Tweet

Connections

Guest post by: The Osborne Group

Article Overview: Making connections.

Connections

I went to the symphony a few weeks ago with my sister- something we have been doing about five times a year for about twenty years now. Lang Lang was playing, and everybody in the crowd was blown away. It struck me how many people and how much imagination went into creating that experience. The obvious creators are of course Beethoven, Lang Lang, the orchestra and conductor, but I thought too about the people who designed and built Roy Thomson Hall, the music teachers, the craftsmen who made the instruments and all of us in the audience that night.

It goes that way in business too. None of us is an island- our clients and suppliers are the obvious co-creators of our business experience, but we rely on a much broader network too. Our colleagues, partners and mentors inspire us with great ideas and serve as role models. The larger community supports us in a million ways every day. It works mostly because all of us are working in some way for everybody else. The more we acknowledge and celebrate how interconnected we are, the better connections we’ll have.

Related Articles
  Who Are You Connecting With?
  "Quality" Franchise Opportunity
  You Have to Connect to Sell
  5 actions to give generously
  LinkedIn – Business Networking Online
  Networking
  What to do on Linkedin
  Make This Economy Work For You
  Don’t Just Depend on the Internet for Your Social Networking
  Debunking the Six Degrees of Separation
  Business Communities: A Closer Look
  What Is LinkedIn – Can It Help Me Promote My Website?
  Social Networks: How to Click with Your New Tribe
  One Great Way to Increase Email Productivity and Social Networking Connectivity
  Get Published: Three Secrets of the New York Publishing World
  Limit Your Connections To Grow Your Network
  The Connected Leader: The Key to Understanding Your Employees
  It's Not Who You Know, It's Who Knows YOU
  Contact vs Connection
  Little Black Book of Connections by Jeffrey Gitomer

Article Tags: business connections, connections, interim management, OSborne Group, Sally Fazal, The Osbrone Group



Related Forum Posts
Re: Do Boomers Make Better Entrepreneurs? - Well, for my own account... Life experience - certainly! Connections - yes Money - huh? I suppose it depends on what kind of business you're starting up.. Ros
Senior networking names - [quote:27mh7drn]How about Senior Connections [/quote:27mh7drn] I like that one... or Senior Networking.... or Love Life After 50...??
Re: Do Boomers Make Better Entrepreneurs? - [quote="writer-ros":2tp61d67]Well, for my own account... Life experience - certainly! Connections - yes Money - huh? I suppose it depends on what kind of business you're starting up.. Ros[/quote:2tp61d67] I agree with you Ros, there is nothing better then experience and connections, and some extra money can be helpful, but we are all a living prove the you can succeed without having a lot of money.
Connecting with Influential People - Thanks Martin! In "The Little Black Book of Connections", Jeffrey Gitomer suggests the following ways to connect with influential people (page 106): -Third-party introductions (best method). -Writing and publishing content. -Giving seminars/speeches so you can be perceived as an expert in your field and leader. -Attend social and business events. -Say or ask something powerful by doing research ahead of time. -Engage them by offering something of value first. Gitomer also stresses the importance of making more friends as well.
Re: On Mentors - [quote="jvprosperity":2v0r5y3z]I've been blessed by having mentors naturally come into my life but if I wanted to approach one how would I go about developing the relationship and then asking them to mentor me?[/quote:2v0r5y3z] Hi Andy, From my past experiences, I find that mentors just gradually take you under their wing. I've never had to formally ask any of them to "mentor" me. For example, in "The Little Black Book of Connections", Jeffrey Gitomer says "Some of them actually want to help you and will take pleasure in helping you, as long as they feel you are both worthy and trustworthy. In other words, deserving" (pg 9). At the end of the day, the best way to get a mentor is to nurture your connections through mutual value exchange.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Life, Conflict and Work

Work Place Counselling

Getting The Media Attention You Deserve

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.