What are the forces that fuel us as human beings? What drives us to share, to care? How do we separate between what is close to our heart, and the daily grind of working for survival? Do we separate these realms, or do they blend in to each other as ordinary human activity? Can we say that we behave differently in different spaces, or do we apply the same efforts, calculations, considerations and feelings in both?

Emotional Industry as a concept came to me as I had been thinking for a while about how we make decisions, in life, in business and in the charitable space. I had seen differences, in people, in attitude, intentions and in follow-through. And in the people that work in the different spheres.

Emotional Industry, as a start, is a descriptive notion related to the philanthropic, or what some also define it, the non-profit space.  Having worked in this sector for many years, some observations continue to stand out. My attempt is to gather those observations and share them, both to gain a deeper understanding of what it is that drives us to give, be charitable to each other, and also an attempt to answer some of the questions I posed in the beginning as this journey develops.

Emotional Industry is an explanatory model, a hypothesis, a vision, and a reflection of manifestations that we see around us as they relate to our private lives, to our professional endeavors and to the charitable world – sometimes identified as work of the heart. It is aimed at being a bridge, offering up a portrayal of how we relate to how we give and share – on the one hand a seemingly more accountable space, and on the other, areas that perhaps are treated a little – more – unaccountably.  Or is it?

How we maintain standards and accountability where the heart rules, and how we measure what is built on emotional evaluations, are some of the things that will be explored.

Stay tuned.