When you feel an emotional connection with someone, you care about them, you feel more compassion and understanding toward them, and you are drawn to them. You have a heightened sense of awareness because of the connection you feel.

The same thing happens on an organizational level. People are attracted to work for a company where they feel that very same emotional connection. And people stay longer when that connection is strong.

We are connected in so many ways. A Thriving Culture is where people are connected through shared values and a common purpose. Amazing companies have mastered connecting emotionally with people, both internally with their employees and externally with their customers and partners.

When a group of people come together because of what they believe in, they are connected on a much deeper level and will support each other more for the greater purpose.

Technology has connected us on a global basis in incredible ways. It is showing us that our actions really do matter. Ericsson, a global Swedish telecom company, talks about a “networked society” and how, as technology advances, everything will be connected. Spritualists have believed for aeons that we are one. And quantum physicists are actively researching a unified field of consciousness.

We have believed that we were not connected to others, that our actions were isolated and only had a limited impact. It has become evident that this is not the case. Let’s take honeybees as an example.

• They are small insects, so you might think it wouldn’t really matter if a few of them died off because of pesticides, right?

We are discovering that it does make a huge difference. Those bees are responsible for pollination and, without that, our entire food chain is being disrupted. We are all connected in ways that we are just beginning to fathom.

That connection to people is what is making Amazing Companies thrive, both with the employees and with their customers. As much as technology is supposed to be making our lives easier, faster, and more efficient, the bottom line is that we are humans sharing an experience on this planet and we need to connect to each other on a deeper level.

• It makes our lives meaningful. People are not to be considered property or something that can be used. They need to be valued and appreciated. They need to be given the opportunity to thrive and be the best that they can be.

• When companies offer this to their employees, they transform a company into a place of growth and development where they, in turn, can connect to the customers and give a unique experience and WOW them so that they become Raving Fans as well.

It is a safer bet to understand that our actions really do make a difference. This is why it is so important to be very aware of the consequences that can happen because of those actions. Because companies are groups of people working together for a shared purpose, it is important to understand the full implications of connection and use it as a force for good; to make a positive impact in all that they do.