What does it mean to have Compassion?

What's the difference between compassion and empathy and how does this trans

late to the needs of the business? Well, empathy (and sympathy) are human tools that merely validate the existence of a fellow human's suffering or pain. However, empathy does not require any steps to intervene or take action to improve to cure the suffering or pain. Compassion is the level above empathy as it has action as its core component and its benefits reach far beyond the act itself. In today's global movements for a better society, planet, and workplace, it is becoming much easier to see those companies that are run and led by an empathy-based operating model versus those that have a compassionate operating model.

As the wise Dalia Lama said, "Compassion is not a religious business, it's a human business".

Compassion in business has the power to transform operations, boost the performance of entire teams, empower individuals, and drive incredible customer loyalty when it becomes the DNA of your organization. Compassion in business is not limited to only the act of removing the immediate suffering of a colleague, it expands to:-

• Corporate Social Responsibility

• Sustainability

• Local and global communities

• Diversity, Disability, and Inclusion

• Faith

• Customer loyalty

• Shareholder and investor value

Compassionate leadership and conscious capitalism are not a fad or a gimmick. The Harvard Business Review quoted that 'companies that practice conscious capitalism perform ten times better than companies that don't'. There are many examples of business benefits derived from a compassionate-based organization, non more explicit in its financial benefits, employee morale, and leading by example than that of Appletree, a call center business. Its CEO, John Ratliff set up a program called, "Dream On" (based on the Make A Wish foundation). Ratliff claimed that the gambit changed the culture of his company. (Call centers have a notoriously high turnover rate, largely because the employees listen to unhappy callers all day.) The Dream On program allowed employees to express compassion to each other on an everyday basis. As a result, the company’s turnover rate dropped from 97% to 33% within six months.

"We have to put effort into being honest, truthful, and compassionate towards others". Dalia Lama

The history of business has been dominated by egoic cultures, pressures, and demands. Therefore leading and managing with compassion doesn't come naturally or even easily. To reap the benefits of compassion in business requires an investment in time, which to most organizations will seem impossible and futile. But as Jeff Weiner, Executive Chairman and founder of The Compassion Project insists "Compassion time with an employee pays off in that person's much greater efficiency, productivity and effectiveness".

"In separateness lies the world's greatest misery; in compassion lies the world's true strength". Buddha

So, to have compassion in business relies on more than just being a caring individual and acting on empathy. A compassionate business needs to:-

1. have a top-down culture of compassionate leadership

2. create values that enable acts of compassion to exist without negative impacts

3. have role models in every corner of the business

4. develop close human relationships

5. create a culture of openness and support

6. align policies and processes to compassionate action

7. measure the effectiveness of compassion

We have created the 'Compati Operating Model' to help organizations, of all sizes, implement change toward a more compassionate business. To find out more, please click on the link below or call for a free consultation.