Falling in Love (Again) with Humanity

I’m sitting alone in a hotel restaurant in Des Moines after a few days of workshops to help a mid-sized company shape a new vision and reimagine its brand. I notice a group of blue-collar workers laughing over a meal.

An older man drinks his coffee at the bar, and the waitress refills it without being asked.

Two men in suits lean in close, deep in conversation by the window.

None of them knew me or, it seemed, each other. But each lives as rich and layered as my own—full of hard work, private hopes, heartbreaks, and occasional triumphs.

That’s sonder—the realization that every person we pass carries a rich life and a multitude of stories we’ll never fully know.

In business, we often forget this.

We categorize to simplify a complex world, but in doing so, we reduce people to labels and strip away their uniqueness. We begin to see only what we expect, not what is actually there, creating distance—an invisible wall between us and them. These labels divide us, dull our empathy, and keep us from truly knowing the full, living story of another human being.

But the most powerful brands, leaders, and teams know something different: Connection begins when we choose to see the whole person. Not just what they do, but who they are. Not just what we need from them, but what they need from us.

This shift—small but radical—changes a lot. Marketing becomes a conversation. Leadership becomes care. Work becomes human again.

So next time you find yourself rushing past someone—in the hallway, in the inbox, in the org chart—pause.

Remember that their life is just as complex, meaningful, and real as yours. And maybe that’s where transformation begins.