There is zero correlation between IQ and emotional empathy... They're controlled by different parts of the brain.
Companies in the East put a lot more emphasis on human relationships, while those from the West focus on the product, the bottom line. Westerners appear to have more of a need for achievement, while in the East there's more need for affiliation.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the differences in cultural values between Eastern and Western companies, emphasizing relationships versus productivity.
Daniel Goleman points out a fundamental divergence in business cultures between the East and the West. He suggests that Eastern companies prioritize human connections and relationships among employees, fostering a sense of affiliation and community, whereas Western companies tend to emphasize measurable outcomes, productivity, and the achievement of financial goals. This contrast underscores how cultural factors shape workplace dynamics and priorities.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a company workshop on cultural sensitivity, I shared this quote to illustrate the importance of understanding different business practices in global companies.
More from Daniel Goleman
All quotes →Empathy represents the foundation skill for all the social competencies important for work.
In a very real sense we have two minds, one that thinks and one that feels
Emotions are contagious. We've all known it experientially. You know after you have a really fun coffee with a friend, you feel good. When you have a rude clerk in a store, you walk away feeling bad.
What really matters for success, character, happiness and life long achievements is a definite set of emotional skills - your EQ - not just purely cognitive abilities that are measured by conventional IQ tests.
The emotional brain responds to an event more quickly than the thinking brain.
Similar quotes
Russia, at the start of the 21st century, at least in its larger cities, very much resembled the United States of the early 1990s: being gay was no longer criminal or shameful, but it was still not a topic for polite conversation or public discussion.
It's kind of like those little electric bumper cars where you drive around and see if you can hit the other guy. That's exactly what the country is like now. You no longer have the sense of community. Of loyalty. It's lost its sense of group. It has nothing to do with leadership.
Let us be kinder to one another.
..... it would be interesting to find out what goes on in that moment when someone looks at you and draws all sorts of conclusions.
An apology offered and, equally important, received is a step towards reconciliation and, sometimes, recompense. Without that process, hurts can rankle and fester and erupt into their own hatreds and wrongdoings.
The global work of the United Nations is not without reason compared to that of a family - striving for a common goal in concert with all members for a better future.