I reconnected with an old buddy today. Robert and I used to ride the train together into NYC for years. Robert's a sensational guy- smart, very nice, and I'll forgive the fact that he's a diehard Republican (just kidding Rob).
In those days, I knew Robert had a successful position with a major consulting firm. I had NO IDEA how successful nor did I pay any attention to his network or his center of influence. I attended parties at his house, he and his wife came to mine.
It never occurred to me to ask about what he did or who he interacted with, who his clients were. I wasn't paying attention.
At that time, Robert was a the Global Director of a huge division of one of the most prominent consulting firms in the country. The coincidence is that I now work with people in Robert's former industry. If I had learned more about Robert and his network back then, what might my network and opportunities look like today?
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A client of mine loves to play basketball. Every Thursday night, he and his buddies get together, pretend they are 22 again, and sweat it out on the court, wearing knee braces and taking ibuprofen to help them through the game. Afterward, they all go out for their ritual post-game beer.
One day, I asked my client what his buddies do for a living. He said he didn't know, he'd never asked. I resisted my mouth dropping open. I suggested that it might be a good idea to start a little conversation at the next post-game get together and find out what his buddies do.
Three months later, my client, haven taken me up on that suggestion, referred one of the biggest lit support cases the firm had received that year. Turns out one of his basketball friends had a relative experiencing a serious fraud situation and was in serious need of a forensic evaluation. My client got a very juicy referral bonus.
My client realized that while he wasn't paying attention, some important opportunities were in his blind spot.
Moral of the story: Even if you are meeting just the right people, you have to be paying attention and connecting with them, talking with them, and learning about them so you can provide value to them and benefit from the potential that abounds.
In those days, I knew Robert had a successful position with a major consulting firm. I had NO IDEA how successful nor did I pay any attention to his network or his center of influence. I attended parties at his house, he and his wife came to mine.
It never occurred to me to ask about what he did or who he interacted with, who his clients were. I wasn't paying attention.
At that time, Robert was a the Global Director of a huge division of one of the most prominent consulting firms in the country. The coincidence is that I now work with people in Robert's former industry. If I had learned more about Robert and his network back then, what might my network and opportunities look like today?
************************************************************
A client of mine loves to play basketball. Every Thursday night, he and his buddies get together, pretend they are 22 again, and sweat it out on the court, wearing knee braces and taking ibuprofen to help them through the game. Afterward, they all go out for their ritual post-game beer.
One day, I asked my client what his buddies do for a living. He said he didn't know, he'd never asked. I resisted my mouth dropping open. I suggested that it might be a good idea to start a little conversation at the next post-game get together and find out what his buddies do.
Three months later, my client, haven taken me up on that suggestion, referred one of the biggest lit support cases the firm had received that year. Turns out one of his basketball friends had a relative experiencing a serious fraud situation and was in serious need of a forensic evaluation. My client got a very juicy referral bonus.
My client realized that while he wasn't paying attention, some important opportunities were in his blind spot.
Moral of the story: Even if you are meeting just the right people, you have to be paying attention and connecting with them, talking with them, and learning about them so you can provide value to them and benefit from the potential that abounds.