👋 Hi friends,

Big question, isn’t it?

What’s the first thing that comes to your mind?

I’m not sure if there’s one answer. I’m curious to know what comes to your mind.

What I’ve heard so far is a range of differentiators…

“Humans are capable of hope”

“Humans can stand upright on two legs”

“Humans are aware that someday they will die.”

“Humans are capable of love.”

“Humans have compassion”

Back in the day, I would have ventured that empathy was the thing separating us from other species but scientists have found that many other species exhibit forms of empathy.

This topic has come up from my friend and fellow empathy leader Maria Ross. Maria has written two books on empathy in the workplace and regularly speaks and coaches executives. She also has a podcast, now in its 6^th year, The Empathy Edge. We’ve been looking for ways to collaborate and have decided to create a limited podcast “sub-series” on her Empathy Edge podcast.  We will be going deep into this issue and look at the different aspects of what it means to be human, especially in the age of AI.

It’s in part a follow-up to the last edition of this newsletter and how emotional intelligence isn’t available within AI’s programming.  And I’m not really sure it can be.  Which raises the question – if something is making decisions for us without feeling the emotional weight of the decision - what does that mean for us?

Whether it’s a quick reaction or a longer paragraph, Maria and I would like to hear your thoughts on “what does it mean to you to be human?”

Leave your thoughts in the comments below, or email me [email protected].

Thanks in advance, I look forward to hearing from you!  (And I’ll be sure to share the podcast mini-series when it drops later this spring!)

I got to spend the week in Chicago for the recent Quirk’s Chicago marketing research conference.  It was super awkward and uncomfortable being back at the hotel where the slip and fall happened a year ago, breaking my kneecap.  The lobby space seemed a lot smaller on this visit but then I realized the last time I had seen it I was lying flat on my back having just fallen.

What was wonderful was seeing so many friendly, caring faces and getting to catch up. For some reason I rarely take selfies with my colleagues at Dig but I hope to change that at the next show.  Here are some of the many faces (some of whom are regular readers of this newsletter – thank you!) I got to spend time with.

And Charles joined and we got to spend a couple days with close friends exploring Chicago.

Most of the week felt like a warm hug, which was exactly what I needed.

I think part of being human is the chosen community we are able to curate. Beyond immediate family, we form bonds with people where we have something in common. Whether professional or personal or that blurry transition from one to the other and the in-between, your chosen family is where you feel safe, secure and seen. And know that they have your back.

You may have noticed in the last issue my obsession with the Artemis II moon mission. It intensified as the week went on and I left NASA’s You Tube stream up on the TV for all my waking hours.  Two days before splashdown, on the return to Earth, I happened to witness Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen yawning in the capsule. 

And it made me yawn.

From 175,000 miles away. 

That couldn’t be right.

I backed the stream up and rewatched it.

I yawned again.

A third time and I pulled out my phone to record it, made a short video and posted it to various social media, explaining in the caption how this is an example of an involuntary empathic response. Our mirror neurons are activating. We see someone yawn and it prompts us to yawn.  Similar to emotional empathy when we are feeling what someone else is feeling.

On Instagram, my post went viral.

Well, maybe semi-viral, it’s at 212k views, which for me, is a lot.

(and if you aren’t on Instagram, here’s the video on You Tube Shorts)

And then the comments started.

It’s a range of people affirming they yawned too, and others doubting that Artemis II was even happening, claiming it’s a Hollywood green screen.

That got me thinking about self-righteous anger and righteous indignation, what sets people off and how we can react to it (or not).  I’ve been doing some research on that so stay tuned for an upcoming edition.  And of course I welcome your thoughts and experiences too.

April 30 I have a second surgery on my knee to get the hardware taken out. Hopefully it goes well and they are able to take out the plate, six screws and four pins that were used to hold everything together.

I will admit I’ve been experiencing some anxiety about it. From the coordination of all the pre-op clearance appointments, nested in between business trips and just the usual fear of the unknown.

Someone said to me recently they gained an appreciation of being under for a procedure because it is the one time when no one can really reach you.  As the person who sent some work emails in the middle of the night after my first surgery last year (I was in the hospital, couldn’t sleep, was restless and didn’t know what else to do so that seemed like a good idea in the moment), I could relate to that.

What’s probably helped me most with easing my anxiety occurred during a lunch with longtime clients in Seattle. They asked me “what’s new” and the surgery is the biggest thing in my life at the moment, so I shared the journey and my worries.

Then, one of the clients, Laura, pointed out that I was really going into an assembly line at the surgical center and will probably be the 5^th surgery of the day out of 7.  It was a good reminder that even though something is new or rare for me, there are experts to be trusted who have done this plenty of times.

What I am looking forward to is having some chocolate pudding once I get home Thursday afternoon!

In Chicago, I felt seen by my chosen community; across 175,000 miles of space I felt connected through a yawn; and now, facing surgery, I’m leaning into trust while pondering the big existential question of what it means to be human.  It may be exactly all that.

Again, I’d love to hear from you on that or any other empathy-related topic.  Drop a comment below or email me: [email protected]

And if you know someone who would enjoy Reading Between the Lines or will have an opinion to share on the humanity question, please forward it to them.

Till next time!

Stay curious. Ask good questions. Let empathy follow.

-Rob