I needed to go to my LinkedIn profile to get a link to add to my Lijit.com profile. While I was there I saw something new. At least it was new to me. There was a list of names of people I might know. In fact, 2 of the names listed are for people I do know. I had not talked to them in years and I hope they will accept my invitation. I thought it would be best to try to connect now, rather than to let another 5+ years go by. ( I will do a post about Lijit another time - it is a great idea.)
In the past few months, particularly after my book came out quite a few people have "found" me again. I think it also has something to do with the growth of social networks. I have learned that three of the high school students that worked with me on my first company now have children. People I knew in Southern California are now in Africa! People I thought would not amount to much, have amounted to a great deal.
We used to say at tradeshows, "Be careful what you say here. You will probably work with, for or over just about everyone here today." Most industries are fairly closed communities. If you make a lot of friends it can be a great thing. If you burn a lot of bridges it can be a bad thing.
When I was doing research for the next book...
I found that during the worst company crisis moments, those companies that survived them usually did so because of relationships they had developed. There are times when nothing can save a company, but at the very least, people can move on and it is much easier when you have a lot of connections.
Some of the survivor stories are in book 2 and they are great. Others were not that easy to share in the limited space of one chapter. I'm thinking about doing a whole series on some of them. I find these stories inspirational. Not just because some great disaster was averted, but more so because it helps me to recall that no matter how bad it gets, the sun comes up tomorrow and you will always have your friends if you treat them right.
I know I addressed this before, and Malcolm Gladwell cited that wonderful Christmas card list research in Blink about our inability to manage a set of contacts greater than 150 people, but it is very important to build connections in a positive manner. Start by giving, then see what you get. At meetings make a point to hand cards only after you have introduced yourself and you are certain you have something that you can do for that person - not just something you can charge them for.
If you know me, and want to connect to me on LinkedIn or any of the other 30+ places I can be found on the Internet - just search for drrogera. That is probably me you'll find. I still have the same email address I had 10+ years ago when I started Anderson Unicom Group. If you know it, try it. I look forward to hearing from you.
(BTW - If you are looking to increase your visibility on Google searches you may want to try, in addition to MySpace, Facebook and Lijit, Ziki, Blogcadre, and My Ragan)
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