The Empathy Edge

In this episode, Maria and Jonni discuss:How empathy shaped the business model of Eleven 11 Solutions and the company philosophy as they continue to grow. Tips and advice to stay connected even during tough situations. Empathy as inspiration and success in Jonni’s professional career.  Key Takeaways:You don’t appease your employees at the expense of clients, you nurture them to the benefit of clients. Those employees will deliver solid work for clients if they work in an empathetic environment that understands them and is flexible to their needs. Do not confuse empathy with being a yes-person. They are not the same thing. It’s not about making sure everyone is happy, it’s more about hearing and acknowledging what others are saying. It’s not about caving in - it’s about how you gather information and then what you do with that information as you make decisions.  "You want to build trust with the people you work with, that you work for, that worked for you. And if you can build that - which mostly comes from listening, empathy, and understanding their perspective - if you have a baseline of trust, the rest will fall into place. That means, when times are tough, you'll figure it out together because you have that baseline of trust. When times are good, they will trust you to just run with it because you have that baseline of trust." —  Jonni Ressler About Jonni Ressler: Jonni Ressler is the CEO of Eleven 11 Solutions and believes successful marketing is another form of storytelling and that relationship is everything A natural connector, Jonni has built a multimillion-dollar consulting business by matching hiring managers with top talent across the United States.  Her consultancy is ruthlessly committed to helping clients and consultants succeed with a focus on transparency, integrity, and doing the right thing every time.  She began her career working for a variety of top technical companies like Microsoft and RealNetworks in international and domestic roles across both sales and marketing.  In the early 2000s, Jonni left the workforce for over 6 years to raise her young children and returned to marketing as a consultant, giving her a unique perspective on reentering the workforce.  As a stand out consultant, she did a little bit of everything from leading product launches, to coordinating brand strategy and sales execution, to partner management, change management, and numerous corporate website redesigns and launches in her decade of consulting for companies like SAP Concur, HPE, and Microsoft.  Jonni founded Eleven 11 Solutions with the knowledge that good people know good people, and as a result of that philosophy, her company has doubled each year since inception in 2016 as a referral-only business.  When she's not leading Eleven 11 Solutions, and actively supporting her family and their respective interests, you can find Jonni on stage or online doing Improv.  Connect with Jonni Ressler:  Learn more about Eleven 11 Solutions:  Eleven11Solutions.comConnect on Instagram: @eleven.11.solutionsConnect to Elevel 11 on LinkedIn: Eleven 11 SolutionsConnect to Jonni on LinkedIn: Jonni ResslerHashtags: #relationshipiseverything   #goodhumans  #consulting  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-RossLinkedIn: Maria RossInstagram: @redslicemariaTwitter: @redsliceFacebook: Red Slice

In this episode, Maria and Steve discuss:Technology for a purpose, not just for technology’s sake.Why data tells a story and this requires empathyExcellent models of leadership with bottom-line success through empathy.Habits and tips to maintain an empathetic mindset.Key Takeaways:Data is more than being cold, hard, and analytical. What you're really trying to do is get this data to tell a story and get it to provide a perspective. The stories and the insights that you get out of it are really where the magic happens.Being able to start from common ground and build back up is where you're able to really pull that empathy outIt exponentially helps you be more successful when you are empathetic and compassionate and get to know people on a real level, and then you can be as ambitious and competitive as you want to be as a result."We need to just say ‘hi’ and get to know people and for them to feel like you're a real person as well as their leader...the empathy, that connection, leads to some of the greatest outcomes." —  Steve HartmanAbout Steve Hartman: Steve Hartman is an investor and advisor, and a seasoned executive with a unique mix of extensive experience across eCommerce, marketing, analytics, and technology.  He is an inspirational leader with a long track record of success in building and inspiring strong global teams and cultures, driving transformational organizational change, and delivering outstanding business results.Steve has a broad range of industry experience across omni-channel retail, technology, storage, and financial services.  Most recently he was the President and Chief Growth Officer of Windsor Fashions, a women’s specialty retailer with over 190 stores in the US.  Formerly, he was CMO & SVP Ecommerce at Eddie Bauer, Managing Director of Ecommerce and Marketing at Urban Outfitters, SVP of Marketing at CubeSmart, and the Senior Director of eBay Partner Network.  He has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and dual MBAs from Columbia University and Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley.Connect with Steve:Steve’s LinkedIn: Steve HartmanSteve’s Instagram: @shartman32Keep It Local Seattle: KeepItLocalSeattle.orgKeep It Local Seattle on Instagram: @keepitlocalseattle Connect with Maria:Get the podcast and book: TheEmpathyEdge.comBuy The Empathy Edge on Amazon! www.bit.ly/empathyedgeLearn more about Maria’s brand strategy work and books: Red-Slice.comHire Maria to speak at your next event: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-RossLinkedIn: Maria RossInstagram: @redslicemariaTwitter: @redsliceFacebook: Red Slice

In this episode, Maria discusses:What empathy is and how it can be leveraged by brands, leaders, and teams. The soft skills that allow us to create bottom-line benefits for organizations. Connecting with your clients and motivating your team through empathy. Key Takeaways:Empathy takes two forms - affective empathy and cognitive empathy. It is a method of perspective - of gathering information and then using that information to inform a decision or an action.If you've cultivated your own confidence and are secure enough in your own skills and ability, you are much more likely to be empathetic because you have room in your head to take on another person's perspective.Practice curiosity - Get curious about the other person or the other people. Why do they see things that way? Why do they think that's the best method for success? What are their goals? What's their intention? "Empathy means being willing and able to see understand and, where appropriate, but not always, feel another person's perspective and, further, to use that information to act compassionately." —  Maria Ross 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-RossLinkedIn: Maria RossInstagram: @redslicemariaTwitter: @redsliceFacebook: Red Slice

Welcome to The Empathy Edge podcast. On today's show, host Maria Ross walks you through what this podcast is all about, why leaders, marketers, and changemakers should tune in each week and what you can gain from each episode. She'll also give you a sneak peek into why she even wrote a business book about empathy - and how her research was a refreshing surprise about how leaders and brands are succeeding with empathy.