859: The Monster Has A Life

In the 1980s I played a lot of Dungeons & Dragons.

It was pretty epic.

What started as a little hobby became a huge part of my life ... every weekend spent on a quest ... or creating one for others. I spent huge amounts of time wrapped up in my imagination.

And in empathy.

At some point during that time, I read an article in White Dwarf magazine about creating realistic worlds.

The monsters – it said – aren't just standing behind the door waiting for the adventurers to turn up. They have jobs, needs, feelings and desires.

They have lives.

I can't say whether that early lesson made a difference to my business career, but I remember the difference it made to the depth a quality of the adventures I was creating.

Empathy is a foundation skill, whether we are designing fantasy worlds ... or products and services for our customers.

The internet has made it easy to see people as numbers in a conversion funnel, but easy doesn't mean right.

Customers are like monsters. They have lives too.

Episode home:

https://StoriesMeanBusiness.com/podcast/859-The-Monster-Has-A-Life