Empathy vs. Algorithms: Why AI Can’t Replace the Human Touch in Business with Bryan Kramer

Artificial intelligence is shaping the business world. But can AI replace the human element and override the need for human input in business? Our guest today has some interesting thoughts on the topic.

Meet Bryan Kramer. Bryan is the CEO of H2H Companies, an executive coaching company, and co-owner of PureMatter, a Silicon Valley marketing agency. He’s a renowned business strategist, global keynote speaker, executive trainer and coach, two-time bestselling author, and Forbes contributor. Bryan’s first book, “There Is No B2B or B2C: It’s Human to Human H2H,” sparked some intriguing conversations among business leaders and started a global movement about how to be more human. The premise of the book is set out to humanize business through simpler communication, empathy, and celebrating our imperfections.

Bryan believes that with the right strategy, you can make your business human-to-human and keep up with the ever-evolving digital world.

In this episode of the Think Business with Tyler podcast, we talk about the power of strategy, why AI cannot replace some business processes, why empathy matters in business, and the importance of being genuine.

If you want to learn more about the human-centric approach in business, tune into this episode to hear what Bryan has to say.

Guest-At-A-Glance

💡 Name: Bryan Kramer

💡 What he does: He’s an executive coach for directors, executives, and entrepreneurs.

💡 Noteworthy: Bryan is a published book author. His first book is called There Is No B2B or B2C: It’s Human to Human H2H, and the second one is Shareology: How Sharing is Powering the Human Economy.

💡 Key Quote: “The important piece here is that we’re taking our time to understand where we can have more human moments, where are we best utilizing these human touchpoints that will make a difference in somebody else’s life.”

💡 Where to find Bryan: LinkedIn

Key Insights

Set aside time for strategy. Strategy is a crucial aspect of business, especially given the accelerated digitalization and digital transformation. Even when life gets busy, and you get overwhelmed by the demands of running your business, it’s vital to find time for strategic thinking and planning. Bryan explains, “The biggest thing is making sure that you set aside time for strategy. I think it’s often the most underutilized time, and we’re often so focused on doing the things, managing employees or creating marketing or creating sales or going and worrying about the things that need to be done today, tomorrow, next year, and even future tripping about what you’re not doing.”

Make your business human-centric. While it’s true that technology can help gather data-driven insights and improve some business practices, it can’t replace strategic thinking and planning. That’s why the best approach for your business is a human-to-human model. Bryan believes we need to be more human-centric in marketing and business in general. He says, “What we need to be focused on is the human things, which is strategy and planning. And when we can do those things better, then we’re going to have a better company, we’re going to have a better system, we’re going to have more time back eventually. It doesn’t feel like it upfront, but it does give you more time back.”

Empathy is essential. Not only is empathy important for personal well-being, but it’s also a vital aspect of business growth and success. If you want to build a sustainable and strong business, you need to focus on empathy development among your employees and customers. Bryan explains, “Empathy is not going away. Empathy is the number one ingredient for what helps us connect, what makes us want to gravitate towards each other. Empathy makes us feel listened to, it helps us to feel understood. Without empathy, we push away. We go in the opposite direction.”

The importance of being genuine. Being genuine is more and more important in today’s world. Humans crave real connections with others, so it’s essential to be as authentic as possible in your approach. Bryan says, “I prefer the word genuine over authentic because of what you just said. And you’re not wrong, we throw authenticity around. And I believe that the true nature of when you’re actually being authentic is necessary. Because it became such a buzzword, then I’m like, okay, well, let’s go with genuine because you can tell. You can really tell when somebody’s being truly authentic or truly genuine.”

Top Quotes

“In the age of AI, let’s be honest, what’s coming, it’s strategies the thing that will be most needed because a lot of things will be more routine.”

“Ever since that time, it’s really been technology and humans working together, not versus humans. And so the important piece here is that we’re taking our time to understand where we can have more human moments, where are we best utilizing these human touchpoints that will make a difference in somebody else’s life.”

“We’re becoming more on demand, and we want things now.”

“When things are too perfect, or at least they feel too fake, let’s call it fake, we don’t like that. We don’t like fake. We like imperfect.”

“That’s one of the pillars of H2H that I wrote about is imperfection. The other two is simplicity and empathy.”

“If I say it every day, I get more of it. It’s an abundance of more of that, and I want more connection and I want more engagement with my friends, my family, and with myself. And so having repetitive things that you’re grateful for, by all means, have it every day. Be grateful for that same thing. And then one day, if you have something new and you want to add it in, add it in. But don’t worry if it’s repetitive. Be repetitive. It’s the repetition of just reminding yourself of what you are grateful for.”

Links

There is No B2B or B2C: It’s Human to Human #H2H

Shareology: How Sharing is Powering the Human Economy

Personal Website