Example of Empathy in Action- KIND

After learning about the four mindsets that are critical to every Gospel-minded organization I wanted to dive more into one of the values, Seek Empathy. According to what we learned in class empathy from an organization standpoint involves the profound understanding of various stakeholders. These various stakeholders include employees, customers, investors, partners, communities, etc. This quote exemplifies what it means for an organization to seek empathy, “Empathy knocks down false assumptions and breaks stereotypes, freeing organizations to create products and services that people will use…” This connects the meaning of seeking empathy for organizations. Next, I want to dive into an example of a CEO and a company that successfully uses this mindset.

Daniel Lubetzky, is the CEO and founder of the company KIND. KIND is a healthy snack company that seeks to empower consumers to do the “kind thing”. This mission means to do the “kind thing” for your community through spreading kindness and empathy and for your body by fueling it with natural whole-foods.

One of the first reasons Lubetzky thinks business leaders can seek empathy better in their business strategy is focusing on the how you get to where your going. He believes that their day to day actions with his employees make them stronger and better because they listen respectfully and promote integrity through refusing to cut corners and achieving excellence. All while practicing kindness in every action. Lubetzky knows that by having a set of core values to guide his teams decisions and behaviors enables him to define and implement kindness. He explains how there is a great difference between being kind and not just nice. “Kindness requires honest feedback and honest feedback requires strength, and that strength is much better achieved when you have a culture where people trust each other and know what they mean well toward one another” (Lubetzky).

The last way that I noticed Lubetzky implements empathy in his business is to always look for ways to build opportunities for empathetic connection. This means within team meetings. Looking for ways to connect on personal levels with team members. This also means to be empathetic to yourself and understanding building a culture in this way is not always the easiest. I think that after learning about the mindset to seek empathy learning about Lubetzky and his practical application helped me to further understand the importance of this redemptive value.