There are countless reasons why people don’t take initiative in relationships. We’re all busy. We’re all distracted. Life gets in the way and we don’t reach out.
Superconnectors do. They make an effort to start conversations and keep relationships going. This is perhaps the most important difference between the top 1% and the rest of us.
We heard from a wide spectrum of superconnectors about how they do this, and we were surprised by how simple and easy it can be. Something as basic as firing off a handful of simple text messages at the dog park can be a game-changer.
Here are some valuable life lessons we learned from our guests this season.
2x CEO with a $640 million exit and early investments in unicorns
Technology executive whose resume includes helping both Google and Facebook navigate periods of intense scaling
CEO of Gainsight, a company with 1200+ global employees and 20k growing customers
Over the next week, put 1-2 of these tactics into practice.
For a dedicated period of time — a week or a month — reach out to a handful of people every day. Your message can be simple, something like, “You crossed my mind, and I wanted to see how you’re doing.” A quick greeting can quickly become an interesting conversation, and the people you reach out to will appreciate the thought. Here is an example of a relationship refresh campaign.
After a friendly conversation at an event or a meeting, make a plan for when you’ll reach out and what you’ll say to the people you connected with. A simple calendar reminder that says something like “textJoanna about underrated Spanish wines” is plenty. The point is to keep the conversation going, not to say anything earth-shattering.
If you’re trying to establish yourself in a particular community or industry, it really helps to show up. Wherever you live, whatever you do, it’s likely that you can find some type of event that people you want to connect with will attend. Go! Introduce yourself, ask other people about themselves, and get in the mix.
There’s incredible power in being the person who brings others together. It can be as simple as inviting a handful of like-minded people to a happy hour or a backyard barbecue. A few events with a small group of interesting people can forge connections that have a huge impact on your career.