[Music]
a few months ago when I found out I was
going to be speaking to you about this
topic I had a nightmare I turned that
someone from the audience came running
in and pushed me off the stage you see
I’m going to be speaking to you about
kindness and business do you ever hear
these two words together there can be a
little skepticism with a combination in
my dream I could feel the resistance of
this person to the idea that kindness
can be a guiding force in business and
of course as it was my dream it was my
own resistance why do we resist to this
idea that businesses can be kind this
encounter of kindness and business well
I think the simplest answer is because
we have all been burnt we have all had a
bad experience we’ve all had bad
customer service or a low-quality
product sold to us via feel-good
marketing and the issue of kindness and
business is not just of course about
customer service and marketing we think
of worst things we’re thinking of
companies who pollute the earth and the
sea we hear of bullying in the workplace
or we read of lack of financial
transparency in companies no wonder we
are skeptical now because I coach and
work with entrepreneurs I’m interested
in this not just as a consumer but from
the business side and we can look at
this in another way what is business
business is a social activity it is the
one of the biggest platforms of social
engagement that we humans have we spend
a huge time a huge part of our lives
involved in businesses we work in them
or invest in them we buy from them and
it is us who inject human qualities into
them
now some say that kindness is a soft
skill and I think it is it is a soft
power that we must unapologetically use
more of famous evolutionary biologist
Stephen Jay Gould said that violence
sexism and general nastiness are
biological
since they represent one subset of a
possible range of behaviors but
peacefulness equality and kindness are
just as biological and we ways we may
see their influence increase if we can
create social structures that permit
them to flourish kindness comes from
empathy from being able to put ourselves
in the shoes of others and I believe
that we can intentionally create
kindness in business that we could put
kindness at the core of our business
models I would like to speak to you
about an experience I have had where I
have been leading a Happiness Project
route which has given me the amazing
experience to see how our social
structures can be formed to create
empathy and reciprocity and you may ask
yourself well what does a Happiness
Project Group have to do with business
well let me give you an example say
someone from the group let’s call her
Anna comes and says that she has had a
conflict at work well we all put our
heads together and we tell stories of
times that we had a conflict at work and
we all say well there are some simple
actions that you can take to become
happier that is the essence of our
groups simple actions to create a result
we all brainstorm for simple ideas that
this person can take for example she can
research and use more effective language
or she can learn how to put better
personal boundaries or she can reframe
how she views her boss or she can gather
support of other colleagues now when we
put our head together we bring online
resources we bring advice we bring our
own insights which not only helps Ana
but helps the entire group and
ultimately of course it is up to Ana to
take these simple actions to become
happier but just like in a business
setting the group environment really
matters a person may be driven or be
inspired to take action if the
organization provides for them the
systems the spaces and the technology
where people can get together resolve
problems using empathetic thinking now
are there companies out there who are
already creating social structures and
business systems that foster empathy and
kindness to create growth more
importantly is the creating profits that
we can measure you bet here is the
empathy index these are the top 15
companies of the empathy index published
in the Harvard Business Review it takes
into consideration internal culture
employee reviews CEO performance ethics
sustainability ratings and social media
interactions of 170 companies in major
financial indexes now the top companies
have increased in market value twice as
fast as those at the bottom which means
that kindness is a competitive edge
Facebook Google these are all global
companies but the biggest were the
smallest company in the world has a big
impact
societies and communities and therefore
the decisions taken inside them affects
all of us now we as humans have an
innate ability to be kind but sometimes
it needs to be reinforced so let’s do
like we do in the Happiness Project
group I will give you three simple
actions that you can take if you are
somehow involved with the business if
you’re an employee if you’re the
investor if you’re somehow related to a
business you can take these three
actions as a tool to inject kindness
into it first one open your wings this
is very simple we need to create those
social structures we need to create
those business systems that drive
kindness into this into the business
we cannot say it’s not my job because
it’s everyone’s job the first place of
the empathy index one by Facebook was
born because of the empathy lab a lab
inside Facebook that was created by a
team of engineers who wanted to make
sure that the app can be used by people
with physical disabilities it’s
engineering with empathy and we can all
do something like this there’s many
other examples there’s employees who
have started meditation clubs to reduce
burnout and to increase self compassion
there are leaders who’ve let employees
working projects not related to the
short-term but that will build the
future what comes next
what we can even imagine now so it takes
entitlement and personal power stepping
into your personal power how are you
going to create those social structures
those business systems how are you going
to open your wings second action own
what you sell this one’s easy right it’s
about responsibility responsibility for
using empathy and kindness in all
our decisions and stopping in our tracks
if we have to take a company who has who
has a project but pulls out of this
project because it may create ecological
damage or ecocide how does such a
company get created will the people in
the company have to step into the shoes
of the people in the community they have
to look at kindness as their North Star
and they have to go on an empathy
journey together with their customers
their employees and those communities
and engage in authentic dialogue at the
end they will do what’s good for the
business and also for society kindness
like any new habit may feel awkward at
first and it takes real intention and
repetition for it to feel natural a
third action tell the truth and tell the
world the more good stories that you
create the more kindness you plant
inside your organization the more you
can tell the world and this is all about
transparency Trust comes from being open
up front now one such story that I
personally love is what some
supermarkets are doing to serve families
with autistic children in the u.s. in
the UK in Finland
they open stores exclusively for these
families so that they can have a less
stimulating environment so that they can
shop in silence it’s priceless for those
parents and the good news is that if you
are one of these businesses who acts and
pathetically you become an influencer in
your industry and other companies follow
you isn’t that great
now that was your your action plan for
those of you who are involved somehow in
a business but what about
as consumers and we are all consumers
consumers are the biggest moving part in
all of the interlocking parts of the
business but before I give you your
action as a consumer I do want to make
clear that the purpose of injecting
kindness into business is not to create
positive feelings on us the consumers so
we buy more the purpose of injecting
kindness into business is to create
positive behaviors inside companies that
will create a chain reaction out of the
businesses and into society so your one
action to take is to ask for kindness
consumers need to tell the companies
that we want a real connection that we
want to feel that there is a good and
positive impact in our lives that in our
communities and businesses need a
mandate from us so yes complain email
posting social media blog suggest new
ways that businesses can be kind to us
and especially educate yourself be a
conscious consumer and it’s a two-way
street so give feedback to those that
are on the right track give
encouragement to those companies that
are being kind back to my nightmare
today I don’t feel resistance anymore I
know that we as human beings have the
ability to be empathetic in all of our
relationships and I know what happens
when a group of us gets together and
takes action I have no doubt that we can
intentionally make decisions with
kindness in business and we have more
than enough proof that kindness is viral
that kindness is a competitive edge and
that kindness is great for business
so join the movement and spread this
idea and do your part to put kindness
into businesses today thank you
[Applause]
a few months ago when I found out I was
going to be speaking to you about this
topic I had a nightmare I turned that
someone from the audience came running
in and pushed me off the stage you see
I’m going to be speaking to you about
kindness and business do you ever hear
these two words together there can be a
little skepticism with a combination in
my dream I could feel the resistance of
this person to the idea that kindness
can be a guiding force in business and
of course as it was my dream it was my
own resistance why do we resist to this
idea that businesses can be kind this
encounter of kindness and business well
I think the simplest answer is because
we have all been burnt we have all had a
bad experience we’ve all had bad
customer service or a low-quality
product sold to us via feel-good
marketing and the issue of kindness and
business is not just of course about
customer service and marketing we think
of worst things we’re thinking of
companies who pollute the earth and the
sea we hear of bullying in the workplace
or we read of lack of financial
transparency in companies no wonder we
are skeptical now because I coach and
work with entrepreneurs I’m interested
in this not just as a consumer but from
the business side and we can look at
this in another way what is business
business is a social activity it is the
one of the biggest platforms of social
engagement that we humans have we spend
a huge time a huge part of our lives
involved in businesses we work in them
or invest in them we buy from them and
it is us who inject human qualities into
them
now some say that kindness is a soft
skill and I think it is it is a soft
power that we must unapologetically use
more of famous evolutionary biologist
Stephen Jay Gould said that violence
sexism and general nastiness are
biological
since they represent one subset of a
possible range of behaviors but
peacefulness equality and kindness are
just as biological and we ways we may
see their influence increase if we can
create social structures that permit
them to flourish kindness comes from
empathy from being able to put ourselves
in the shoes of others and I believe
that we can intentionally create
kindness in business that we could put
kindness at the core of our business
models I would like to speak to you
about an experience I have had where I
have been leading a Happiness Project
route which has given me the amazing
experience to see how our social
structures can be formed to create
empathy and reciprocity and you may ask
yourself well what does a Happiness
Project Group have to do with business
well let me give you an example say
someone from the group let’s call her
Anna comes and says that she has had a
conflict at work well we all put our
heads together and we tell stories of
times that we had a conflict at work and
we all say well there are some simple
actions that you can take to become
happier that is the essence of our
groups simple actions to create a result
we all brainstorm for simple ideas that
this person can take for example she can
research and use more effective language
or she can learn how to put better
personal boundaries or she can reframe
how she views her boss or she can gather
support of other colleagues now when we
put our head together we bring online
resources we bring advice we bring our
own insights which not only helps Ana
but helps the entire group and
ultimately of course it is up to Ana to
take these simple actions to become
happier but just like in a business
setting the group environment really
matters a person may be driven or be
inspired to take action if the
organization provides for them the
systems the spaces and the technology
where people can get together resolve
problems using empathetic thinking now
are there companies out there who are
already creating social structures and
business systems that foster empathy and
kindness to create growth more
importantly is the creating profits that
we can measure you bet here is the
empathy index these are the top 15
companies of the empathy index published
in the Harvard Business Review it takes
into consideration internal culture
employee reviews CEO performance ethics
sustainability ratings and social media
interactions of 170 companies in major
financial indexes now the top companies
have increased in market value twice as
fast as those at the bottom which means
that kindness is a competitive edge
Facebook Google these are all global
companies but the biggest were the
smallest company in the world has a big
impact
societies and communities and therefore
the decisions taken inside them affects
all of us now we as humans have an
innate ability to be kind but sometimes
it needs to be reinforced so let’s do
like we do in the Happiness Project
group I will give you three simple
actions that you can take if you are
somehow involved with the business if
you’re an employee if you’re the
investor if you’re somehow related to a
business you can take these three
actions as a tool to inject kindness
into it first one open your wings this
is very simple we need to create those
social structures we need to create
those business systems that drive
kindness into this into the business
we cannot say it’s not my job because
it’s everyone’s job the first place of
the empathy index one by Facebook was
born because of the empathy lab a lab
inside Facebook that was created by a
team of engineers who wanted to make
sure that the app can be used by people
with physical disabilities it’s
engineering with empathy and we can all
do something like this there’s many
other examples there’s employees who
have started meditation clubs to reduce
burnout and to increase self compassion
there are leaders who’ve let employees
working projects not related to the
short-term but that will build the
future what comes next
what we can even imagine now so it takes
entitlement and personal power stepping
into your personal power how are you
going to create those social structures
those business systems how are you going
to open your wings second action own
what you sell this one’s easy right it’s
about responsibility responsibility for
using empathy and kindness in all
our decisions and stopping in our tracks
if we have to take a company who has who
has a project but pulls out of this
project because it may create ecological
damage or ecocide how does such a
company get created will the people in
the company have to step into the shoes
of the people in the community they have
to look at kindness as their North Star
and they have to go on an empathy
journey together with their customers
their employees and those communities
and engage in authentic dialogue at the
end they will do what’s good for the
business and also for society kindness
like any new habit may feel awkward at
first and it takes real intention and
repetition for it to feel natural a
third action tell the truth and tell the
world the more good stories that you
create the more kindness you plant
inside your organization the more you
can tell the world and this is all about
transparency Trust comes from being open
up front now one such story that I
personally love is what some
supermarkets are doing to serve families
with autistic children in the u.s. in
the UK in Finland
they open stores exclusively for these
families so that they can have a less
stimulating environment so that they can
shop in silence it’s priceless for those
parents and the good news is that if you
are one of these businesses who acts and
pathetically you become an influencer in
your industry and other companies follow
you isn’t that great
now that was your your action plan for
those of you who are involved somehow in
a business but what about
as consumers and we are all consumers
consumers are the biggest moving part in
all of the interlocking parts of the
business but before I give you your
action as a consumer I do want to make
clear that the purpose of injecting
kindness into business is not to create
positive feelings on us the consumers so
we buy more the purpose of injecting
kindness into business is to create
positive behaviors inside companies that
will create a chain reaction out of the
businesses and into society so your one
action to take is to ask for kindness
consumers need to tell the companies
that we want a real connection that we
want to feel that there is a good and
positive impact in our lives that in our
communities and businesses need a
mandate from us so yes complain email
posting social media blog suggest new
ways that businesses can be kind to us
and especially educate yourself be a
conscious consumer and it’s a two-way
street so give feedback to those that
are on the right track give
encouragement to those companies that
are being kind back to my nightmare
today I don’t feel resistance anymore I
know that we as human beings have the
ability to be empathetic in all of our
relationships and I know what happens
when a group of us gets together and
takes action I have no doubt that we can
intentionally make decisions with
kindness in business and we have more
than enough proof that kindness is viral
that kindness is a competitive edge and
that kindness is great for business
so join the movement and spread this
idea and do your part to put kindness
into businesses today thank you
[Applause]
Please follow and like us: