Empathy & Innovation: Now We’re Talking!

On the heels of a recent manifesto about the death of user-centered innovation comes an excellent piece in Business Week about the fundamentals of innovation:

Innovation is about growth, and growth takes empathy, creativity, and execution. Empathy, on an organizational scale, is a shared intuition for what people outside the company really need and value.

I could explain it, but Dev Patnaik does a fine job himself:

For individuals, empathy affords the ability to step outside their own perspective to see the world as other people do. For organizations, empathy is a shared intuition for the people who buy your products and services. That goes far beyond market research. Companies that create a widespread sense of empathy for the people they serve see new opportunities faster, have the courage to take a risk on new ideas, and make better decisions on all levels.

I urge you to read it, and see the path on which innovation will really take off in the coming decade.