Our current default way of thinking about becoming successful—the competitive king-of-the-hill mentality—reduces both the level and likelihood of success.

When you examine many of the most successful organizations around the world, you find that they capitalize on fostering cooperation, coordination, and collaboration. Businesses built upon an effective culture of compassion were found to have “high levels of productivity resulting from relatively high worker loyalty, low turnover, and hence low recruiting and training costs. It translates into closer relationships between employees and frequent customers, thereby contributing to sales and marketing efficiency.”

Employees who help each other are the engines of successful companies, and the best top executives know it. Understanding what others need or need to avoid and then acting on that understanding is at the heart of what compassion is and what a compassionate achiever does.

Learn more about my new book, The Compassionate Achiever, coming next month.