Creating Competitive Advantage With Empathy
Some think Barnes & Noble has little chance of surviving against the mighty Amazon. Quiet frankly I did too… until I discovered their values.
Barnes & Noble promote the following 7 core values:
- Customer Service
- Quality
- Empathy
- Respect
- Integrity
- Responsibility.
- Teamwork
Six of these values are common to other Fortune 500 companies (Barnes & Noble is #381 on the list). These are fine values. Just nothing that sets them apart.
But one value is different: Empathy.
A Unique View on Empathy
As a differentiating value, Empathy means understanding and entering into another’s feelings; or compassionate.
Most business leaders view empathy as a “soft” value. It’s difficult to measure, and it deals with the gooey stuff of feelings. It also leaves a lot of room to interpretation.
- When is compassion too much?
- At what point do you cross the line and enter into someone’s personal space?
- What if someone doesn’t want it?
However, Barnes & Noble looks at empathy differently. They define it as follows:
We show that we care for each other through our decisions, actions and words, and commit to praising and thanking one another for work well done. We show that we care about our customers and are thankful to be booksellers and positively impact the communities in which we live through the arts, literacy and education.
Fascinating…
Barnes & Noble asks their employees to praise each other and thank them for work well done. Wow!
What a great way to establish an uncommon culture in business. All that is required is defining a specific behavior every person is expected to do.
Making a Difference
Can one value make a big difference? Absolutely!
A few years ago I wrote a post about the power of empathy in business: How hiring for Empathy saved many lives. When The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai, India was under attack by terrorists, the hotel guests were very grateful to the employees for saving their lives.
These employees went above and beyond to protect their guests and led them to safety, even risking their own lives. Why did the employees behave this way? Because hotel leaders used empathy as the single criteria for selecting and hiring employees.
So when Barnes & Noble is under attack from Amazon or any other competitor, don’t be surprised if it’s their employees who save the day.
What other companies use empathy to create competitive advantage?
Today’s value was selected from the “Appreciation-Kindness” category, based on the e-book Developing Your Differentiating Value.
