When building a startup we primarily do two things.

Solve problems and deal with people. Everything else is built around these and is intertwined.

Most of the successes and failures also come through these so it is important that we create a solid framework of dealing with them.

To solve a problem of the business as an organism, it is good to lead with logic. Logic helps when we deal with missing information, or need to fix a point of failure in the system or a product.

When dealing with people, it helps to lead with emotion, kindness, empathy, and love. Then once a connection is made bring logic into the picture.

How connection at an emotional level is important for success in dealing with people?

See, people are good inherently, and they almost always react favorably to empathy and love. For this reason alone it helps to understand empathy and make an effort to be empathetic at three levels.

We usually start with emotional empathy which is to be aware of a person’s feelings. This creates an emotional connection. When such a connection builds, a person sees us in their corner. This makes everything else easier.

Next is cognitive empathy which is our ability to understand what the other person might be thinking and how they feel. With this, we are able to communicate well because we can get a sense of what is going on in another person’s head.

And last but not the least is, compassionate empathy which is to move beyond thinking and feeling about the other person, into actually taking action to help them.

So by being empathetic at three levels, we are able to communicate well, build an emotional connection, and actually help a person by getting into action.

When we get into the zone of compassion, we start thinking about how to help your clients, colleagues, and employees. This mindset shift changes everything. Also, introduce logic when helping others with your action, and make your effort more pragmatic and useful for them.

Doing this takes practice. Are you ready for it?