Wired to Care
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
A veteran business strategist and adjunct faculty member at Stanford Univ., Patnaik explores the role of empathy in successful companies, producing a thoughtful, practical meditation on the power of walking in someone else’s shoes. Though he utilizes examples from his work with Harley Davidson, Cisco and Nike, his skills in the classroom get a good showcase too, with lessons on history and biology, as well as revealing exercises from his class (called Needfinding) with “aha” revelations like: “For thousands of years, people made things for other people they knew”; it was the Industrial Revolution that divided producer from consumer. Essentially, Patnaik proposes that a successful company must cross that divide and learn about their customers’ needs by interacting with, understanding and, in some cases, hiring them. Incorporating some familiar ideas–the power of “framing,” the golden rule–Patnaik manages to keep his text fresh and brisk, making this a cagey but compassionate guide for execs and business students. (Publishers Weekly, Jan.)
Product Description
In this essential and illuminating book, top business strategist Dev Patnaik tells the story of how organizations of all kinds prosper when they tap into a power each of us already has: empathy, the ability to reach outside of ourselves and connect with other people. When people inside a company develop a shared sense of what’s going on in the world, they see new opportunities faster than their competitors. They have the courage to take a risk on something new. And they have the gut-level certitude to stick with an idea that doesn’t take off right away. People are "Wired to Care," and many of the world’s best organizations are, too.
In pursuit of this idea, Patnaik takes readers inside big companies like IBM, Target, and Intel to see widespread empathy in action. But he also goes to farmers' markets and a conference on world religions. He dives deep into the catacombs of the human brain to find the biological sources of empathy. And he spends time on both sides of the political aisle, with James Carville, the Ragin’ Cajun, and John McCain, a national hero, to show how empathy can give you the acuity to cut through a morass of contradictory information.
Wired to Care is a compelling tale of the power that people have to see the world through each other’s eyes, told with passion for the possibilities that lie ahead if leaders learn to stop worrying about their own problems and start caring about the world around them. As Patnaik notes, in addition to its considerable economic benefits, increasing empathy for the people you serve can have a personal impact, as well: It just might help you to have a better day at work.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Hardcover
The central theme is very valid but doesn't really take such a long book to make the point. I found it drawn out and repetitive. By contrast, the blog is punchier and naturally more up to date
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
How to discover unseen opportunities by developing an empathic relationship with the world
2 Nov 2010
Format:Hardcover
To what does the title of this book refer? Together with Peter Mortensen, Dev Patnaik suggests at least a portion of the answer when posing several questions in the Introduction: "How can we nurture the instinct that all human beings have to walk in other people's shoes? How can we, in turn, create a wider sense of empathy to connect larger organizations to the world around them? And how can we leverage that widespread empathy to be an engine for growth and change?" It soon becomes obvious that after accumulating a wealth of real-world first-hand experience, Patnaik wrote this book to share what he observed and the lessons he learned from what he experienced.
It is unclear to me where (a) he set out to validate his faith in the power of empathy (i.e. "the ability to step outside yourself and see the world as others do") or (b) he arrived at that conclusion only after acquiring substantial empirical evidence. Either way, Patnaik asserts that that "the problem with business today is nit a lack of innovation; it's a lack of empathy." Moreover, for many of the world's greatest companies, [empathy] is an ever-present but rarely-talked about engine for growth." I agree to the extent that empathy is not defined in terms of warm and fuzzy feelings gushing out from the bleeding heart of a sappy sentimentalist.
In his book The Opposable Mind, Roger Martin explains how and why what he characterizes as "integrative thinking" can help us make much better decisions. That is, "the predisposition and the capacity to hold two [or more] diametrically opposed ideas" in one's head and then "without panicking or simply settling for one alternative or the other," be able to "produce a synthesis that is superior to either opposing idea." I think this is what Patnaik has in mind when urging his reader to "tap into the power that every one of us already has - the ability to reach outside of ourselves and connect with other people," to "see the world through the eyes of other people."
Patnaik and Mortensen carefully organize their material within three Parts. First, they makes a case for empathy (i.e. what it is...and isn't, why it is potentially so important to organizations and even countries as well as to individuals); then they explain how to create and sustain "Widespread Empathy" between and among people, whatever the nature and extent of perceived differences may be; and finally, they focus on the results of empathic values and behavior (i.e. e.g. circumspection and intelligence, social and economic impact, mutual trust and respect, increased appreciation of one's self as well as of others). Throughout the ten chapters that precede the book's conclusion, Patnaik and Mortensen demonstrate "how empathy can be a driving force to develop more prosperous, more ethical, and more enduring companies."
Then in the final chapter, they assert that empathy "also has the power to help us see how we can change for the better...Empathy can awaken us to the power that we have to change the course of everyday life. But only if we're willing to step outside of our own preconceptions and see the world through other people's eyes." To that I presume to add my own hope that others will also be willing to step outside their own preconceptions and see the world through our eyes. Perhaps all that is needed is setting a proper example. If not now, when?
It is unclear to me where (a) he set out to validate his faith in the power of empathy (i.e. "the ability to step outside yourself and see the world as others do") or (b) he arrived at that conclusion only after acquiring substantial empirical evidence. Either way, Patnaik asserts that that "the problem with business today is nit a lack of innovation; it's a lack of empathy." Moreover, for many of the world's greatest companies, [empathy] is an ever-present but rarely-talked about engine for growth." I agree to the extent that empathy is not defined in terms of warm and fuzzy feelings gushing out from the bleeding heart of a sappy sentimentalist.
In his book The Opposable Mind, Roger Martin explains how and why what he characterizes as "integrative thinking" can help us make much better decisions. That is, "the predisposition and the capacity to hold two [or more] diametrically opposed ideas" in one's head and then "without panicking or simply settling for one alternative or the other," be able to "produce a synthesis that is superior to either opposing idea." I think this is what Patnaik has in mind when urging his reader to "tap into the power that every one of us already has - the ability to reach outside of ourselves and connect with other people," to "see the world through the eyes of other people."
Patnaik and Mortensen carefully organize their material within three Parts. First, they makes a case for empathy (i.e. what it is...and isn't, why it is potentially so important to organizations and even countries as well as to individuals); then they explain how to create and sustain "Widespread Empathy" between and among people, whatever the nature and extent of perceived differences may be; and finally, they focus on the results of empathic values and behavior (i.e. e.g. circumspection and intelligence, social and economic impact, mutual trust and respect, increased appreciation of one's self as well as of others). Throughout the ten chapters that precede the book's conclusion, Patnaik and Mortensen demonstrate "how empathy can be a driving force to develop more prosperous, more ethical, and more enduring companies."
Then in the final chapter, they assert that empathy "also has the power to help us see how we can change for the better...Empathy can awaken us to the power that we have to change the course of everyday life. But only if we're willing to step outside of our own preconceptions and see the world through other people's eyes." To that I presume to add my own hope that others will also be willing to step outside their own preconceptions and see the world through our eyes. Perhaps all that is needed is setting a proper example. If not now, when?
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Executives often know little about the people who buy their companies' products and services. This is not surprising. To study people, you must care about them. However, most companies eliminate empathy from their operations. In essence, they proceed as if they have calculating, survival-bent reptile brains. Profits drive everything. This is an odd disconnect because corporate livelihoods depend on people - not lizards - and people's brains are hardwired to be empathetic. Dev Patnaik (writing with Peter Mortensen) shows why firms that connect empathetically with their customers do better financially. He insists today's cold-hearted, bottom-line business world has room for caring companies, and he points to IBM, Nike and Harley-Davidson as examples. The fact that empathy is also a strong business strategy is icing on the cake. getAbstract suggests this fine book to CEOs, marketing officers and other executives who want to build their business by acting on their respect for their customers. As Patnaik explains on his blog, "Empathy isn't about having a visionary leader. It's about making customer information an easy, everyday and experiential part of working at your company."
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