My friend sent me this post by Jason Fried, which is a must-read. In it, he writes:
“When you look back on events, it’s pretty incredible how things come together. Nothing happens independently. Everything is tied to something before it. Sometimes the links are more obvious than others, but it’s healthy to take a few moments to reflect on how many things – and people – had to come together in order for another thing to happen. You just never know.”
Jason then listed the specific chain of events that led him to meet a New York Times writer, and it’s an amazing process. I started to go through my own chain about how I know the people I know. It dawned on me that as I’ve met incredible people, I have employed one single mantra: “Every single relationship counts.”
All of the great things I have going in my life right now are tied to the great people I’ve met. I nurtured every relationship I could, and it has paid off in spades.
Here is a short example of a chain of events that started nine years ago:
- I applied for internship at Flipdog.com while I was in college
- Got job offer, later found out that my new boss had no idea how the job posting found its way to flipdog.com
- The boss liked me, then asked me if I wanted to build a website on the side for someone else. I said yes.
- A co-worker told my boss that his friend could do it instead because he needed the money more than I did. I persisted, letting my boss know that I was the guy for the job.
- Through my persistence, I did get the chance to create the website for that new client. He eventually became my mentor.
- Seven years later, I was looking for a new job and he brought me on board as the Director of IT for a company he joined.
All of this happened because my boss from nine years ago liked me and was kind enough to pass along another great work opportunity as a result.
How to make relationships work for you
- Put yourself out there – This is probably the easiest step, but the one that is done the least by a majority of people. The only way to make relationships to work for you is put yourself out there so you can build great new relationships in the first place.
- Connect others – The best networkers I have seen are the one’s that can and want to connect me with other people that can help me. If you are an IT person and someone needs social media help, connect them with your close social media friends.
- Have integrity – Integrity matters in everything that you do, and everyone can tell very quickly how genuine you really are. Jeff Carter wrote a great article about why integrity matters in everything, and I couldn’t agree more with his post. It’s a great read.
- Be consistent – This is by far the hardest to do, but if done right, you will absolutely reap the rewards. Consistently attend network events, connect others, and do things with integrity.
Just Remember:
- Every single relationship counts.
- Integrity matters in everything.
- You just never know where a relationship will take you.
Interested in meeting? Contact me at robbie [at] technori [dot] com and let’s have coffee. You never know. I could get you a job in seven years!