Pass Big Data through the filter of Empathy: A possible silver bullet to success?

There’s big learning for large corporations to take away from small businesses. Today, “consumers have come to expect a more personalized experience from the businesses they buy from*”. Whether they’re buying food, a product, a service, or consulting.

Think small businesses, mom and pop shops… personal, intimate. Riding on emotion, joy, empathy.

Now imagine all the power of data and analytics. “Increasingly more technology platforms are putting analytics at the forefront and making it easier for business users to access and make data more actionable*”.

“Both types of analytics (predictive and prescriptive) serve a purpose when it comes to fostering the loyalty of your customers.*”

Now think again… Think small businesses, mom and pop shops… personal, intimate. Riding on emotion, joy, empathy.

Empathy is what customers are increasingly seeking from businesses, whether it’s a small deli they frequent, or a large consulting engagement they’re in. Whether the customer is external or internal.

Imagine you take all the power of analytics from all data you choose to track, deduce intelligences around your customer, then wear the small business hat… small, personalized, intimate. Feeling your customers’ pain, feeling your customers’ joy, feeling what’s success for your customer. And responding in a way a local deli or baker would, when you explained to her you had gluten allergy, so could she bake something for you… Think empathy.

Suddenly something changes. You become your customer’s ally; their trusted advisor. Empathy uses intelligence from big data. Then turns it around into behavior. Empathy is the glue that makes your customer stick.

Empathy is also what leads us to real solutions to real problems. As the practice of design thinking has shown us.

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* Chris Poelma, Analyzing the Science Behind Customer Loyalty (http://entm.ag/27jwNTn)

How Sweden uses Design Thinking for Nation Building

That image is from Beyonce’s “Flawless”. And that quote is from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s book “We Should All be Feminists”.

What’s the deal with this so-called book that Beyonce includes passages from it in her single?

OK, then sample this: Sweden gifted all their 16 year olds a copy of this book.

So, really, what’s the big deal?

Morgan Shoaff says on Upworthy: “In the book, Adichie explores the complexity of feminism, what it’s like being a woman in today’s world, and why we must think about the ways we treat each other in order to live in a fully productive society.

“You won’t find any preachy, “blah, blah, blah” moments in the book. It’s personal, easy to digest from all backgrounds, and a sensible call to action. And it’s short! With only 52 pages, it goes by fast, but its words are quick to strike a cord with many.” (http://u.pw/1Xo6A1z)

What’s happening here? Why would a country have all it’s sophomores read a specific book? Not in the curriculum, not a text book, just a random book?

Age 16 is more or less a formative year. Mentally. Emotionally. Teenagers are starting to form opinions around what they’ve observed from before birth. They’re going to start making their own notes, build perceptions of the world around them; perceptions of what’s right and wrong; perceptions of how class plays out in society; perceptions of how gender plays out in the world around them.

Clara Berglund, chair of the Swedish advocacy group Women’s Lobby, said “this is the book that I wish all of my male classmates would have read when I was 16.” Adichie’s book, she said, will be “a gift to ourselves and future generations.”

Do you hear strains of nation building there? A gift to future generations?

There’s a reason why Sweden is considered the best place for women to be. And it’s not so much about the laws and the enforcements. It’s about how they take nation building seriously. How they use design thinking principles to prepare their future generations to be better citizens; indeed better humans.

Design thinking to prepare future generations to be better citizens? So, for nation building?