Empathy Is Not Optional
Inspired by Seth Godin episode
Seth Godin's blunt take—empathy is the strategy, not a nice-to-have—applies to product work and to parenting tiny unreasonable humans.
Seth Godin doesn't negotiate on empathy. It's not a nice-to-have. It's not something you do after you've gotten your strategy sorted. Empathy IS the strategy. If you can't see what your customer actually experiences, you're building nothing.
Your toddler is having a complete breakdown because their banana broke in half. You're standing there thinking: it's a banana. It's literally the same banana. We can still eat it. This is insane. That's logic talking. Logic has never once resolved a banana crisis.
Empathy is different. To them, this is a genuine catastrophe. They wanted the banana whole. The banana is now broken. Their entire vision for this snack has been destroyed. You don't have to agree it's a tragedy. You just have to understand it feels like one to them.
That's empathy. Not agreement. Understanding their reality so you can meet them there. "You wanted it whole and now it's broken. That's really frustrating." Empathy first. Solutions distant second. Turns out Seth knew what he was talking about.
