Wells are dug because people need water. If you don’t dig a well or at least create a pipeline you might find yourself without water. When it comes to creating sustainable change, the same truth holds.
One of the leadership qualities that’s often overlooked is the ability to connect and steward a sustainable network. People neglect to build a pipeline of people, relationships, and resources then wonder why they have no success. Creating a successful network starts with the mindset of giving to your network and before you know, the network would start taking care of you. Figure out a problem the other person has and help them solve that problem. Start digging! Fill your pipeline and you will never get thirsty.
In my previous blog, I shared a system that helps the ordinary person like you to re-engage with their forgotten networks. Re-engaging and rekindling old relationships is hugely important — if we’re in regular contact with people, we find ourselves reconnected to our network, and see a lot of incoming opportunities personally and professionally that we may not otherwise have.
Regular contact and follow up with your network will help you get rid of guilt and hesitation we get when we need to reach out to someone and ask for a favor but we haven’t spoken to them in decades. This is what best-selling author Harvey Mackay mean in his book — Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty.
Instead of just letting your phone and email programs suggest for you random selections of people to engage with today I am going to share with you an old trick, more proactive and simple. You don’t need an airconditioned room in vegas or some fancy office space, you can do this in the hot, smelly and crowded subway of New York City.
- Here’s the exercise, imagine you got laid off from your job today. Who are the top ten people you’d reach out to immediately to solicit their advice on what to do next?
- Now, get your writing/note-taking device ready (pen and paper, note-taking app of choice on your computer or phone) and create this list right now.
- Reach out to these people using the techniques and a template from my text engage blog either via text, email or with a quick phone call, re-engage those people now while you don’t actually need anything from them.
These simple techniques and routines are great to have under your belt, and earlier you employ them, the better of you are in stewarding your network!
Happy connecting!
