256. Be Kind: The Most Overlooked Driver of Success

Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques

Think Fast Talk Smart

Education, Career Growth, Career, Improv, Public Speaking, Influence, Career Skills, Communicating, Careers, Language Learning, Business, Communication, Leadership

4.7 • 806 Ratings

🗓️ 15 January 2026

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Why being kind is the best investment.

Can kindness be a company’s competitive advantage? Bonnie Hayden Cheng says yes — and she’s got a business metric to prove it: return on kindness.

Cheng is a professor of management at City University of Hong Kong who researches how workplace behaviors affect interpersonal dynamics and well-being. In her book, The Return on Kindness, she explores how organizations that foster a culture of kindness see a measurable ROK — one marked by a more committed, more productive, and less expensive workforce. “Organizations that have this kind of culture around acts of civic virtue, helping, or showing support for people, those end up having employees that want to stay, are less likely to call in sick, are more committed, their performance goes up,” she says. “There's also benefits for the company in terms of higher productivity and efficiency, and even lower costs.”

In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Cheng and host Matt Abrahams explore how to build cultures of kindness — from Cheng’s RISE framework for kind leadership to why candor and compassion go hand-in-hand. Whether you're leading a team or simply trying to show up better for your colleagues, Cheng offers a compelling case for measuring what really matters: the return on kindness.

Episode Reference Links:

Connect:

Premium Signup >>>> Think Fast Talk Smart Premium
Email Questions & Feedback >>> hello@fastersmarter.io
Episode Transcripts >>> Think Fast Talk Smart Website
Newsletter Signup + English Language Learning >>> FasterSmarter.io
Think Fast Talk Smart >>> LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube
Matt Abrahams >>> LinkedIn

Chapters:

(00:00) - Introduction
(02:18) - What Is Kind Leadership?
(04:20) - The RISE Framework
(06:55) - Everyone Can Be a Leader
(08:14) - Kindness vs. Niceness
(10:43) - Kindness and Candor
(12:15) - Communicating Kindness
(14:14) - The Power of Tone and Pause
(16:31) - Building a Culture of Kindness
(18:43) - Protecting Kindness in Organizations
(21:07) - The Final Three Questions
(23:48) - Conclusion

********
Thank you to our sponsors. These partnerships support the ongoing production of the podcast, allowing us to bring it to you at no cost.

Unleash your Superhuman potential with AI that meets you where you work. Learn more at superhuman.com

Join our Think Fast Talk Smart Learning Community and become the communicator you want to be.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hi, Matt here. Do you dread small talk? The awkwardness, the not knowing what to say,
0:05.2	the worry over how to start and how to end, well worry no more. You can learn to be better at this
0:10.7	important skill. Start 2026 right by participating in a free small talk learning quest on our
0:16.8	Think Fast Talk Smart Learning community. Beginning January 20th at 8 aam Pacific, I will host a free four-day learning quest that
0:24.6	will teach you best practices to make small talk not only easier and more productive, but fun.
0:29.6	Each day during the free quest, you'll either log in live 8 a.m. Pacific or watch the recording of it.
0:35.6	I'll introduce you to your daily task and give you some
0:38.3	quick guidance. You can join in at any point. Each day's skill will help you in and of itself.
0:44.3	You'll also get to join one of our regular book clubs taking place on the second day of the quest.
0:49.6	This is a fun, free, low-stress way to learn with like-minded people from around the world. Sign up for
0:56.2	our learning community by January 19th to participate. Go to faster smarter.io slash learning. That's
1:02.7	faster smarter.com slash learning. Now a word from one of our sponsors. Their support allows us to
1:09.4	bring you quality content free of charge.
1:11.6	Hi, Matt here. How many times has a bad interaction with a sales or customer service rep changed how you see a company?
1:20.6	Communication can be your team's biggest weakness or its greatest superpower. Virtual speech helps people build their skills through dynamic AI
1:28.1	role plays, instant feedback, and one-on-one AI coaching. Practice public speaking for different
1:33.6	conversations, sales pitches, and interviews, all in a judgment-free space. I've often recommended
1:39.6	my students use virtual speech to practice for my class. Available online and in virtual reality,
1:45.6	virtual speech boosts skills by 20% and confidence by 30% in just 20 minutes. Visit
1:52.4	virtualspeech.com to learn how AI-powered learning can transform your team.
2:02.2	In business and in communication, we focus too much on return on investment instead of looking
2:08.3	at return on kindness.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Think Fast Talk Smart, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Think Fast Talk Smart and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.