• You have to consider your target audience as consumers AND people
• You need your employees to bring their subject matter expertise AND their humanity to their work
• You need to resolve business challenges without the “either or” tradeoff, but rather the unexpected “AND” solution.

I was reminded of this very important fact when I was reading Fortune Magazine’s August article entitled “Humans are Underrated”.  As the author talked about how Robots will likely not be able to replace the most human of professions, and frankly all professions could do with a bit of humanity, I realized that design thinking is one of the ways that we bring that sensibility into business today.  We solve a problem AND we fulfill a deep human need at the same time.  We reach out to potential customers as customers AND as people.  The empathy muscle that is built through design thinking work helps us to see innovative and novel approaches AND to do so in a way that is more human. Job security?  Be more human. Cindy

Take Action

Look at your top talent.  Are they strong in the interpersonal & empathy skills that will enable them to help your business thrive?  Consider how you will build that muscle in them. Consider talent that you might be overlooking that already demonstrates this skill.  Create a plan to develop, value and hone this skill in your team.