Business is Personal
I think most of
us are trained to believe that business and friendship don't mix. Some
of us find that we need time to be ourselves and let our hair down.
Many people
work hard at business and have no friends, no family and no social
life. When business gets difficult they find themselves completely
alone.
The reality is
that people like to do business with people they like. So doesn't it
make good sense to be liked? Building friendships in all spheres of
our lives may seem like work but it shouldn't, we simply need to open
our smiles and our hearts to the world.
The simple
truth is that if you can get someone to tell you their story you can
learn to like them. To understand all is to forgive all and that opens
the opportunity for friendship.
There are many
types of friendship and many of us only need one or two close
friendships but to be generally friendly is to open your world to
possibilities you never imagined.
Imagine having
a warm supportive family, neighbors and business community that are
friendly and supportive and that look out for you and imagine three or
four hundred people that you know well connected to your role in the
community?
What a difference that would make?
A True Story
About six or
seven years ago I was attending a trade show in Anaheim. One afternoon
I was returning from the show to my hotel on one of those show shuttle
buses. I was in a great mood joking with fellow passengers and
chatting with my seat-mate Keith. The conversation with Keith bounced
around until we started talking about a man whom we both knew, I will
call him Bill. I told Keith that Bill was a great guy, one of the
nicest guys around, in fact, but that I just could not stand him. Bill
just rubbed me the wrong way.
We when we
arrived at the hotel. The bus driver got off first and when I got off
he asked if he could have a word with me. He walked to the rear of the
bus and not knowing what to think I followed him.
He pulled a money clip out of his pocket and handed me a dollar bill.
"I have a
question for you and I want to pay you for your time" he said "I heard
you talking about that nice man who you could not stand and I wondered
why because you see I am the nicest person there could be but I don't
have any friends."
I was stunned
by the question and the situation and mumbled some sort of answer
before I left him but the incident has never left me.
There are many
people who have few or no friends. The reasons can be simple or
complex but rarely is it because they are not liked.
Sometimes in business we simply keep our heads down and do the work and don't find the time to develop relationships.
Well, nothing can be achieved without the help of others and although it may at times seems daunting to build a large network the payoff is enormous.
I
have known people in business whose lives were made so much easier
because they were truly liked. I have known situations where sales
people have even been able to ask competitors for assistance when
something went wrong.
If
you have not been giving enough attention to your contacts start today
to build closer relationships. You will find that with steady attention
in three months things will be different and in a year your business
and personal life will be much more vibrant. In five years you will
have assured your position.
Look
around you at the people with the highest profile in your industry or
your community. They all started somewhere and built - you can do the
same. If you do, you life and your business will be much, much easier.
If
you have difficulty meeting people and building relationships then read
a good book such as "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale
Carnegie or join Toastmasters and learn to talk with more confidence. Use programs such as linkedin to maintain and expand your contacts. There are many tools but the first step is always up to us!
Think about it!
