It’s estimated that 35% of the world’s top 10,000 companies waste nearly 40% of their daily routines on bureaucracy, bad excuses, red tape, and — my favorite– hanging out with “zombies.”
Common sense needs a comeback and we need to remove those zombies.
When I work with marketing leaders and C-Suite executives during a workshop, keynote, or coaching session, I often describe what happens when you let these “zombies” – projects that nobody is willing to kill off – just roam the halls, eating up valuable time and resources. They are nourished by indecision, bureaucracy, fear of failure (or looking bad), and a desire for status quo.
That’s why it’s very refreshing to see marketing leaders face these productivity and customer intimacy demons.
For example, I worked with one technology CMO recently. He and his global marketing team uncovered several zombies — such as over-complicated CRM reports and poor communications with certain sales regions. These were preventing them from investing in targeted live events and lead generation programs. We freed up their energy and they quickly discovered new opportunities valued at $7M. We worked together to ensure those zombies were gone for good.
One of the masters of restoring common sense (and removing the zombies) is my friend Martin Lindstrom. He joined me for my recent episode of the Mindful Marketer Life Stream, Martin shared how it’s possible to tackle bureaucracy (and zombies!), apply empathy, and restore common sense into our organizations.
Martin just published his 8th book, The Ministry of Common Sense, and is the founder and chairman of Lindstrom Company. He and his team operate across five continents and more than 30 countries. He’s also been named one of TIME Magazine’s “World’s 100 Most Influential People.”
Here are highlights from our lively conversation:
09:44 – How are empathy and common sense connected?
10:38 – What the founder of IKEA can teach us about empathy and the customer.
15:46 – Where does empathy fit in the corporate world and in leadership?
20:35 – What are “culture glasses” and why does every marketer need a pair?
25:19 – How can you avoid “technological muddle-headedness?”
30:38 – How can you break away from old beliefs and barriers that block innovative thinking and smooth customer interactions?
42:42 – Three things we can do to assess empathy in potential new hires
These insights prove that empathy can restore common sense, customer delight, and our optimism for a stronger post-COVID future.
Tune in to Lisa’s Mindful Marketer LinkedIn Live series the first 3 Fridays of each month at 1:30pm ET. Click here to see upcoming events, as well as watch replays of past episodes.