“Tell me about your hair.”
That’s what my new hairstylist said to me 3 years ago when I booked with her for the first time.
My hair was a mess. I had coloured it dark and then lightened it with bleach, burnt it with a hot iron, and had several bad cuts, it wasn’t pretty. I was so relieved that my hair was having its own therapy session prior to making a decision about what to do next.
After our hair therapy session my stylist did everything she could to help me be happy with my hair until it was the length I wanted. Every appointment from there after she encouraged me to not change the plan we had set out so I could achieve my hair goals.
That’s the difference between someone who cares, and someone who’s just doing their job. The several bad cuts I had previously were by people doing their job. They may have had all of the education and skills, but they didn’t care about my story.
People who care listen to you. They want to hear your story and they want to help you achieve what you want. That’s generosity at its finest.
Seth Godin talks about how emotional labour is key as artificial intelligence starts to take over our world. The people who create and the people who care can never be replaced by a computer.
Emotional labour is hard work. Our first inclination is to look out for ourselves because it’s part of our survival wiring. The best way to look out for yourself is to look out for others first because thats when you become irreplaceable.