Archives: Podcast Episodes

What does it really mean to be customer centric? It’s more than just polite customer service or occasionally asking customers what they think of you. It’s an ongoing mindset that is backed up by processes, structures, and tools to continue staying in lockstep with your customers – and engaging their input and needs to drive business decisions. My guest today, Dennis Geelen, shares his formula for customer centric success. We also discuss why some businesses have thrived during the pandemic while others have failed, why data and customer centricity are not the same thing, and tips to help your organization become more customer-centric. 

Key Takeaways:

• The questions you ask of your customers should be in the context of what they are trying to do, not just their thoughts on your products or services.
• When collecting data, you need to understand if you are doing it to add value for the customer or just to grow, sell, and maximize your quarterly profits.
• Find a way to go through your customer’s journey with your company and see what you learn from that process.

“It’s so important to have customer centric innovation as your foundation because you don’t know when the next disruptor is coming along.” —  Dennis Geelen 

About Dennis Geelen: Dennis Geelen is the author of the best selling book The Zero In Formula and the Founder of Zero In, a customer experience and innovation consulting company. Dennis has spent the past 20 plus years helping several companies in various industries change, grow, and prosper. He brings a strong background in strategic planning, innovation, and customer experience, combined with his passion for helping companies and giving back to communities. Dennis lives in Lindsay, Ontario with his wife Cindy and their dog Duke and two cats (Peanut and Chica). 

Connect with Dennis:

Website: http://www.zero-in.ca (Find the customer centricity assessment tool here, mentioned in the episode)

Twitter: https://twitter.com/dennis_geelen

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dennis-geelen-5a95703/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dennis.geelen.9

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dennis.geelen/

Book, The Zero In Formula – https://www.zero-in.ca/the-zero-in-formula

Mentioned this episode:

Competing Against Luck by Clayton Christensen – https://www.amazon.com/Competing-Against-Luck-Innovation-Customer/dp/0062435612

The Trusted Advisor by David A. Maister, Charles H. Green, and Robert M. Galford – https://www.amazon.com/Trusted-Advisor-David-H-Maister/dp/0743212347

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.com

Learn more about Maria’s brand strategy work and books: Red-Slice.com

Hire Maria to speak at your next event: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-Ross

LinkedIn: Maria Ross

Instagram: @redslicemaria

Twitter: @redslice

Facebook: Red Slice

The metaverse, virtual reality, immersive experiences – this is the future of how we connect. While some of you have embraced virtual connection this year, others have lamented the loss of empathetic connection. Today, I talk with Evo Heyning about creating immersive experiences and participatory spaces that leverage technology to foster more connection and collaboration than we’ve ever been able to imagine. Evo has been creating immersive experiences that bridge real and virtual worlds for more than 20 years, and today she shares her experience as we talk about metaverses and virtual worlds as ways to better connect, how we’ve seen virtual conferences and events evolve this year to create more empathy, intimacy, and community, and where the future of virtual connection is taking us. It’s an exciting future and one in which we can all participate. 

Key Takeaways:

• The mute button in virtual meetings has changed the nature of dialogue in groups.
• When we’re thinking about the human centered perspective, it is often more collaborative than we give it room to be.
• The digital hurdles are also artifacts and we often get to think about how we record and share those artifacts.

“At the end of the day, the mishmash of technologies is less important than how we use them to connect.” —  Evo Heyning

About Evo Heyning:

Evo Heyning, Producer, Creator, Founder of Playable Agency

Evo Heyning has been creating immersive experiences that bridge real and virtual worlds for more than 20 years. As an interactive showrunner and production strategist, she has worked on media projects ranging from launching the Affordable Care Act to producing more than 500 hours of live streaming events during the pandemic. Her work focuses on metaverse media and the creative potential of volumetric and virtual production. Evo passionately shapes the future of the open spatial web to connect people through collaborative technologies. Through her company Playable Agency, Evo provides early stage production strategy and creative worldbuilding that expand reality.

Metaverse media maker since 2005, pioneering work in immersive and interactive campaigns and experiences across virtual worlds, live streaming, social media networks and traditional public experiences. Producer for festivals, conferences, games, campaigns, theatrical and immersive media works for 20 years including work on the Affordable Care Act across live and social media channels and celebrity-driven performances reaching millions for features, awards and ceremonies.

Connect with Evo:  

Website: http://virtualevent.webflow.io

Twitter: http://twitter.com/amoration

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amoration/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/playableagency/

Meta Movie Storytelling Project: http://meta.movie

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.com

Learn more about Maria’s brand strategy work and books: Red-Slice.com

Hire Maria to speak at your next event: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-Ross

LinkedIn: Maria Ross

Instagram: @redslicemaria

Twitter: @redslice

Facebook: Red Slice

When you think of empathetic organizations, you think of nonprofits and community organizations. Today, I talk with Heather Hiscox who discusses the need for those in the social impact space to embrace empathy so they can innovate, iterate, and better serve the communities they seek to benefit. We talk about how social impact organizations can apply design thinking and we tackle the mindset shift social impact leaders need to make from “creating for” to “creating with” their stakeholders. Finally we discuss how leaders of any sector can prepare for the journey of empathy and embrace vulnerability in order to understand another’s experience and find real results and lasting impact.

Key Takeaways:

• You don’t get a free pass by being in the social sector – most of the sector is white, so we need to check our privilege and our perspectives.
• The first step in diversity and inclusion work is exposure and really understanding what you don’t know and need to go learn.
• It is vital for organizations to analyze, interrogate, and really understand the perspective they hold of the folks that they serve.

“As a sector, we need to know that we don’t get a free pass. We have to check our privilege and check our perspectives.” — Heather Hiscox

About Heather Hiscox:

Founder and CEO, Pause for Change

Heather is a social entrepreneur passionate about creating communities focused on assets, abilities, and abundance. Heather is Founder and CEO of Pause for Change, a company that helps nonprofit, local government, and philanthropic organizations address challenges in less time, using fewer resources, while creating deeper impact. Heather is also the Co-Creator of an online talk show, Possibility Project, that tackles issues of disruptive change in the social sector. Heather speaks at national conferences about social impact disruption and innovation, and has launched several ventures that benefit the social impact sector, connecting organizations to the training, skills, and resources needed to deepen their impact.

Connect with Heather:  

Pause for Change: http://www.pauseforchange.com

The Possibility Project: https://www.possibilityproject.org/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeatherHiscox1

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-hiscox-1a61623a/

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.com

Learn more about Maria’s brand strategy work and books: Red-Slice.com

Hire Maria to speak at your next event: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-Ross

LinkedIn: Maria Ross

Instagram: @redslicemaria

Twitter: @redslice

Facebook: Red Slice

What is strategic empathy? It’s ensuring you embed empathy into your business model – operationalize it, reward it, model it, and hold others accountable. Just as with any other brand value, when you’re all talk and no action, you can never truly reap the benefits that empathy can bring to your team and organization. In this episode, Daniel Murray and I discuss just this topic. As one of the world’s leading experts in strategic empathy, Daniel reveals how you can embed empathy into your business model and we offer a not so gentle reminder about how brains work and how our mental models differ, and how forgetting this can lead to all kinds of strife that can stop you from reaching your goals. 

Key Takeaways:

• It’s not about the action that was chosen, it is about understanding what is going on behind the choice being made.
• Dive deeper into the words you are saying in your culture, your brand, and your business model. Understand what you mean when you say” integrity” or “customer service.” 
• Empathetic rituals are not formed in a vacuum. As you evolve and systematize them, make sure you do not lose the heart behind the ritual.

“When I think about empathy, I try to strip it back to a really simple definition, which is understanding why people do what they do, why is someone making a decision.” —  Daniel Murray

About Daniel Murray: 

Founder, Empathic Consulting

Daniel Murray (BSc, MBA Exec) helps frustrated people leaders unlock the true performance of their people by developing curious and empathic skills to harness the ‘tough skills’ of leadership. His degree in mathematics and background in corporate strategy provides Daniel with a unique perspective blending strategic thinking with empathy and emotional intelligence in practical and pragmatic ways.

Connect with Daniel:  

Website: https://empathicconsulting.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-empathicconsulting/

For virtual keynotes and presentations: https://empathicconsulting.com/motivational-sessions

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.com

Learn more about Maria’s brand strategy work and books: Red-Slice.com

Hire Maria to speak at your next event: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-Ross

LinkedIn: Maria Ross

Instagram: @redslicemaria

Twitter: @redslice

Facebook: Red Slice

Being a purpose driven organization is not just a nice-to-have, it actually leads to more revenue, higher performing teams, and better engagement and retention. When salespeople are able to reframe their thinking from how to simply “close more deals” to how they can improve a customer’s life, they find more success and more satisfaction and happiness in their work. In my conversation today with sales expert and author Lisa McLeod, we talk about why teams with a purpose beyond just “the money” actually make more money, how empathy makes you an assertive (not aggressive) salesperson, and articulating your purpose. Listen in for an exciting episode and you’ll discover the one game-changing question that will make you more engaging to your customers.

Key Takeaways:

• A noble purpose is the intersection of three questions: How do you make a difference to your customers? How do you do it differently than your competition? On your best day, what do you love about your job?
• Salespeople focused on themselves are aggressive. Salespeople focused on the client are assertive.
• Every day, ask, “How will the customer be different as a result of doing business with us?”

“Your purpose should define the impact that you want to have on customers.” —  Lisa McLeod

About Lisa McLeod: Lisa McLeod is the global expert on purpose-driven business. She is the author of five books, including her bestseller: Selling with Noble Purpose: How to Drive Revenue and Do Work That Makes You Proud. Lisa helps leaders around the world increase competitive differentiation and emotional engagement. She works with teams at organizations like Salesforce, Cisco, Roche, Volvo, and Dave & Busters.

Connect with Lisa McLeod:  

Website: https://www.mcleodandmore.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.com

Learn more about Maria’s brand strategy work and books: Red-Slice.com

Hire Maria to speak at your next event: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-Ross

LinkedIn: Maria Ross

Instagram: @redslicemaria

Twitter: @redslice

Facebook: Red Slice

Burnout is costing us more than we think, but new research has emerged that shows empathetic leadership can help prevent burnout. My guest today, Davida Ginter, helps leaders and organizations prevent burnout so they can scale impact. We talk about how leaders can better sustain themselves and set boundaries to avoid burnout. We discuss how you can start building a practice of emotional resilience to better face adversity, and we bust some myths about empathy and self-care that could be getting in your way of success or even your physical health.

Key Takeaways:

• When we suffer and don’t cultivate self empathy, we aren’t giving more empathy to other people, it only means that our energy will be depleted over time.
• When we maintain our boundaries, we can still respect others, and we can also respect ourselves. 
• It is not a matter of finding time, it is a matter of prioritizing time. We need to prioritize ourselves and take time for ourselves to avoid burnout and build our resilience. 

“It’s not egoistic to take care of ourselves. It is exactly what will help us maintain our well being and also allow us to serve other people.” —  Davida Ginter

About Davida Ginter: 

Davida Ginter, Co-Founder & CEO, Enkindle Global

Davida Ginter is the Co-founder and CEO of Enkindle Global and the author of the book Burning Out Won’t Get You There. She specializes in Participatory Leadership processes, and operates on a global scale to support leaders and organizations in preventing burnout, cultivating well being, and developing emotional resilience.

Connect with Davida:  

Website : https://davidaginter.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davida-ginter/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/davida.ginter/

The Book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/9659277709/

Referenced Harvard Business Review Article: https://hbr.org/2020/09/preventing-burnout-is-about-empathetic-leadership

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.com

Learn more about Maria’s brand strategy work and books: Red-Slice.com

Hire Maria to speak at your next event: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-Ross

LinkedIn: Maria Ross

Instagram: @redslicemaria

Twitter: @redslice

Facebook: Red Slice

How does a company lead with their values and, as a result, achieve phenomenal success for itself and its customers? Today, I talk with Nate Smith, the CEO and co-founder of Lever, a leading talent relationship management solution that makes it easy for talent teams to reach their hiring goals and to connect companies with top talent. Lever leads by example by leading with their values, both internally and externally, Nate and I talk about how they have weathered the storm and come out stronger than ever over this past year and how the company’s value of “cross-functional empathy” engages both employees and customers and helps them do their jobs better. He shares what leading with your values looks like and offers practical tips on what to think about, define, and share for your own organization. We also talk about the recruiting industry in general and how making this process more empathetic leads to better relationships between hiring managers and recruiters, and better brand experiences with candidates.

Key Takeaways:

• Start conversations with a pause before launching into the topic and give people space for those in the conversation. 
• When you’re going through times of difficulty, making people feel heard is just such a significant way that you can show kindness to each other and provide strength.
• When you are interviewing a candidate, it’s not just about what they can do for you, but what you can do for them. They are interviewing you as well. 

“Cross-functional empathy is understanding that we all have different things that we bring. When we can work together, we can leverage those different perspectives to be more successful together in a way that we can never do on our own.” —  Nate Smith

About Nate Smith:

Nate Smith, CEO and Co-founder, Lever

Nate leads Lever in its mission to offer talent leaders the reach of a marketing leader, the forecast of a sales leader, and the insight of a finance leader in a unified TRM platform. He’s passionate about enterprise software’s potential for business transformation, user experience, and human connection. Prior to Lever, Nate was a product manager on Google Analytics and the Google Search team. He led the first major redesign of Google’s image search UI, which launched in July 2010. Nate received a degree in electrical and computer engineering from Olin College, at which he was a member of the school’s second-ever graduating class.

Connect with Nate:  

Website: http://www.lever.co

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/nateps

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.com

Learn more about Maria’s brand strategy work and books: Red-Slice.com

Hire Maria to speak at your next event: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-Ross

LinkedIn: Maria Ross

Instagram: @redslicemaria

Twitter: @redslice

Facebook: Red Slice

Empathy is more than just how we live and interact with one another.  It is also related to technology, products, and our stewardship of the environment. Today, I speak with James Ehrlich, whose extraordinary innovation in neighborhood design fits in with this empathetic style of living. James talks about his “smart neighborhood” that nourishes itself and lives in harmony with the environment to create its own sustainable and organic food sources, and uses technology to ensure everyone has the equitable resources they need to thrive. Even more than that, these neighborhoods and villages not only leverage amazing, unprecedented technology, they also redefine “community” and recreate a full story arc in a compassionate, and empathetic way. 

Key Takeaways:

• As living organisms, we have never, in history, been more disassociated from the natural world, but we can change that. 
• It is the element of imagination and possibility combined that are needed to move civilization forward. 
• We will start seeing these neighborhoods of the future become more commonplace in the next five to ten years. 

“We want to see communities as a full story arc. That is compassionate, empathic living.” —  James Ehrlich

About James Ehrlich:

James Ehrlich is Founder of ReGen Villages Holding, B.V. a Stanford University spin-off company formed in the EU to realize the future of living in regenerative and resilient communities, with critical life support of organic food, clean water, renewable energy and circular nutritional flows at the neighborhood scale. 

Mr. Ehrlich is also an Entrepreneur in Residence at the Stanford University School of Medicine Flourishing Project, Faculty at Singularity University, Senior Fellow at NASA Ames Research Center Opus Novum Consortium, and (Obama) White House Appointee for Regenerative Infrastructure. 

Mr. Ehrlich Ehrlich founded ReGen Villages as a Dutch (EU) impact-profit company in 2016, with its patented VillageOS operating system software to use artificial intelligence and machine learning to define, design and autonomously manage regenerative neighborhoods that promote healthy long-term outcomes for residents and wider communities. 

ReGen Villages are planned for global replication and scale in collaboration with established industrial partners, universities, governments and sovereign wealth and pension funds, enabling an optimistic post-COVID green transition.

Mr. Ehrlich is a serial entrepreneur in software and media, with over 15-years case study research on organic, bio-dynamic family farms, intentional communities, ecovillages, co-living and collaborative communities. 

An award winning National Public Television producer and co-author of a best-selling book on “Organic Living” (Hachette, 2007), Mr. Ehrlich brings his seasoned background in software design and development to the expression of creating a ‘digital mycelia network,’ connecting nature with data, for the benefit of people and planet.

Born and raised in New York City, Mr. Ehrlich moved to Silicon Valley to start a successful video game and media technology software company in 1989. Mr. Ehrlich holds a Bachelors Degree from New York University in computer science and media, and has completed Master studies from Stanford University in mechanical engineering, where he continues to lecture and do research on the science of flourishing.

Connect with James:

Website: ReGenVillages.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jamesehrlich

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.com

Learn more about Maria’s brand strategy work and books: Red-Slice.com

Hire Maria to speak at your next event: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-Ross

LinkedIn: Maria Ross

Instagram: @redslicemaria

Twitter: @redslice

Facebook: Red Slice

We can all think of quotes or books that have instantly ignited something inside of you – inspiration or desire to take action – but what about sales and marketing copy? Messages that touch something deep inside of you and give you chills when you read them? My guest today, Alexandra Franzen, is a gifted writer who writes words that speak to your heart and make you stop in your tracks. It doesn’t matter if it’s an inspirational message on her blog, or marketing copy to attend a cool new event or buy a new course. She has a magical gift for writing with empathy. Today, we discuss exactly how you can write with more empathy and how to create a human connection as an online or digital business. There are so many great tips and advice on today’s show that will make your business more successful and ensure you are more intentional about your customer’s experience and journey.

Key Takeaways:

• When you hire the right people, you can still have the same sense of intimacy and care with your customers, especially as your business grows. 
• You create the culture you hire for. You create the culture you reward. 
• You can stay connected and engaged with your customers even without social media. You just need to be diligent and consistent about it, however you choose to do it. 

“Whenever I’m working with a client or writing something for my own business, I like to imagine one customer and ask, ‘What would feel like a miracle for this person, right now?’” —  Alexandra Franzen

About Alexandra Franzen:

Alexandra Franzen, Writer and Entrepreneur

Alexandra Franzen is a writer, consultant, and entrepreneur based in Hawaii.

Her sixth book is The Checklist Book: Set Realistic Goals, Celebrate Tiny Wins, Reduce Stress and Overwhelm, and Feel Calmer Every Day. Other books include You’re Going to Survive and So This Is the End: A Love Story.

She has written articles for Time, Forbes, Newsweek, The Huffington Post, and Lifehacker. Her work has been mentioned in The New York Times Small Business Blog, The Atlantic, The Los Angeles Times, and Inc.

She writes about a wide range of topics: life, love, death, grief, unplugging from technology, creativity, focus, productivity, simplicity, time–and how we spend it.

Alexandra is the founder of the Tiny Press, a publishing imprint specializing in very short books–100 pages or less. Tiny Press books include Say It Now by Sherry Richert-Belul (#1 Amazon New Release), Wishwork by Alexa Fischer (featured on Good Morning America), and Your Next Level Life by Karen Arrington (nominated for 2020 NAACP Image Awards, Outstanding Instructional Literary Work).

Connect with Alexandra:  

Website: AlexandraFranzen.com

Course Website: YouCanGetItDone.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.com

Learn more about Maria’s brand strategy work and books: Red-Slice.com

Hire Maria to speak at your next event: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-Ross

LinkedIn: Maria Ross

Instagram: @redslicemaria

Twitter: @redslice

Facebook: Red Slice

Is it really possible to balance purpose and profit? My guest, Phil Preston, the business purpose guide, talks about how it’s not only possible, it’s profitable! On today’s show, we discuss exactly what purpose is (and what it isn’t), and the criteria for a great purpose statement. We’ll talk about how modern business mindsets are evolving with some examples of how purpose-driven organizations benefit financially from a brand perspective, and how purpose leads to profit growth. Finally, we’ll discuss the first steps leaders can take to align profits with purpose. Sit back, enjoy, and take heart that there is proof that, as I always say, cash flow, creativity and compassion are not mutually exclusive!

Key Takeaways:

• Philanthropy is great, but it is not enough on its own. You also need to align your business with purpose every day. 
• Your purpose statement should be scoping, not too broad and not too specific, inspiring to your people, tells your customers what you stand for, is easy to communicate, and is durable. 
• When you’re gathering input on your purpose statement, do it with intention. 

“Hope is not a great strategy. You’ve actually got to define what success is going to look like.” —  Phil Preston

About Phil Preston:

Phil Preston

Business Purpose Guide

Phil left a comfortable corporate career where he oversaw $50 billion of investments to help companies go beyond symbolic acts of charity and align social and environmental challenges with core and profitable business. As an independent practitioner he helps executives and leaders across all sectors navigate the transition to the new economy, and is the author of Connecting Profit With Purpose.

Connect with Phil:  

Website: philpreston.com.au

Twitter: twitter.com/PurposePreston

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/phil-preston

Facebook: facebook.com/connectingprofitwithpurpose

Instagram:: instagram.com/purposepreston

Book: philpreston.com.au/book-connecting-profit-with-purpose-shared-value

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.com

Learn more about Maria’s brand strategy work and books: Red-Slice.com

Hire Maria to speak at your next event: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-Ross

LinkedIn: Maria Ross

Instagram: @redslicemaria

Twitter: @redslice

Facebook: Red Slice