The art of compassionate business

[Music]

a long time ago i read an article titled

the human moments at work

in this article there were cases of

employees who are sending

voice messages and emails to one another

and there were a lot of

misunderstandings

abrasiveness and doubtfulness in this

communication this was because of the

use of this technology that did not

allow

employees to show their body language

and emotions

overtly the author of this article

suggested that there should be more

human moments at work moments where

employees can connect on a mental

and emotional level and they can develop

trust

and cooperation bonds i was intrigued

about this and i wanted to know more

i started the long process of research

which was coordinated by my new book

the art of compassionate business

throughout this process

i asked myself a very important question

is love an important factor for business

activities

you might think about love in a

sentimental way love that you feel for

your family

your partner your friends but here i am

talking about a much

wider connotation of love a more

humanistic one

which include compassion empathy support

care affection generosity gratitude

and this can apply to business

relationships and non-vicious ones

montague observed love is one of the

most important human needs

like food hamilton observed that we are

naturally hardwired to behave in a

loving manner

griffey top said that we are

instinctively inclined to behave

in a loving and supportive manner my

definition of

love is quite simple is the natural

enhancer of any human quality

is the allower of meaningful

communication

is the pacifier of any relationship

conflict

and is the most important factor of any

relationship

business ones a non-business one

when i present this topic to my clients

at work

my student at university and one of my

publishers they look at me with the eyes

wide open

they stare at me surprised they told me

bruno there are no loving companies

there are no compassionate companies

i know i understand there are many

well-ingrained assumptions which support

the fact

that many companies do not behave in a

loving manner

they just look for profits you might

have seen companies that

fire employees mercilessly companies

that

exploit employees companies that deceive

company that pollute environment

contributing negatively to global

warming

and companies that develop win-lose

agreement with suppliers

and other business partners these are

not examples of loving companies

besides many companies are not so keen

on pursuing love in their business

activities

they are more keen on pursuing what we

call key performance indicators

such as profitability productivity and

efficiency

they’re not so interested in love

many companies tend to focus on

quantitative aspect of business but can

be measured what can be counted

such as profits market shares sales

they are not so interested in

qualitative aspect of business

what cannot be measured what cannot be

counted

such as companionship camaraderie

affection compassion and many companies

tend to use

words connected to the military

discipline

such as a strategy tactics

they are not so interested in using

words connected to

love affection compassion

on the other side there are arguments

for the relationship between love and

business activities

daniel government observed that there is

a phenomenon called

emotional contention according to this

specialist when a person feels an

emotion

for example affection toward others this

person tends to infect others with this

emotion

and they tend to experience the same

emotional state

and act accordingly why does this happen

because we have in our brains mirror

neurons

which replicate the emotional states

experienced by others who interact with

this specialist also observes love

compassion empathy

are connected to the concept of

emotional intelligence

which implies recognizing our own

emotions

and expressing them overtly and wisely

and also developing

more loving more compassionate

relationship with others

in business there is a principle called

interdependent that was mentioned by

covey according to this principle

no company can succeed on its own no

company can thrive by itself

to succeed companies need the support

from buyers

suppliers employees community members

we call these stakeholders individuals

and groups with interest in our

organization

so when a company treats its

stakeholders in a loving way

which means developing win-win

relationship with them

these stakeholders tend to support our

company

in an unconditional way so treating

others in a loving way contribute to the

development of much more loving

much warmer work environment and

business environment

varsa and o’neill observe that a work

environment which is loving

tend to bring about higher employee

satisfaction higher customer

satisfaction

lower employees and lower lower employee

absenteeism and lower stress levels

all these indicators impact positively

on the bottom line

which means profits are there an example

of loving companies

ups the global career company is an

example of a lamping company

this company is loving with environment

because

it reduces carbon dioxide emission which

pollute the environment

but this company is also loving with its

employees

it’s part-time employees because it’s

helping them take up

college courses lush

the company that sells cosmetic products

natural cosmetic products is an example

of a loving company

this company is loving with this

customer because it’s providing its

customers with

natural products made from fresh organic

fruits and vegetables

another example of a loving company is

thomas

a company which sells shoes this company

is loving with

communities because this company has

been donating

millions of shoes to communities when a

company treats its employees in a loving

way

which means requiring them to work a

reasonable number of hours

recognizing their contribution paying a

fair salary these employees will tend to

go the extra mile

they will tend to support the company in

an unconditional way

instead when employees are not treated

in a loving way these employees will

tend to

look for other job opportunities

elsewhere if possible

or if not they will work by the book

when a company treats

its customer in a laughing way which

means helping them

decide the best product for them this

customer will tend to come back

and may even recommend this company to

others instead when customers are not

treated in a loving way

this customer will tend to switch from

this organization to other organizations

when a company treats its suppliers in a

loving way

which means developing win-win agreement

with the suppliers

this supplier will tend to support the

company when needed

instead when suppliers are not treated

in a loving way

these supplies might even break up the

relationship with this company

and when a company treats its community

in a loving way

which means donating resources training

community members

this community will tend to support the

company when needed

instead when a company does not treat

the community in a loving way

this community may even boycott the

company products and services

so it’s important to highlight the

relationship between love

and business activities and this is

connected to the concept of

the triple bottom line which means

companies should care

for profits which are very important

companies should care for people

individuals

customer suppliers community members

and employees and companies should care

for the planet

for instance being environmentally

friendly using renewable sources of

energy

recycling many companies wrongly focus

improving key performance indicators

such as profitability

productivity efficiency instead of

developing more loving

more supportive relationships with these

stakeholders and this is the wrong

approach

why because we have to understand that

these key performance indicators

are always the natural result of the

interaction between a company

and its stakeholders therefore when a

company develop more

laughing relationship with their

stakeholders these key performance

indicators

profitability productivity efficiency

tend to improve in a natural way

i hope that you like this idea and you

spread it widely

and i want to leave you with a question

for you to ask yourself

how can i be more loving how can i be

more supportive

in my work environment how can i be more

loving

in the business environment thank you

very much

[Music]

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