Empathy Inspires… even at work!
Real #stories move people. This one is about one of my first bosses at Hindustan Unilever, where I spent several decades.
The late, Bipin Shah, Chairman of Lipton & Director of HUL. One of the most humane leaders I’ve come across.
The incident happened in the early 1970s, a decade before I joined. But I’ve heard it more than once.
At the time HLL owned a dairy at Etah that had been making losses for several years consecutively.
Bipin & a couple of others were charged with turning it around, a task at which others had not been successful.
If they failed the Company would have no option but to close down the factory.
Bipin & his team visited the factory. After the customary slide presentation, Bipin became somewhat silent & pensive.
All of a sudden, he spontaneously got up and looking at the audience intently said: ‘Around 175 people depend on this factory for their livelihood.
Each of them probably has a family of 4/5 to support. That’s over 800 people. That’s how many lives would be impacted, if the factory winds up.’
People were visibly moved and after the meeting, several expressed their firm resolve to make things work.
Bipin had given them a cause beyond themselves to work for. He’d aroused their innate empathy.
The result: two years later, the Company broke even.
Between 1984 and 1990 I had the privilege to personally witness several such incidents.
I invite you to share your perspectives and experiences in the comments.
#skillgrill #empathy #leaders #work #career #hr #jobs #coaching
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