Caring's Future Empires

In competition,
caring has a dual reputation.
Caring is a can't miss topic
for feel good festivals,
salons and earthy gatherings.
It keeps the vulnerability manageable.
 
Some businesses are ruthless competitors.
But visit their about me page and
their mission statement heralds a new age of caring
and tech enlightenment.
Between loving their dogs and local sports teams,
you might wonder if they're talking about someone else.
 
When caring feels false,
it feels like a press release.
When it rings true,
it creates friendships for life.
 
Will you do an imagination exercise with me?
You don’t need to write anything.
If yes, please keep reading:
 
 
Think about a human being 
you care very deeply about.
You must know them personally
and they know you.
They must be
alive on this planet
in this moment right now.
 
Really let how much you care about that person
rise to the surface.
Feel how much you care.
 
Now for 1 minute, go walk to a mirror and look at your eyes.
while you're thinking about that person and then come back.
Scroll down when you're done.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
You're different when you care.
Way more powerful.
What you pay attention to expands at times.
Like a bucket collecting rainwater
everything gets saved to be of help later.
 
Or what you pay attention to can narrow
to the tiniest, almost imperceptible change.
A hesitation in the voice of a doctor
calling with a family member's results.
Someone coming home unusually early
or a client agreeing to a sale maybe too quickly.
And that quick frictionless "yes"
might quietly brace you for the
promised payment never arriving.
 
Caring creates a great presence.
When it's absent, some people hesitate.
Caring about the client
can create crater sized gaps
when you don't.
 
Think of what your eyes look like
when you care deeply about someone.
Now think of what they look like when you don't.
Is there a difference?
If you can see it, so can they.
 
They'll see it in your eyes,
hear it in your voice,
when you used to respond faster
and now every step forward
is mired in delays that you can't control.
 
Soon enough,
the unforeseen delays are contagious
and now there are distances
that can't be overcome on their side.
 
What happened?
Everything was going great.
 
When you look at your business,
there are dashboards filled with metrics.
And you may track them like a hawk.
 
There's some tech that does
sentiment analysis which is as funny as it sounds.
 
You know those studies that say
when you write something down you remember it better?
The real progress doesn't show on the paper.
It's in there with you wherever you go.
 
Business is a hierarchy of emotions.
Someone paints a line in the middle of the road
and people take driving lessons not to crash their cars.
Contracts, spreadsheets and bank accounts help
people remember where they last left off.
 
When you see the fragility,
you'll see the value of caring.
 
Otherwise,
keep your spreadsheets and
dashboard handy. :)
 
 Robert