![A General Theory of Love [Book Review]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e4087a9244c110e4df0d04a/1611639923894-E1QEI7UWWSS3F4924ZRI/image-asset.jpeg)
A General Theory of Love by Thomas Lewis M.D., Fari Amini M.D., Richard Lennon M.D
Why am I reviewing a book on love, you ask?
Firstly, I’m a bit of a romantic. Secondly, understanding love might help us in many aspects of our lives, including how we design and manage experiences for our customers. The book is a delightful combination of science and poetry, and that appealed enormously.
Skip forward to Chapter 4: A Fiercer Sea to discover how classic CX terms like ‘affiliation’, ‘loyalty’ and ‘nurture’ are woven into our lives, into the makeup of how we survive, and how our brains link to the people closest to us. Which leads me to question: how are we are encouraging our customers to link with us in more than superficial ways?
Love is part of the CAPFUL human needs hierarchy that CapFeather principal Dr. Robert Dew discusses in a recent article on how to emotionally cut through to your customers.
Love is the need driving us to seek relationships. We start out in a family and learn how it feels to be nurtured and protected. We may later seek a romantic partner to build our own family to nurture in turn. Familial ties and romance are not the only way we can meet our need for love. Many businesses and organisations exploit our need for affiliation. They entice us to become part of their tribe.
Dr Robert Dew
Peter Sydes, CapFeather’s Director of Human Services, also raised love as a fundamental force in disrupting social isolation in aged care. According to Peter, “What really makes occasions enjoyable and memorable is the conversation, the stories, the banter, the jokes, the laughter and the love.” I couldn’t agree more.
A General Theory of Love celebrates this aspect of our humanity in a beautiful way, and inspires us to think about how we can include it more into our lives. From one customer experience professional to another, wouldn’t you want love more in your world too? After all, we are the change we would like to see in the world.
Sarah Daly is undertaking a PhD at the Queensland University of Technology, investigating the role of trust in the adoption and diffusion of AI based innovation. She is also the Operations Director of CapFeather, a customer strategy and innovation consulting firm. Love, Actually is her favorite Christmas film.