Empathy

"If I were in your shoes, I know what I would do."

Marketers can't do their jobs without understanding what a prospect wants, talks about or is interested in.

And managers (and leaders) are ineffective when they're unable to imagine life through someone else's eyes.

The problem is this: if you were in my shoes, I wouldn't be me, I would be you.

As soon as you bring your beliefs, expectations and worldview to the table, you've lost the ability to imagine what someone else would do in this situation. All you're doing is imagining what you would do.

The next time you're puzzled by the behavior of a colleague or prospect, consider the reason might have nothing to do with the situation and everything to do with who is making the decision and what they bring to it.