughts and feelings." —  Michelle Kaplan About Michelle Kaplan:Michelle Kaplan, Leadership Coach, People Strategist, and Leadership Development TrainerKnown as the "Corporate Poet" Michelle Kaplan has worked for 30 years in corporate HR and 15 years as a Leadership Development and Organizational Effectiveness Coach and Trainer. Michelle incorporates her original poetry in her work with clients to foster inclusiveness, empathy and psychological safety in the workplace. This vulnerability work helps her clients to maximize their authentic leadership abilities. Michelle is the author of two poetry collections: And: A Love Story and Burst & Fleurish. Connect With Michelle:Website: https://www.burstandfleurish.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellejkaplan/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/398016800948461Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michellekaplanpoetTwo poetry collections: And: A Love Story Within and Burst & Fleurish https://www.burstandfleurish.com/author  Don’t forget to download your free guide! Discover The 5 Business Benefits of Empathy: http://red-slice.com/business-benefits-empathy  Connect with Maria: Get the podcast and book: TheEmpathyEdge.comLearn more about Maria’s brand strategy work and books: Red-Slice.comHire Maria to speak at your next event: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-RossTake my LinkedIn Learning Course! Leading with EmpathyLinkedIn: Maria RossInstagram: @redslicemariaTwitter: @redsliceFacebook: Red Slice

How do we shift from an individualistic culture that incentivizes power grabbing and consumerism into a more community-driven culture where everyone gets their needs met - and yes, innovative leaders can still make money and succeed? It’s possible, if we get creative, build new systems, and create new incentives for a game we ourselves invented! Today’s very philosophical conversation with Raman Frey will have you thinking about how you can be part of the solution and still achieve your ambitions. We touch on everything from how community building encourages empathy, to making creativity and the arts more accessible to everyone to sharing our random thoughts on capitalism, Western culture, and how to shift society from ME to WE without feeling like we’re missing any opportunities - and in fact, how doing so will unleash innovation and allow all people to thrive on a massive scale.  Get ready to question your assumptions about creativity and our current form of capitalism - in a GOOD way - on today’s show. Key Takeaways:We are all intrinsically creative. It is important to be bold in your engagement with other people’s creativity - which will also build your muscle to be creative yourself. There need be no poverty in the world - right now, poverty is a political choice of the system we live in. Civilizational transformation is usually the result of upheaval and catastrophe. It is rarely the result of a peaceful opt-in solution. It is our moral responsibility to be part of building and, then offering, those peaceful transitions. "Community is intrinsically necessary for most people, even introverted people. Community is a sense of belonging that transcends the transactional. Transactions may come out of community, but they are not the point of community." —  Raman Frey About Raman Frey:Entrepreneur, Speaker and Founder of GP Dinners and Camp Earnest.For the last 20 years, Raman has built businesses and communities in the Bay Area, bringing people together around meaningful conversations about art, technology, religion, politics and philosophy. He was a founder or co-founder of Frey Norris Gallery, Epicenter Arts, Dispatch Labs, Good People Dinners, and Camp Earnest.  Raman has served on the boards of several organizations, including the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. As an event producer, public speaker, moderator, and interviewer, Raman enjoys improvisation and unscripted dialogues. Civil discourse, vulnerable conversations, and deep inquiry are common threads in all of his work. Connect with Raman:  Camp Earnest: https://www.campearnest.com/ Access code: earnestcampersRamen Frey website: https://www.ramanfrey.com/about.htmlTwitter: https://twitter.com/RamanFreyLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramanfrey/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raman.frey/ Don’t forget to download your free guide! Discover The 5 Business Benefits of Empathy: http://red-slice.com/business-benefits-empathy Connect with Maria: Get the podcast and book: TheEmpathyEdge.comLearn more about Maria’s brand strategy work and books: Red-Slice.comHire Maria to speak at your next event: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-RossTake my LinkedIn Learning Course! Leading with EmpathyLinkedIn: Maria RossInstagram: @redslicemariaTwitter: @redsliceFacebook: Red Slice

This might be one of my favorite podcast interviews ever. Not just because I got to interview a dear high school friend who has positively impacted the world, but because of one word: HOPE.Today, I speak with Eric Dawson, CEO and founder of Peace First and co-founder of Rivet, about empathy for today’s young changemakers, whether younger people are more or less empathetic than prior generations, and how we can empower them to impact change in their communities and the world now, not someday off in the future. We discuss what brands need to prove to young consumers today, and how they can leverage their influence and dollars to meet their business goals while supporting and delighting young changemakers and consumers - a virtuous cycle that leads to genuine goodness and real impact. Key Takeaways:Young people are the only group of humans that are talked about, almost exclusively, as potential. This is not true - young people, right now, are building the world.Those closest to the problems are also often the ones closest to the solutions. You cannot solve the problems of the world for others, only with them. As of 2020, young people control about $3 trillion in spending. They have choices - they no longer want to be consumers, they want to be citizens.  "It is our small acts that make a difference. Think about what are those proximal things that you can do - who and how you hire, where you send your kids to school, voting. These are the things that are going to make a difference in the future of our lives and our country. And those are the things that, at the end of the day, matter." —  Eric Dawson About Eric Dawson:Eric Dawson, CEO/Co-Founder, Rivet; Founder of Peace FirstEric is CEO and Founder of RIVET, a new social impact venture that funds and amplifies youth-led social change through co-branded partnerships with leading brands and influencers. Previously, he was founder and CEO of Peace First, an organization he helped launch at 18 which now works in over 150 countries preparing young people to lead positive social action through compassion and courage.  Through a digital platform Peace First provides design tools, money and mentorship for youth to imagine and implement impactful social innovations.  A globally recognized expert on youth culture and movement-building, Eric received his degrees from Harvard University: a specialized B.A. in economics, sociology, philosophy, anthropology, and political science; M.Ed in human development psychology; and M.Div. in pastoral care and counseling. He is an Ashoka, Echoing Green, and Pop!Tech Fellow.  Besides the odd jobs of bartending, electron microscopy, TV commercials, and serving as the driver for the author of Curious George, Eric got his professional start directing a summer camp in Boston’s public housing complexes.  His book for young readers, Putting Peace First: Seven Commitments to Change the World was recently published by Viking. Connect with Eric DawsonRIVET: https://joinrivet.org/Peace First: https://peacefirst.org/Twitter: https://twitter.com/peacefirstorgLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-d-dawson/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PeaceFirstInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/peacefirstorg/ Don’t forget to download your free guide! Discover The 5 Business Benefits of Empathy: http://red-slice.com/business-benefits-empathy Connect with Maria: Get the podcast and book: TheEmpathyEdge.comLearn more about Maria’s brand strategy work and books: Red-Slice.comHire Maria to speak at your next event: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-RossTake my LinkedIn Learning Course! Leading with EmpathyLinkedIn: Maria RossInstagram: @redslicemariaTwitter: @redsliceFacebook: Red Slice

What does empathetic marketing even look like in today’s digital age, where everything seems to be done over email or social media? And what are some principles to help marketers embrace and turn it into action? Today’s guest, social media marketer Pat Timmons, wrote a great book called Feel Something: How to Embrace Empathy and Build Trust with Your Audience. As a frontline marketer, Pat has learned a lot about how to leverage social media to create strong customer relationships.Today we talk about what empathy marketing is and some of the principles highlighted in the book. We also discuss how to leverage social media to cultivate empathy and why frontline marketers have a responsibility to be empathetic in their work. He’ll give us examples of brands that are marketing with empathy - and why empathy is vital beyond the sale in the  post-purchase experience - something marketers often forget about.  Key Takeaways:Be constantly curious about your audience and listen in full, saying “Yes! 100%.”You can tell the emotions of your clients by the style of memes that are being posted. Listen to what your customers are saying, and how they are saying it, and utilize that in your own posts. You can’t just stop once you get the money. They’ve made a commitment to you, now you need to continue your commitment to them.  "The only way you can really market to someone that will make them feel something is to feel what they're feeling. The way you can do that is by being curious about them, and really leaning into that." —  Pat Timmons About Pat Timmons:Pat Timmons, Social Media Expert and AuthorPat Timmons is a social media marketer with experience in tech, the music business, advertising, and PR. His journey in marketing began at Emerson College with his major in marketing communications and entrepreneurial studies. Since starting and finishing at Emerson, Pat has had roles in all forms of marketing and is a “swiss-army knife” in the discipline, working for companies such as Webflow, Chartmetric, and Drift.While marketing is a strong passion for Pat, so is getting to know people and understand why people do things. Ever since he could remember, he has been constantly curious and relentlessly empathetic. Pat is the author of Feel Something: How to Embrace Empathy and Build Trust With Your Audience. Connect with Pat Timmons:  Website: https://www.feelsomething.coBook: https://www.feelsomething.co/bookLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pattimmons/Twitter: https://twitter.com/pattimmons_ Don’t forget to download your free guide! Discover The 5 Business Benefits of Empathy: http://red-slice.com/business-benefits-empathy Connect with Maria: Get the podcast and book: TheEmpathyEdge.comLearn more about Maria’s brand strategy work and books: Red-Slice.comHire Maria to speak at your next event: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-RossTake my LinkedIn Learning Course! Leading with EmpathyLinkedIn: Maria RossInstagram: @redslicemariaTwitter: @redsliceFacebook: Red Slice