The article presents an interview with Johannes Hattula of Imperial
College, who participated in research that demonstrated in marketing
managers a positive correlation between empathy and the managers'
perception that customers' preferences aligned with their own. Topics
discussed include the type of preferences the study focused on, the
self-centered nature of people the research suggests, implications for
the notion among firms of creating a customer orientation, and whether
the same effect might exist between executives and their employees.