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Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
Wired to Care summary
Dev Patnaik and Peter Mortensen
How Companies Prosper When They Create Widespread Empathy
10 mins
Brief summary
Wired to Care by Dev Patnaik and Peter Mortensen is a business book that argues that empathy is a powerful tool for innovation and growth in the business world. It offers real-world examples and actionable advice for companies looking to put empathy at the center of their strategies.
Table of Contents
Wired to Care
Summary of 5 key ideas
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Key idea 1 of 5
Companies need an empathetic connection to their customers in order to do well.
Ever attended a meeting where you’re trying to make an important product decision based purely on statistics and forecasts? A lot of us have been there. In the business world it’s common to reduce all information into manageable chunks of data.
The danger of this is that oversimplified, compiled information neglects a crucial aspect: the connection to customers.
To make sound decisions, you need a real life link to the people it will affect, and you need to be able to feel how they will feel. That is, you need empathy.
Empathy allows you to know what your customers really want.
For example, when the idea of an animal kingdom theme park was first proposed at Disney, the company seemed uninterested, as the data showed they were unlikely to profit from it. So executive Joe Rohde introduced some empathy to the situation: he brought a Bengal tiger into the room. The Disney’s executives immediately saw the appeal of wild animals and the idea got the green light. When the park opened, it became one of the most popular in the country, drawing in over 8.9 million visitors a year.
But if empathy is so vital for businesses, why do so many consciously remove the connections?
As a company expands and becomes more successful, it loses touch with the everyday customers it once represented. Where staff once cared about their product and customers, they now get bogged down in strategy meetings and trend reports.
For instance, when Jell-O recorded a drop in sales, executives pored over the matter for hours using data from quantitative research. Yet, when asked, nobody in the room had actually eaten Jell-O in the past six months. So how could they possibly put themselves in their customer’s shoes?
So now you know that empathy works for business, in the following blinks you will find out how to use it.
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Key ideas in Wired to Care
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What is Wired to Care about?
Modern businesses seem to rely more on mounds of data and trend reports than on the needs and desires of actual customers. Wired to Care shows how businesses can use empathy to make connections with customers and discover what they really want. At a company-wide level, this kind of empathy leads to growth, and it can be a game changer for individual employees.
Wired to Care Review
Wired to Care (2009) explores the power of empathy in transforming businesses. Here's why this book is worth reading:
- It offers compelling case studies and research, showing how companies that prioritize empathy create stronger connections with customers and drive innovation.
- Not just theory, but actionable strategies are provided, enabling readers to apply empathy in their own organizations and make a positive impact.
- With its relatable examples and insights into human behavior, the book brings empathy to life and ensures an engaging and thought-provoking read.
Best quote from Wired to Care
We dont spend a lot of time talking about what consumers want. So far as were concerned, we are them and they are us. – Lara Lee, Harvey Davidsons former head of service
—Dev Patnaik and Peter Mortensen
Who should read Wired to Care?
- Anyone who feels that business is removed from peoples’ lives
- Product designers and marketers
- Anyone interested in alternative approaches to business
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Wired to Care FAQs
What is the main message of Wired to Care?
The main message of Wired to Care is that empathy and understanding customer needs are crucial for business success.
How long does it take to read Wired to Care?
The reading time for Wired to Care varies depending on the reader's speed. However, you can read the Blinkist summary in just a few minutes.
Is Wired to Care a good book? Is it worth reading?
Wired to Care is worth reading as it provides valuable insights on how to create customer-centric organizations and foster empathy.
Who is the author of Wired to Care?
The authors of Wired to Care are Dev Patnaik and Peter Mortensen.
What to read after Wired to Care?
If you're wondering what to read next after Wired to Care, here are some recommendations we suggest:
- The Self-Made Billionaire Effect by John Sviokla and Mitch Cohen
- Saving Aziz by Chad Robichaux with David L. Thomas
- Testing Business Ideas by David J. Bland and Alexander Osterwalder
- Free Speech by Jacob Mchangama
- Elevate by Joseph Deitch
- Moore’s Law by Arnold Thackray
- Discipline Is Destiny by Ryan Holiday
- Boost! by Michael Bar-Eli
- Licence to be Bad by Jonathan Aldred
- Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull with Amy Wallace
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