Just read an interview of Brandon Schauer, who works at Adaptive Path, on Design Thinking at Jess McMullin’s blog. Here’s a piece that I found well worth quoting here:

You don’t necessarily need to go and get an MBA – I’ve heard an MBA called a degree in common sense and I can’t necessarily argue with that. But the key is just realizing the world that your business partners come from, whether they’re looking through a lens of finance or of operations or management, and being able to understand the issues they are dealing with. Having empathy with the issues that they come to the table with and actually being able to resonate with those by having read similar topics, having an appreciation for what their needs are and listening to them just as you would listen to a customer when you go out to do your research can really change how you work together.

Empathize.