Description: In a world where artificial intelligence is on the rise, it’s our humanity that sets us apart. Discover how exceptional customer service, empathy, and genuine human connection give businesses a competitive edge in an AI-driven world. Learn from a real-life example that emphasizes the importance of embracing kindness and respect to thrive in the evolving business landscape.

I’m already dreading it.

This morning I spent 2 hours individually signing, packing, and addressing over 30 copies of my book from recent orders.

It’s mid morning on a Friday and I deliberately waited until now, hoping that the post office would be empty and I won’t hold up too many customers.

The Encounter

To my relief, the post office is completely empty when I arrive.

“Hey Brian, what’s going on?”

I love this guy (let’s call him George). George been helping me mail books to customers and care packages to clients since I moved into the area 4 years ago. He is always friendly and, more importantly, always efficient. He is the opposite of what you would expect at the post office.

“Hey George, good to see you. I’ve got a ton of books. It’s going to take a while. Sorry about this.”

“Happy to help! Let’s get this going.”

An Unexpected Display of Empathy

He starts cranking through the packages, but after just 4, a lady walks in and gets in line behind me. I instantly feel terrible. She’s going to be here forever. But before I can turn to apologize, George looks up and says to her,

“Hi m’am. Just letting you know that I’m the only one working right now and we’re doing a bulk mailing. It’s going to be 15 or 20 minutes. I don’t want to lose your business, but I also don’t want to hold you up.”

My jaw almost hit the floor. I’ve been training on human connection at companies all over the world since 2015, and it’s so rare to witness a customer service encounter as kind and human as that.

George met her where she was, considered her perspective, and gave her information that was in her best interest – and all without apologizing unnecessarily.

She said, “Oh. Wow, thanks for letting me know. I’ll come back in a little bit, I’ve got plenty of time this morning.”

The Status Quo Strikes Back

The lady leaves and I start to tell George how impressed I am with what he did, and how rare it is to see, but we are cut off by a harsh voice from around the corner:

“Don’t do that again.”

I look up as she walks over to him.

George says, “Excuse me?”

She scolds him again, “Don’t do that again. Do not tell them how long it’s going to be. Just tell them you’re with a customer and they can wait.”

Then she turns and walks away.

For the second time in five minutes, my jaw is on the ground.

And for the second time in five minutes, I witnessed a perfect example of the kind of thing I encounter in my work.

Only this time, it’s a reinforcement of the status quo.

She reprimanded a worker, in front of a customer, for being kind, respectful, and empathic – because it might have resulted in what was best for the customer instead of the business.

The Human Edge in a World of AI

Almost every industry and company is worried about the threat of AI right now. And it’s true, AI is going to take over a lot of jobs – not just the blue collar ones we used to think, but increasingly the creative and white collar jobs.

Your best defense against the threat of AI is doubling down on humanity. There’s one thing AI cannot do: make a genuine human connection.

The companies that commit to building an internal and external culture of kindness, respect, and generosity are going to survive.

Everyone else is in for a rude awakening.

George, there’s plenty of room for you on the other side of this revolution.

If your organization or team wants to protect against the rapidly evolving AI landscape, book a discovery call.

I teach organizations how to build a connected culture where everyone feels valued, in order to attract & retain top talent, and generate sustainable repeat business.