At Car Pros dealerships, empathy is part of car sales

The idea of establishing a training program centered around empathy did not spin out of Phillips’ postgraduate business education, but from his study of psychology at Columbia.

“We’re trying to move from change ‘done to’ people to change ‘done by’ people,” he said, adding that the concept is a more inclusive vs. top-down approach.

The group displays posters outlining the HEART program throughout each dealership. Every meeting starts with a 15-minute around-the-horn discussion on…