Resources

Grow what matters.

Essays, talks & conversations from April — organized around what we believe. Pick a belief, and explore.
Know Teams

The Future of Leadership is Empathy-Driven

Command-and-control is failing. The most successful leaders build trust, navigate uncertainty, and outperform — by leading with empathy.

From the archive · 2 min readRead →
Know Customers

Why Most Market Research Fails (And How to Fix It)

Surveys and dashboards tell you what people did — not why. The fix is empathy-driven research that hears the emotion underneath the data.

From the archive · 3 min readRead →
Know What Matters

10 Lessons on Empathy & Innovation from Costa Rica

A vision trip to Hogar Montiel taught me more about empathy and innovation than years of studying it. Ten lessons from the girls who taught the teacher.

February 13, 2025 · 4 min readRead →
Know Customers

How a Startup Used Empathy to Differentiate Their Brand

The real differentiator wasn't features or price — it was understanding customer frustration better than anyone else in the market.

From the archive · 2 min readRead →
Know Yourself

The Eagle and the Answer: What Prayer, Neuroscience, and Stillness Teach Us About Clarity

A bald eagle over the lake, the neuroscience of stillness, and how the IGNITE Framework helps you stop flapping — and start flying.

April 16, 2025 · 3 min readRead →
Know Customers

How Empathy-Based Research Helps You Innovate Smarter

Data tells you what is happening. Empathy-based research tells you why — and the why is where breakthrough products come from.

From the archive · 2 min readRead →
Know Teams

The Hidden ROI of Empathy in Leadership

Empathy isn't just good for people — companies with empathy-driven leadership see measurably higher retention, collaboration, and profitability.

February 7, 2025 · 2 min readRead →
Podcast

Starting Fires — on Uncorking a Story

April on the farm, the fire, and why listening is the leadership skill nobody teaches.

With Mike CarlonListen →
Podcast

The Art & Science of Joy

The power of empathy — and self-empathy — at work, with Andrew Cannon.

Two conversationsListen →
Video

Short takes on YouTube

Quick, practical takes on customer understanding, team alignment, and deciding well — from April’s desk and the road.

@madewithempathyWatch →
Press

The Role of Empathy in Leadership

April’s feature in Render Magazine — plus reviews and interviews from QRCA Views.

Articles & PressRead →

Watch

Short takes from April

Practical, unscripted takes on listening, alignment, and deciding well — from @madewithempathy on YouTube.

Video

The Art of Active Listening for Leaders

Why the best leaders hear what's underneath the words — and how to practice it.

YouTube · @madewithempathyWatch →
Video

Navigate Difficult Conversations with Empathy

A practical way through the conversations most of us avoid.

YouTube · @madewithempathyWatch →
Video

Bruce’s Transformation — the IGNITE Framework

One leader's story of moving from stuck to lit — step by step.

YouTube · @madewithempathyWatch →
Video

How to Cultivate a Culture of Empathy

What it actually takes to make empathy an operating norm, not a poster.

YouTube · @madewithempathyWatch →
Video

Creating Impact When Others Won’t Listen

A masterclass on being heard when the room has already decided.

YouTube · @madewithempathyWatch →
Video

Detachment vs. Disconnection

The difference between healthy distance and quiet quitting on people.

YouTube · @madewithempathyWatch →
Video

How Beliefs Shape Behavior & Resistance

Why people resist change — and what their resistance is telling you.

YouTube · @madewithempathyWatch →
Video

Find Your Aligned Audience

Growing what matters starts with knowing exactly who it's for.

YouTube · @madewithempathyWatch →
Video

How to Handle Defensiveness

What defensiveness protects — and how to lower the temperature.

YouTube · @madewithempathyWatch →
Video

Stop Trying to Do It All

Letting go of what doesn't matter is a growth strategy.

YouTube · @madewithempathyWatch →
Video

Hidden Beliefs That Block or Build Connection

The stories under the surface that decide whether people trust you.

YouTube · @madewithempathyWatch →
Video

Why Curiosity Builds Trust

The fastest trust-builder isn't confidence. It's a real question.

YouTube · @madewithempathyWatch →
Short

The First Response Is Often the Most Honest

Sixty seconds on why first reactions are research gold.

YouTube · @madewithempathyWatch →
Short

Empathy Isn’t a Soft Skill. It’s a Leadership Strategy.

The whole positioning, in under a minute.

YouTube · @madewithempathyWatch →

The deeper archive

From the April Bell Research Group years

Essays from the decade before Made With Empathy had a name — the beliefs were already here.

From the archive

Sometimes Design Thinking Hurts: 5 Lessons from Trying to Work Together

What a married couple learned the hard way about co-creation, feedback, and staying curious under pressure.

April Bell Research Group blogRead →
From the archive

Design Thinking & Montessori: What They Taught Me About Research

Two disciplines, one lesson: follow the person in front of you, not the plan.

April Bell Research Group blogRead →
From the archive

How to Stay Sane by Returning to Curiosity

When certainty runs out, curiosity is the discipline that steadies you.

April Bell Research Group blogRead →
From the archive

What to Do with an Idea Called “Made With Empathy”

The origin story — how a phrase became a practice, and then a company.

April Bell Research Group blogRead →
From the archive

Now Is the Time to Make More Things With Empathy

The case for building products, teams, and lives with empathy at the center.

April Bell Research Group blogRead →
From the archive

4 Surprising Reasons to Dream (Even If They Don’t Come True)

Dreams do their most important work before they come true.

April Bell Research Group blogRead →
From the archive

Creating Big Change from the Messy Middle

How empathy — for others and yourself — carries you through the part where everything is unfinished.

April Bell Research Group blogRead →
From the archive

Create Space & Connection in a Virtual World — Like a Teacher

What great teachers know about presence that every remote leader can borrow.

April Bell Research Group blogRead →
From the archive

What to Think About When the Perfect Storm Hits

A framework for deciding well when everything arrives at once.

April Bell Research Group blogRead →
From the archive

6 Affirmations for Transformation in the Unknown

The six sentences April returns to when the path isn't visible yet.

April Bell Research Group blogRead →
From the archive

5 Emotional Waves from a Season of Uncertainty

What a crisis taught us about the emotional arcs every big disruption follows.

April Bell Research Group blogRead →
From the archive

Of Grace, Grit, Gratitude — and the Gift of Giving

On the practices that keep a person whole while they build.

April Bell Research Group blogRead →

On air

Hear April in conversation

Podcasts and interviews — on customer understanding, team chemistry, empathy, and The Fire Starter.

Starting Fires

Uncorking a Story, with Mike Carlon

Listen →

Rock N’ Roll Research

Episode #157 — with Matt Valle

Listen on Spotify →

The Power of Empathy — Leading from Your Heart at Work

The Art & Science of Joy, with Andrew Cannon

Listen on Spotify →

The Power of Empathy in Relationships — Living from the Heart

The Art & Science of Joy (Joy Superpowers), with Andrew Cannon · new

Listen →

Can a Man Respect You If He Lacks This?

YouTube interview with Jonathon Aslay

Watch on YouTube →

Free resources

Take the work with you.

Three free tools for better decisions — each one delivered straight to your inbox. One email with your PDF, the occasional insight worth your time, and never any noise.

Start with the book

Chapter 1 of The Fire Starter

The introduction and full first chapter — the story of the executive who didn’t need another study, and the five questions that changed how he decided everything.

For readers of the book

The Fire Starter Conversation Guide

Ready-to-use questions for your team, leadership group, or book club — our thank-you for owning The Fire Starter. Have your order number handy.

Claim your reader bonus →

Ask better questions

The Questions That Change Everything

25 questions that reveal what people really mean — customers, employees, teams, even yourself. The same questioning craft leading insight teams use, in a beautifully designed field guide.

Let’s keep thinking together

One thoughtful email when there’s something worth saying — on understanding people, better decisions, and the fire that moves you. No noise, ever.

Prefer a conversation? Book a Connection Conversation →

Explore: qualitative customer research · voice of customer · executive team alignment · personal brand coaching · The Fire Starter · facilitation & speaking · essays on better decisions · about April Bell