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Mike George ’83, ’85 MBA

Alumni recipient of the 2021 Kabiller Science of Empathy Prize, Mike talks about his passion for understanding customers and employees, and what empathy toward others really means.

Act with empathy 

If you were to describe Mike George’s career, it would be this: empathy toward others. “It’s really hard work understanding the perspective of those around us in a deep and meaningful way,” he said. “If we can understand and empathize with other perspectives, we can build a deeper relationship. We can build deeper engagement, and we can get a better outcome.” 

Mike’s emphasis on empathy and understanding came into play at QVC when COVID-19 and George Floyd’s murder reverberated around the world seemingly overnight. Mike and his team decided they wanted to approach things differently, not just the sudden retail challenges, but how they create a culture of support and understanding for employees. 

He quickly realized that they weren’t having the kinds of authentic conversations they thought they were having with one another. So, he decided to lean into the ideas behind one of QVC’s five company values: “Act With Empathy — See through the eyes of others, assume positive intent and seek diverse perspectives.”

Those three simple ideas made a big impact. “We began to have important and uncomfortable conversations with each other and allowed ourselves to be vulnerable. If we only surrounded ourselves with people who looked like us, had similar life experiences and similar points of view, we would accomplish nothing. We challenged ourselves, and it changed the conversation.”  

 

“To be humble and vulnerable is a supreme act of courage.”

For Mike, ego is an absolute barrier to empathy — a lesson he learned at Kellogg. “Kellogg was just so foundational for me in lots of different ways,” he said. “I attribute Kellogg first with teaching me analytical thinking: How do you dissect a problem and tear it apart, look at it from different angles, and do it with rigor and objectivity? To be humble and vulnerable is a supreme act of courage, acknowledging I don’t have all the answers. That’s bravery to say I’m going to reserve a space to be wrong.”

Mike’s commitment to having challenging conversations set the example for his company, which in turn unlocked more creativity, innovation and success. And it’s one of the many reasons Mike was chosen as the first Kellogg alum to be awarded the Kabiller Science of Empathy Prize.

“Empathy is hard,” he said. “It's a disruptive word, which is why it's so exciting that Kellogg is so focused on it.”

About Mike
Former President & CEO, Qurate Retail, Inc.
2021 alumni recipient of the Kabiller Science of Empathy Award
“Start by being a listener. A real, active and curious listener. Honest listening is hard to come by in the world today.”