Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections. An Interview with Bruno Cignacco and Michael A Forman
- mforman521
- Sep 5
- 18 min read
📍 My guest is an expert in creating emotionally safe workplaces and delivering service with heart, and here's why that matters. The best connections, whether with coworkers, customers, or colleagues, only happen when people feel safe, seen and supported. We're diving into how kindness, empathy, and trust aren't just soft skills.
They're strategic advantages in today's business world. So if you're ready. If you're ready to build deeper connections, create safer spaces, and unlock the kind of networking that drives real results. This episode is for you. I'd like to welcome to the show today, Bruno Sig. I can't pronounce your last name.
I'm gonna have you do it. All right. So I would just like to welcome to the podcast, and Bruno, why don't you give us a little about your background. First, give us the correct pronunciation of your last name, and then tell us about your background. Thank you very much. The surname is very difficult. It's an Italian surname is Cigna.
Cigna. And thank you Michael for your invite. I feel very honored to be here. A bit about my background I have a PhD in management with focus on international marketing. I have been advising companies for more than. 30 years on international marketing, and lately, over the last few years on compassionate Business, I'm a university professor and bestselling author.
My latest book is titled The Art of Compassionate Business, published by RU in this second edition. And I'm very hopeful that this interview will be amazing and insightful. Thank you very much again for your invite. I hope it's gonna be that way too. So let's jump right into the questions.
How does creating a psychologically safe workspace improve internal networking and collaboration amongst teams? Very important question, but psychologically, say workplace, let's define this term that is a bit technical for some of the listeners. For example, psychologically say workplace in place, a work environment where employees can feel supported, they can express their voice without being ridiculed or in this workplace, people are playing a lot of, what we call positive iPolitics, non-negative iPolitics, which implies supporting each other, trusting each other, sharing resources. And in this workplace you don't see the negative iPolitics, which is ana manship for example slandering or any other type of turf wars, for example. And in this workplace, people feel free to express their voice.
In some cases, they feel free also to express their voice in a very innovative way. Proposing non-traditional ideas. And these people feel assisted when they have any problems. And in this workplace, you usually see a lot of activity that are very supportive, such as coaching, mentoring training on the job shadowing.
And in this workplace, according to research, when you develop a psychologically safe workplace, employees tend to be much more satisfied. Customer tend to be more certified too. Why? Because employees that are happy tend to serve customer more effectively. This workplace have also lower stress levels.
They have higher productivity, they have lower absenteeism, they have lower turnover, and this impact positively on, on the bottom line. Why? Because when employees are certified. Certify, they're more prone to give their best to work in an unconditional way and to contribute to, for example, collective project in a much more insightful and meaningful way.
How you develop these workplaces first up is we have to understand that this. Workplace are trust based workplaces and how you develop trust. Trust takes some time to develop, but they're simple tips. For example, developing meaningful communication. Interaction within the workplace, which employee in some cases, asking for example, how colleagues feel.
There is an interesting research paper that observed that when you are working in a, for a company with your colleagues and you observe that one of your colleagues is feeling a bit down, feeling a bit sad or in bad mood by asking a simple question how they feel, or for example. Telling them that you assume that they're feeling a bit not so well.
If you can help them by this simple interaction you can build trust. Why? Because you show interest in them. You show empathy and you show compassion. For their problems, but also in these workplaces, people tend to look for agreements within the workplace that are win-win. This mean that nobody's winning at the expense of others.
This is quite relevant. Why? Because in many, the business environment and workplaces, that people in many cases try to take advantage with their companies, take advantage of customers, or take advantage of employees, or take advantage of business. S. And this win lose relationship or win lose agreements tend to break up the bonds with these stakeholders.
Another simple way to develop. A very important trust based environment in the workplace will be, for example, nurturing what I call in my book, the qualitative aspect of business. Because in business there are two main aspects, quantitative aspects, what can be measured such as profit, market, share, productivity.
This can be measured in a very precise way. They can be counted very precisely. It can be compared, for example, interally, but the quality does speak of pieces are as fundamental as the. Quantitative. What? What are the qualitative? That's because pieces include generosity, support, gratitude, care, empathy, compassion, and why these are so important.
Because when you embrace these values, when you embrace these principles, you nurture these relationship with these stakeholder, with your colleagues, with customers, and we have to understand that in business, the most important factor. Is the building of relationship, a strong lasting relationship with different stakeholder within the company, employees management and outside the company.
Customer, supplier, business partner, community members. So focusing on qualitative aspect of pieces that we call also relational aspect and quantitative aspect of pieces. Many company focus only on the. Quantitative. They try to obtain profit productivity, market share. In some cases, by all means to. The days of the quantity is really passe.
It's the quality of the relationships. You hit on so many points for networking, know you you, trust you, they'll do business with you. It's the creating the relationships not just to clients, so not just to customers. So there's a whole lot. What you just said, but but I have more questions, so we're gonna go into a little bit further.
What role does compassionate communication play in networking and how can it be competitive? How can it be a competitive advantage in business? I. Very important. Compassion communication. Compassion communication implies that, let's define compassion first. Compassion is when you interact with others.
You understand how they think. You understand how they feel, and you try to help them whenever possible, especially when others face difficult circumstances. For example let's imagine that the supplier. Eh, delays the delivery of goods to your company and in the supplier you have signed before a contract with the supplier.
If you are not compassionate with the supplier, you will try to penalize the supplier for having delivered this good late. But if you are compassionate, you will, eh, relate to the supplier one-to-one if possible. In person, you will talk to the representative of the supplier to understand what difficulties they face.
In this last delivery in order to help them, because you try to preserve the relationship and try to brighten this relationship with the supplier. You don't try to apply literally the fine print of the contract because if you do you might get the penalty from the supplier, but you will break up the relationship.
You try to preserve the relational aspect. This is quite important. There is a very interesting study that observed that in the health sector. For example, health care sector. When doctor have a compassionate conversation before this patient are to be operated, go through surgery, one minute conversation.
This patient during the operation process, during the surgery has less anesthesia. They need less anesthesia, and they least they need less. Recovery time after the operation. Why? Because they feel less stress, they feel more supported. One minute interaction, only this mean, understanding how they feel, how you can help them, try to help them soothe themselves.
And this is quite important because compassionate is not only being nice to people, but it's. Bringing about a positive cycle of reciprocity, you try to support people, you try to understand, you try to connect and build deep rapport, and in return, you are more likely to receive a reciprocal treatment.
Why? Because people, when they're supported, are more prone to contribute spontaneously and unconditionally. You can afford to cooperate, but they're more prone to cooperate when you try to help them because when you help them, you help yourself. Because everything is interdependent in business. You cannot succeed without them and vice versa.
Okay. Okay. So you speak about compassionate customer service. How can that same mindset be used when approaching new clients, partners, or networking opportunities? Very interesting. Compassionate customer service implies that you adopt an attitude of service. You try to add value. This mean that instead of focusing on yourself as a seller, as a salesperson, you focus on them.
You are customer oriented. This mean that you will try to first to discover. What are the specific unique needs that they have? Not only need regarding the product, but for example, what we call emotional needs. In some cases, the this customer to buy the product needs some reassurance. Maybe you can provide with some warranty, or maybe they need a trial period.
They're not very sure. So you try to support them not only offering the best product that is adequate for them and might not be suitable for other customers, and in some cases also implies that you interact. Regularly we, this customer, making them feel positive emotion before they buy the product, during the buying process and after they buy the process.
We call this interaction touch points. Every time that you interact with customer through emails, phone calls, in person, through the website, these are touch points. Every touch point should bring about positive emotions in customer because when you do this customer is more prone to feel satisfied with this related to positive emotion, and is more prone to become loyal, committed to your company, and is more prone to the positive reviews instead of one of these interactions.
Customer experience, a negative emotion. This customer is more prone to leave your company or doubt or trying to return the product or look for competing product. So the only way that you can deliver a very good customer service, a compassionate customer service, is to be very humble, under promise, over deliver.
And I promise this mean that you promise less than they expect, and then you surprise them in a very positive way. We call it marketing delighting customer when you give more than they expect. And for example you are selling, eh, let's say eh, some, eh, like this diaries. And then you are selling these diaries and these diaries.
A very nice price, very nice quality, but you give a pen. A pen. Very nice pen a fine pen free. You are giving a gift attached to this product, and you are creating a positive imbalance. They feel indebted with you because you have been generous and they're more prone to respond in a positive way, recommending your products to others living positive review online instead.
Some company acting the opposite way, they act in a very stinky way. I want to give the product that will gimme the highest commission. Why I buy, probably it's not the one that they. I'm looking for, but I want to think about my own commission. This is an attitude of selling, not of service.
Always choose an attitude of service. Service implies adding value to customers. Very good. Okay, so let's go to a little advice. What advice would you give to someone who struggles to be vulnerable or genuine when networking? Very important in networking. Networking with any stakeholder or potentially stakeholder.
Could be a business partner, could be a supplier, could be an intermediate, like a retailer. You have to talk not only about business topic, but also you have to talk about non-business topic. You can say this doesn't make any sense. Because at the end you are networking with a person, a human being, and the commonality between you and the other one.
The other person is regardless of the role, regardless that you are the CEO and the other one could be representative of the supplier and so on, so is that you are human beings. When you connect on a much more human level, this mean that you understand that you are both human being. With fear, expectation, aspiration, dreams.
And you talk about not only about business topic, but you talk about at the beginning, like a small talk or at the end of the conversation about where they live what the hobbies are, and so on. You try to connect on a much more personal level. Many entrepreneurs in the, for example, Japan, China, understanding the of.
And then on the top of this leading solely business relationship, but the person come first here in an individualistic culture like United States and uk, we privilege. Time is money. Let's try to close the deal immediately. We then in San cases, knowing the person and take the time to know the person on a much more humane level, this mean that you talk about business, but also you interpret this in the conversation, what I call natural conversation, inter peace.
For example, talking about the weather or the hobbies. Try to avoid controversial topic. That could be, for example, religion or politics, but try to talk about how they are in on a personal level. And this will clear any hindrance that they're on the way to get an agreement. And always look for ways to share common ground.
This mean that use. A lot words such as we, our agreement, our common goal. What I hear in many conversations that they use the first person of the singular I, my me, myself, this is very individual say, when you talk about our agreement, our deal, our common goal. Something that are obvious. We are both looking into develop robust relationship.
You talk about we and also try to identify their needs because at the end you want to develop an agreement. This is possible. That is a win-win agreement. If you don't know what the needs are and you only think about your needs, you are more prone to developing. We lose agreement where you win at the expense of them.
But these are short leave agreements. They cannot profit over time. Very good. Very good. And I speak about so many of the same things because really we both talk about networking. But it's it's so similar. It really, it astounds me. But let's go on how do emotionally safe environments lead to stronger, more profitable connections, both internally with teams and externally with clients or collaborators?
Very interesting. Let's talk a bit about a very important phenomenon described by Daniel Goman. That is the phenomenon, but emotional contagion. Emotional contagion implies that when you feel an emotion and you start interacting with others, supposing that you feel happy, you feel cheerful. You tend to infect others with this positive emotion, and they tend to experience this emotion and act accordingly.
Why this happen? Because in our brain we have neurons that tend. Help us replicate the emotion that are of people around us. The opposite happened with negative emotion. When you experience anger and you treat people and you adopt an angry tone of voice and you try to in dismiss them and so on, these people are infected by this negative emotion and they're less prone to cooperate.
Less prone to cooperate. Let's prompt to share with you the resources such as information or technology and we have to be aware, are we bringing about positive emotion in this workplace, in this, into this relationship? And why so important, bringing about positive emotion because according to research, positive emotion.
Expand your brain and help you become much more creative, help you utilize what we call the internal resources, such as critical analysis, creativity, and others. Instead, constrictive emotion, for example, fear. They make you adopt what we call the freeze five fly mode where you tend to be more reactive.
You tend to trust less. Others, you tend to withdraw, tend not to cooperate. In some cases, this prompt you to compete with others instead of cooperating. And in any relationship, you have a basis of cooperation if you're not willing to cooperate this relationship on Prosper. Because all relationship in business and non-business environment are only prone to succeed when the needs of both parties are fully certified.
If the needs of only one party. R certified. This relationship is prone to fail, not to succeed. Absolutely. Absolutely correct. What's one thing most people get wrong about connection, whether in customer service or professional networking? I. Very wrong. What I observe is scripted conversation, mechanical conversation.
Par I call parro the style. For example, I see some company that I feel a bit of shame from outside. When I see this company that they give script on a piece of paper to memorize and say, okay, when you meet the customer or the client, you have to say, hello. How are you? Eh, we have product K. This sounds so mechanical.
You are talking to a robot, not to a person. And a scripted conversation hinder the spontaneity, the natural spontaneity that can be brought about in a conversation. And people feel it. They feel this impersonal. They feel that this is not natural and people tend to withdraw from this type of sales people or say this type of stakeholder.
Instead, when you make the conversation more natural, which implies including emotion, talking about. Personal aspect, but also don't be so aware of the timing because in some cases I see also some sales people that have a quota. They have a quota. They say, you know what? This conversation cannot last more than five minutes because you have to close up a six client per hour.
Okay. This mean that you're limiting the conversation. The other person feel the pressure of time. They cannot expose their idea fully. So give time for the conversation to develop, be natural, be also others oriented. This mean that you don't focus so much on you, but also you focus on others. Try to adopt a learning attitude.
You are not there to close any deal. You are there to learn from them and try to see that you can develop an environment where a beneficial agreement for both can be unfolding, but don't get so focused on the sale or get some focus on closing the deal instead learning from each other because learning from each other will help both of you.
Eh. Arrived at an agreement that is arrived to an agreement that is more win-win, mutually beneficial. Instead, when you focus only on your needs or what you will say, or how we can cross the deal, you are self-centered. Other people can feel it. So very important. Maybe this, the conversation is spontaneous, natural, and non mechanical.
I feel in this case that artificial intelligence cannot substitute the natural conversation yet. You can see. But you feel that it's a bit mechanical, a bit impersonal. And also the conversation. Try to make this as expressive as possible. Expressing your idea clearly, but without monopolizing the conversation and making also your idea very clearly express, including your emotions.
Great. Alright now let's bring this podcast full circle. And can you share a personal or professional story where creating a safe, compassionate space led to an extraordinary connection or opportunity? Yes, I have a recent example of a company that we were advising. This company has very bad reviews online.
They has obviously the employees were a bit demotivated because sales were going down and what we discovered because there is a very important factor when sales are going down and there is an employee de-motivation, there is low employee moral there in most cases. There is something about fear.
Employees tend to feel fearful of. Losing their job or fearful of not closing sales or fearful of not achieving the quota or fearful of being penalized if they don't meet the objective or fearful of being outpaced by colleagues. So we discovered, and we were right, there were some pockets of fear within the company and eh the fear was so ingrained and the fear was about, for example, not meeting the quotas that were very strict and in San achievable.
That put a lot of pressure and didn't allow employees to relax and also. The conversation with customer was so short that the customer felt a bit forced because I observed one of the conversation in practice in person. I was so sure that the customer couldn't even expose their idea. It were a kind of constraint conversation and customer were not given the opportunity to express their view.
Moreover, customer were treated like a little figures in the database to, as a means to make profit instead of being, treating this customer as a real human being that are. Spending their hard one money on this company potentially, and need to be treated with respect. And there may need to be recognized in a legitimate way.
So what we did is we understand that the quota system the closing certain deals per hour was too strict. Employees, very much more relaxed, less stress. Stress level went down because then there was a survey and also we saw that the conversation were a bit descriptive me way, introduction. Without adapting the style to each customer.
In some cases, some customer needed one hour to talk about this in. Some customer needed 10 minutes, some customer needed to know more about this technical specification. So we introduce more flexibility. With the approval of the manager. The manager, were not very convinced at the beginning, I have to say, because there was a lot of resistance.
But this was possible to introduce. And we gave a three months period of like a time span to see there was an improvement. And we check also the customer review at the end of the three months. And we took also the employee morale with a very simple employee survey. We check also the reviews and the sales level.
So these were the three indicators. So employee, model sale reviews sale levels, and also the customer reviews. And so we observed that three months with these simple changes ca customer were given a lot of time to talk. Employees will not be penalized with the three quotas. Employees were also were offer offering customer.
Product that were not the most expensive one product that are, were the most suitable for this customer because in the previous system, employees were pushing the product that were the most expensive one, even when they were not suitable for customer. What made this customer is in case, feel pushed to buy this product, and then they left a lot of negative reviews.
In both cases we observed from the first scenario to the second scenario, improvement in sales. From a significantly very important percentage. We saw improvement in positive reviews and decreasing negative review. The negative review didn't disappear, but they decreased significantly and we saw much more employee, more higher employee morale and higher employee satisfaction.
We saw that when you have an employee that is satisfied. Is more connected to customer satisfaction. So this mean that these thing were resolved. It's not fully resolved, but this was only three months span. And we support this company on, keep on using this system and also introduce some small meetings in between calls, let's say once a day at least on midday.
Where employees can relax and chill out, and can talk about not quota, not talk about the budget, not talk about the plans, business plan, marketing strategy. They can talk about themselves having a coffee with colleagues in the call center so that they can feel much more at ease and they can come back to work in the second half of the day.
More revitalized. So this mean, I know we each other on much more personal level because employee were so burdened with this quotas and this demand of closing say that they felt the stress and they didn't know their colleagues well. With this little meeting at the, in the middle part of the day, every day, Monday to Friday, employee felt more relaxed and they can connect to colleagues in a much more meaningful way.
And they came back to work in less stress state. And this brought about. Better relationship within the workplace, much more psychologically safe workplace because there was no fear and also higher customer satisfaction. What was a win-win? There was resistance from management. I have to observe because there were not very, can this be so simple?
I say it's not so simple because it's a big change. Appeared to be simple, but was a very significant change and I'm very happy that we could help this company. Good. Good. Bruno I, we're out of time, but I'm really glad that you came on the podcast. If somebody wanted to hire you, get coached by you, or just say hello, how would they get hold of you?
First off all this idea that we spoke today are compiling my new book, the Are of Compassionate Business, published by RU in the second edition, more than 400 patients with hundreds of cases of compassionate organization. They can find me on LinkedIn or my website, www dot Bruno Cigna with WC at the end.
Dot com, www.brunosco.contact can contact me for services or consultancy or training related to this topic. Thank you very much, Bruno. Thank you again for coming on. This was a great time. Thank you. , Michael.
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📍 Well, that's a wrap. Folks, a huge thank you to our special guests for sharing such incredible insights today, and of course, a big shout out to you, our amazing listeners, for tuning in and spending your time with us. Remember, networking isn't about being perfect, it's about being present. So take what you've learned today.
Get out there and make some meaningful connections. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe. Leave us a review and share it with someone. You could use a little networking inspiration. Let's keep the conversation going. You can find me on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or my website MichaelAForman.com remember. Until next time. Keep practicing. Keep connecting, and keep building those relationships. This is Michael Forman signing off. Take care and happy networking.
Michael is a business networking expert specializing in enhancing professionals' networking and communication skills to drive profitability. As a leading authority in this field, he is highly sought after for his dynamic presentations and workshops. His extensive experience has consistently led to significant improvements in corporate profitability by empowering individuals and organizations to connect more effectively and efficiently.
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