Every year, my team and I attend the leadership summit. To capture what I’m learning and to help you grow as a leader, I always share my notes from each session, so be sure to check back after each session and bookmark them for future use.

The first session featured a talk from Angela Ahrendts, who is the Senior V.P. of Retail for Apple. Her talk focused on how empathy is an essential quality for leadership.

The following are some takeaways:

1. Values are the foundation of everything you are.
2. Core values that are our strengths make us valuable to others.
3. The higher you go as a leader, the more important it is to connect and over communicate.
4. A leader needs to walk slowly through the crowd.
5. A morning routine is incredibly important in the life of a leader.
6. In hiring, look for a we kind of person instead of a me kind of person.
7. It’s not about hiring great individuals but how they fit into the team.
8. Brands are bigger than cultures.
9. Simple things about branding: know why you’re doing it (the deeper purpose behind something), that why needs to become a core value of the company.
10. Every team and organization should always know if they are doing what they set out to do.
11. Motivating people: to move people you have to be able to understand them.
12. You can teach people anything but you can’t teach people to care.
13. Leaders need to focus on what people feel from them.
14. Look people in the eye.
15. Talk to people. Celebrate people. Thank people.
16. Ask: what would I want people to say to me?