Written by Historically, the name Richard Simmons did little more for me than conjure up Day-Glo tinted memories of spandex and pep. While familiar with him and his fitness empire, he was not a person on which I spent much time dwelling in the past decade.
That was until recently, when I joined thousands of others in being utterly captivated by “Missing Richard Simmons,” a podcast detailing the abrupt departure of Mr. Simmons from the public eye, and one man’s quest to find out why.
In the past, when Richard Simmons would come up in conversation or the news, my two most prominent thoughts were:
- His success must be tied to the fanfare surrounding him and his unique way of carrying himself.
- Who would choose him as a fitness guide when there are other, more credible-seeming guides out there and available?
What I failed to see is something that the podcast has illustrated for all those listening: his success (which is much larger than I was aware of) lies in his authentic empathy for people. He saw people through non-judgmental and caring eyes and wanted to hear their stories and help them.
It actually reminded me a lot of my dad, the founder of our company, and what made him so effective at the 75,000+ intercept interviews he did over his career. He, like Richard, had a way of immediately instilling a feeling of worth and importance in anyone with whom he interacted. This authentic and believable foundation encouraged and inspired conversations, and continues to this day. Respect and empathy are rooted in the DNA of REAL Insight, and grow with us as we continue to expand and innovate.
Brands can be authentically empathetic too, but it requires brand teams to be open, vulnerable, and receptive to interactions in environments that may seem uncomfortable or places that may not be major cities. It’s not enough to just do research. Teams need to truly see and listen to people, which is harder to do when those people are different from themselves. This is where true empathy needs to be formed, and this is where we can help.
We have developed a solution that makes this process much easier: a REAL Intuition Journey. This is a multi-touchpoint process that will help your team transition from hearing to listening and from looking to seeing. Empathy has power; let us help you harness it.
-Luke Cahill
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