The whole of design thinking\/human-centered design\/service design is built on the foundation of empathy: we\u2019re taught that we must take our first step in any change initiative by engaging with people: stakeholders, customers, citizens, co-workers. We do that through empathy work. In the end, the only way we can evaluate whether we\u2019ve delivered any positive significant change is by measuring the value we\u2019ve delivered. We also do that through empathy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, what\u2019s the problem? For a while now I\u2019ve observed how many organizations wallow in the insights, quotes and descriptions of people delivered in the empathy work. It\u2019s not so much that they are interested in what other people experience, even if it directly impacts their work. It\u2019s rather that they relish, indulge, and luxuriate<\/em> in their own personal and group ability to feel what someone else is feeling<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe really feel like we know our customers.\u201d \u201cIt feels like we really have our finger on the pulse of our users.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n These are just some of the direct quotes I hear. I\u2019ve started calling this Empathy Porn<\/strong> since the main benefit of this exercise seems to be self-fulfillment, a brief personal experience of ecstasy at one\u2019s own ability to feel something besides one\u2019s own feelings. It even becomes a group exercise, where the group pats itself on the back and touts the group\u2019s ability to feel, together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What I also see is that too many design and innovation initiatives start and end with empathy reports, we call these Needs Assessments or Insight Reports, which never lead to any significant change or actions. They simply gather digital dust in some folder on some server. I think this is a result of empathy porn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It reminds me of another word: emoting. And when I see this happen, I always think about an old Star Trek episode: The Empath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo much of what I\u2019ve heard is exactly what I feel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n