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Applied Empathy: The New Language of Leadership
A BUSINESS INSIDER BEST BOOK
"With Applied Empathy , Michael Ventura shows us how to unlock our ability to design solutions, spark innovation, and solve tough challenges with empathy at the center."—Arianna Huffington
Michael Ventura, entrepreneur and CEO of award-winning strategy and design practice Sub Rosa, shares how empathy—the ability to see the world through someone else’s eyes—could be what your business needs to innovate, connect, and grow.
Having built his career working with iconic brands and institutions such as General Electric, Google, Nike, Warby Parker, and also The United Nations and the Obama Administration, Michael Ventura offers entrepreneurs and executives a radical new business book and way forward.
Empathy is not about being nice. It’s not about pity or sympathy either. It’s about understanding—your consumers, your colleagues, and yourself—and it’s a direct path to powerful leadership. As such, Applied Empathy presents real strategies, based on Sub Rosa’s design work and the popular class Ventura and his team have taught at Princeton University, on how to make lasting connections and evolve your business internally (your employees, culture, and product/services) as well as externally (your brand, consumers, and value).
For leaders of all levels, this groundbreaking guide lays the foundation to establish a diverse, inventive, and driven team that can meet the challenges of today’s ever-evolving marketplace. If you want to connect to the people you work with and for, you first have to understand them.
"With Applied Empathy , Michael Ventura shows us how to unlock our ability to design solutions, spark innovation, and solve tough challenges with empathy at the center."—Arianna Huffington
Michael Ventura, entrepreneur and CEO of award-winning strategy and design practice Sub Rosa, shares how empathy—the ability to see the world through someone else’s eyes—could be what your business needs to innovate, connect, and grow.
Having built his career working with iconic brands and institutions such as General Electric, Google, Nike, Warby Parker, and also The United Nations and the Obama Administration, Michael Ventura offers entrepreneurs and executives a radical new business book and way forward.
Empathy is not about being nice. It’s not about pity or sympathy either. It’s about understanding—your consumers, your colleagues, and yourself—and it’s a direct path to powerful leadership. As such, Applied Empathy presents real strategies, based on Sub Rosa’s design work and the popular class Ventura and his team have taught at Princeton University, on how to make lasting connections and evolve your business internally (your employees, culture, and product/services) as well as externally (your brand, consumers, and value).
For leaders of all levels, this groundbreaking guide lays the foundation to establish a diverse, inventive, and driven team that can meet the challenges of today’s ever-evolving marketplace. If you want to connect to the people you work with and for, you first have to understand them.
288 pages, Hardcover
Published May 22, 2018
133 people are currently reading
1686 people want to read
About the author
Michael Ventura
1 book9 followersMichael Ventura is an accomplished entrepreneur and creative director. In 2009, Michael founded Sub Rosa, a award-winning strategy and design practice that helps leaders and their organizations explore, learn, and grow. Sub Rosa's clients include a variety of Fortune 500 companies (GE, Google, Marriott, Nike), the United Nations, the Obama Administration, and some of the world's most progressive start-ups (SoFi, Warby Parker).
Michael has served as a board member and advisor to a variety of organizations including Behance (An Adobe Company), The Burning Man Project, The Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, Friends of +POOL, and the U.N.'s Tribal Link Foundation. A dynamic writer and lecturer, Michael is frequently engaged as an advisor to entrepreneurs and leaders of some of the largest corporations across the globe. He is also a visiting lecturer at Princeton University and The United States Military Academy at West Point where he teaches design thinking and his Applied Empathy curriculum. Outside of this work, Michael and his wife Caroline have co-founded the New York-based retail store Calliope, as well as its adjoining gallery And&And. In his personal time, Michael is an active practitioner of eastern and indigenous medicine, working through his private practice, Corvus Medicine, and leading workshops on how to bring these powerful traditions into a modern life and workplace.
Applied Empathy, his first book, was published by Simon & Schuster in May of 2018.
Michael has served as a board member and advisor to a variety of organizations including Behance (An Adobe Company), The Burning Man Project, The Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, Friends of +POOL, and the U.N.'s Tribal Link Foundation. A dynamic writer and lecturer, Michael is frequently engaged as an advisor to entrepreneurs and leaders of some of the largest corporations across the globe. He is also a visiting lecturer at Princeton University and The United States Military Academy at West Point where he teaches design thinking and his Applied Empathy curriculum. Outside of this work, Michael and his wife Caroline have co-founded the New York-based retail store Calliope, as well as its adjoining gallery And&And. In his personal time, Michael is an active practitioner of eastern and indigenous medicine, working through his private practice, Corvus Medicine, and leading workshops on how to bring these powerful traditions into a modern life and workplace.
Applied Empathy, his first book, was published by Simon & Schuster in May of 2018.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
December 18, 2021
Was definitely expecting more of this book!
To read about authors company and its accomplishments was kind of interesting, but I was expecting more of the actual empathy applied to the business world - which of course didn’t happened😅
Overall, it‘s just… meh
To read about authors company and its accomplishments was kind of interesting, but I was expecting more of the actual empathy applied to the business world - which of course didn’t happened😅
Overall, it‘s just… meh
March 6, 2020
I had to read this for a class and while empathy is important, this book is severely lacking. Ventura offers a lot of real world examples from his company, but very little in the way of statistics or science to back up their practices. I'm not sure how this is classified as a business book.
Other than the self-aggrandizing nature of the book, I was frustrated by how it completely misses looking at gendered differences when it comes to empathy. Women and men are socialized differently, and I would have liked to hear about that. Furthermore, it seems out of touch in some ways. I laughed out loud when the book said, "we wanted to reach out to people who really understand women's experiences, so we reached out to Victoria's Secret!" Talk about a company that is wildly disconnected from the actual lived experiences of women.
Finally, the book was a little too out there in several ways. The author talks about how he needed surgery to heal three herniated discs in his back, but he instead turned to alternative medicine and healed himself by doing tai chi. The Q&E cards are based off tarot cards. He calls himself a practitioner of indigenous medicine. How does this relate to empathy in business? I'm still not sure.
I wanted a look at empathy as applied to the business world, something that is vital in transformational leadership, but that wasn't the book I got.
Curious, I looked at Glassdoor reviews for Ventura's company, Sub Rosa. They're not great. It seems that the founder should have started by having some empathy for his employees.
Other than the self-aggrandizing nature of the book, I was frustrated by how it completely misses looking at gendered differences when it comes to empathy. Women and men are socialized differently, and I would have liked to hear about that. Furthermore, it seems out of touch in some ways. I laughed out loud when the book said, "we wanted to reach out to people who really understand women's experiences, so we reached out to Victoria's Secret!" Talk about a company that is wildly disconnected from the actual lived experiences of women.
Finally, the book was a little too out there in several ways. The author talks about how he needed surgery to heal three herniated discs in his back, but he instead turned to alternative medicine and healed himself by doing tai chi. The Q&E cards are based off tarot cards. He calls himself a practitioner of indigenous medicine. How does this relate to empathy in business? I'm still not sure.
I wanted a look at empathy as applied to the business world, something that is vital in transformational leadership, but that wasn't the book I got.
Curious, I looked at Glassdoor reviews for Ventura's company, Sub Rosa. They're not great. It seems that the founder should have started by having some empathy for his employees.
November 9, 2018
Michael Ventura is the Brene Brown of empathy. This wholistic approach to company culture, advertising, and personal responsibility will change—and motivate—workforces everywhere. An extremely well organized and helpful book.
February 1, 2020
I felt like he spent more time describing what his company did, and not enough time explaining how. Lots of reading with not a lot learned.
July 20, 2023
Started out good but somewhat veered off track at the halfway point. Lost me there.
January 21, 2019
This would be a great book for TEAM RWB bookclub and for training events. So much of what RWB is trying to do.
August 12, 2019
An absolute must read for people in business, start ups, design, organizational development.
It really looks at leadership development from the perspective of understanding, aka, empathy! Which is crucial to identifying needs and therefore meeting those needs for the people we are serving/helping.
I love the audible version, Michel narrates it himself!
It’s also a light read, a lot of stories and case studies make it easy to comprehend and follow. My favorite one is the case study about mammograms! Wow! Mind boggling!
Enjoy!
It really looks at leadership development from the perspective of understanding, aka, empathy! Which is crucial to identifying needs and therefore meeting those needs for the people we are serving/helping.
I love the audible version, Michel narrates it himself!
It’s also a light read, a lot of stories and case studies make it easy to comprehend and follow. My favorite one is the case study about mammograms! Wow! Mind boggling!
Enjoy!
August 18, 2019
empathy. something that i sometimes lack when there are so many things in my mind. and i just want to get the tasks done. if i want to empathize i need to let go of my ego. my bias. not easy but it can be done. i just need to take time to slow down my thoughts. to filter the noise. a great book on how i can apply empathy in my life. in the office. something which is used in design thinking.
December 21, 2019
A great book about the future of leadership! I just can't belive that Empathy; trying to understanding other people and their perspective, is a radical idea in the buisness world. Could have something to do with 21% of CEO's being psychopatchs (according to a study published by i.a. Washington Post), and people tend to view it as an ice cold branch where there are no place for understadning and compassion.
Well that doesn't sound realistict me. There are people also in the buisness world, and as long as you have to deal with people - Empathy is cruicial.
What Ventura and his company Sub Rosa has done is quite incredible, a fantastic approach to the world around you; "applied empathy", and a guideline to follow. Sub Rosa's sucsess stories with General Eletrics (and their mammography revolution), Nike, West Point (US Military wants applied Empathy!! Thats huge for a possible war-less future!), Pantone++ is really impressive stuff.
Well that doesn't sound realistict me. There are people also in the buisness world, and as long as you have to deal with people - Empathy is cruicial.
What Ventura and his company Sub Rosa has done is quite incredible, a fantastic approach to the world around you; "applied empathy", and a guideline to follow. Sub Rosa's sucsess stories with General Eletrics (and their mammography revolution), Nike, West Point (US Military wants applied Empathy!! Thats huge for a possible war-less future!), Pantone++ is really impressive stuff.
November 22, 2021
2.5 stars
In the last chapter there is a section where the author talks about mentors. He states that people when mentoring often listen to the person's experiences or story, and then quips off advice while sharing their own experiences or saying how they would handle the situation. The author counters with that an empathic leader offers a new and fresh perspective to the person's challenges.
I bring up this section of the book because I feel as though the author did not take his own advice. I certainly was presented different perspectives in this book, some I disregarded and some I found insightful, but every single perspective was riddled with personal stories. On one hand, I understand that stories or case studies help prove the theories he is discussing, but on the other hand I rather enjoyed the one instance where the author analyzed a company that was not his own studio's client. By the time you get to the end of the book you feel somewhat fed up with what feels like boasting, reminding us again that the studio is award-winning, and I wonder how much shorter this book would be without that boasting (it's not even that long of a book).
In the last chapter there is a section where the author talks about mentors. He states that people when mentoring often listen to the person's experiences or story, and then quips off advice while sharing their own experiences or saying how they would handle the situation. The author counters with that an empathic leader offers a new and fresh perspective to the person's challenges.
I bring up this section of the book because I feel as though the author did not take his own advice. I certainly was presented different perspectives in this book, some I disregarded and some I found insightful, but every single perspective was riddled with personal stories. On one hand, I understand that stories or case studies help prove the theories he is discussing, but on the other hand I rather enjoyed the one instance where the author analyzed a company that was not his own studio's client. By the time you get to the end of the book you feel somewhat fed up with what feels like boasting, reminding us again that the studio is award-winning, and I wonder how much shorter this book would be without that boasting (it's not even that long of a book).
August 24, 2018
More than a business book, Applied Empathy articulates empathy as an asset to the empath, and not a mere moral obligation to good [citizenry/business/neighborliness]. Too often, I see empathy used as a goad, but this is a well-penned invitation to a higher, and more effective plain.
The focus on empathy in sales is a welcomed shift from a Monroe-like emphasis in "creating desire" and other old school persuasion styles that often emphasize the worst in our collective selves — fear, anxiety, greed. Fear might be a powerful motivator, but few want to be consistently under its constraints. I love how Ventura shows that empathy leads to a focus on self actualization — and so empathy draws out the best in whom we're in relationship.
Ventura reminds us that empathy is an embodied practice, not something to only speak of or reflect upon. I hope more choose into this path. Well worth the read.
The focus on empathy in sales is a welcomed shift from a Monroe-like emphasis in "creating desire" and other old school persuasion styles that often emphasize the worst in our collective selves — fear, anxiety, greed. Fear might be a powerful motivator, but few want to be consistently under its constraints. I love how Ventura shows that empathy leads to a focus on self actualization — and so empathy draws out the best in whom we're in relationship.
Ventura reminds us that empathy is an embodied practice, not something to only speak of or reflect upon. I hope more choose into this path. Well worth the read.
June 1, 2020
If I could give a half star, I would rate this 2 1/2 stars. There’s some good insights here, and useful exercises for in depth personal and business exploration. This is the only reason I kept plowing through this book; to find the next nugget of wisdom among the vast array of personal anecdotes that seemed a bit self serving. It felt like the author had to prove to me how much he’s working on himself, which, as it turns out, just leaves me feeling like he’s got more to go.
August 15, 2019
To sell a product, you need to consider every aspect of the product itself- ie. for GE imaging machine, the terminology used, temperature, lighting, scent of room.
Play around with the idea of perspectives: personal, customer, competitor.
I thought of how most of us spend so much time trying to get a grasp on one another, but rarely do we take the time to delve deep and try to understand our own selves.
Having a greater sense of purpose is like the magnetism that keeps a compass needle pointing towards the north. With clarity of purpose, we can make choices and take actions clear-mindedly.
Sometimes “business people” and “colleagues” are real people too.
Map the aspects of your own life, and see where the intersections occur. At the heart of passion, mission, profession, vocation, you’ll find the core of aspirational self. Use your north star to orient your future decisions, ensuring that the choices you make are consistent with this ultimate aspect of your whole self and that you serve your personal pursuit of satisfaction and greater purpose.
Vulnerability comes from having the strength to know our flaws and own them when necessary. When you do this, people are able to see you for who you truly are, which gives them the confidence to share their own imperfections with you.
Play around with the idea of perspectives: personal, customer, competitor.
I thought of how most of us spend so much time trying to get a grasp on one another, but rarely do we take the time to delve deep and try to understand our own selves.
Having a greater sense of purpose is like the magnetism that keeps a compass needle pointing towards the north. With clarity of purpose, we can make choices and take actions clear-mindedly.
Sometimes “business people” and “colleagues” are real people too.
Map the aspects of your own life, and see where the intersections occur. At the heart of passion, mission, profession, vocation, you’ll find the core of aspirational self. Use your north star to orient your future decisions, ensuring that the choices you make are consistent with this ultimate aspect of your whole self and that you serve your personal pursuit of satisfaction and greater purpose.
Vulnerability comes from having the strength to know our flaws and own them when necessary. When you do this, people are able to see you for who you truly are, which gives them the confidence to share their own imperfections with you.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 17, 2022
A whole lot more boring than anticipated.
This book is not worth the read. It is poorly written and does not provide new or exciting insights into empathy or leadership. However, it is full of anecdotes that may be entertaining for some readers.
The main point is that Ventura has quite a strange understanding of what "empathy" means - for him, everything that is targeted communication at some group of people is automatically "empathic". He tells a lot of anecdotes in which he praises the insight and success of his advertisement company Syndicate Sub Rosa, but told in a way that is predictable, and does not inspire any new thinking.
This book is not worth the read. It is poorly written and does not provide new or exciting insights into empathy or leadership. However, it is full of anecdotes that may be entertaining for some readers.
The main point is that Ventura has quite a strange understanding of what "empathy" means - for him, everything that is targeted communication at some group of people is automatically "empathic". He tells a lot of anecdotes in which he praises the insight and success of his advertisement company Syndicate Sub Rosa, but told in a way that is predictable, and does not inspire any new thinking.
March 13, 2020
Michael Ventura is a great story teller and I really liked the fact that through real life examples like GE, Nike, Pantone he and his team actually walk the talk.
Offered frameworks and practical questions included at the end of each chapter, go a long way in further sharpening our emphatic skills helping readers in understanding the concept and applying it to themselves.
Empathy is a way to go!
Offered frameworks and practical questions included at the end of each chapter, go a long way in further sharpening our emphatic skills helping readers in understanding the concept and applying it to themselves.
Empathy is a way to go!
July 15, 2020
Truly seeing the world through others’ eyes is the foundation for this Business Insider best book by Michael Ventura. Ventura, founder and CEO of Sub Rosa takes a practical approach to empathy—of friends, colleagues and customers alike—through hands-on exercises and strategies at the end of each chapter. Ventura’s work resulted from his experiences with Nike, Google, Warby Parker, the Obama Administration—as well as course work he and his team delivered at Princeton. Great read!
June 18, 2023
Nothing wrong with it — and Sub Rosa is an interesting agency to learn from — but wouldn't necessarily recommend the book. Emotion By Design: Creative Leadership Lessons from a Life at Nike is similar in some ways and, in my opinion, far superior as a source of learning and inspiration.
August 7, 2018
I love how this one started because I love theory and applied stories. This book is a great tool book, especially if you want to apply the Sub Rosa methods yourself. Valuable insight, but nothing that was too new or challenging for me.
November 29, 2018
It is a simple and honest book to read that reminds us about the obvious that we all too often forget about. To say you are a citizen of humankind you have to be both human…and kind… by having sensibility and understanding of others.
May 26, 2020
Honestly, this book is really just okay. I didn’t think it was particularly eye opening in any way, but I also don’t think it was a waste of time to read. We’ll see how much of this book I carry forward with me.
August 14, 2020
Loved how pragmatic and yet heart-centered this book was. Surprising for a business book. Ventura's training in healing practices really grounded and centered what could otherwise have been another business book for me. Loved the archetypes.
November 27, 2020
Thoughtful. Helpful reframing. Useful examples.
And in desperate need of a powerful editor to bring it into coherent, mature structure.
This was the first version of potentially two interesting texts that kept getting in each other's way.
And in desperate need of a powerful editor to bring it into coherent, mature structure.
This was the first version of potentially two interesting texts that kept getting in each other's way.
Read
May 1, 2021empathy is crucial in today's modern world more than ever, we need to understand deeply people, companies, and each other in a nurturing and innovative way, understanding yourself is the first step in understanding others
November 2, 2018
Framework and reason for bringing empathy to your work and life. Powerful and practical.
December 7, 2018
Inspiring!
I've worked in advertising for 17 years and this book has given me such a fresh look on what can still be done. Wonderful!
I've worked in advertising for 17 years and this book has given me such a fresh look on what can still be done. Wonderful!
October 6, 2019
A nice retrospective of Michaels career and insight into the perspective his company takes to create successful projects.
May 18, 2020
A good, easy read - reminder on practicing empathy, particularly in business.
November 28, 2020
A bit more executive reading list than I was looking for. Good prescriptive guidance though
January 10, 2021
One of the best leadership books I’ve ever read.
September 3, 2022
3.5/5 ⭐️
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews