The Lost Art of Caring

I was reminded of this very fact by Seth Godin's recent post.  We live in an electronic world where even typing the words "thank you" just loose something as it flies from one outbox to your inbox.

I've added the "do they care" filter to many aspects of the VC voodoo I do.   An interesting dialog usually happens when I ask "Show me you care."  Lots of people answer with "care about what", many look at me like I dropped in from Mars, and a rare few go "I care because"; launching into a non-canned but usually pretty good speech about the quality of the product, service, people, etc.  And with a good BS meter, you can usually tell what's real.

Why do you care and how do you show it? 

 

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Comments

[Braydon]

Hey Rick -

It seems to me that the core of it is about empathy. If you have empathy for your customer, then you can build and support a product that they care about in a way that has meaning for them. It's not just caring about running your business, or making a profit, it's about being human focused and customer centric.

I try to always remember that business is always about people. Even things that feel disconnected from humanity (major investment funds?) are always about people. I believe that if you're not thinking about people, and caring about connecting to them, you miss a major opportunity for success.

[John Bradford]

Hi Rick,

Does this reflect the growing interest in social entrepreneurship and investing?

Perhaps if instead of justifying a Google-beating hockey stick, we could passionately describe how our products/services/companies would make the world a better place, we'd be on to a few more winners?

The current project I'm working with is about helping kids to understand and express their strengths, and how they contribute to the whole class dynamic. Perhaps the greatest evidence of passion is not our own (working through a Bank Holiday is probably closer to obsession than passion), its from the teachers that are working with us and the kids that are discover their strengths, capacities, and aspirations.

cheers
John

[Agoracom]

I care because I made a conscious decision long ago that my business rewards will be 66% financial and 33% legacy.

The legacy aspect means I am willing to be honest enough with clients and potential clients to the point of sacrificing dollars.

Clients, potential clients and partners then look at you as a true member of the team, not just another vendor. They spread the word, your legacy gets established.

Whether I fail or succeed, they'll all agree that I cared. I can live with that.

Regards,
George