MAKE PEOPLE YOUR PRIORITY

Hello May!  This month I challenge you to fall in love with your people, even more. A thriving business and deeply connected life begins and ends with the investment we make in the people around us.  Are you fully engaged with the people who are already with you? 

It’s very human of us to get distracted looking for something new to add to what we already have going. While it’s important to meet new people in order to grow our business, it’s much easier to cultivate new crop in an already fertilized and well kept garden.  If you are working on growing your business or deepening relationships in your life, double down on the people who are already with you.   

How well do you know them?
What’s their driving goal?
What’s the thing they need to progress in their life or career?
Who are the most important people in their life?
What people, services, or needs do they want connected to?  Maybe you can help.

I want to invite you to join me and my clients in an exercise we are working on this month focusing directly on your circle of influence.  The people in your world who you may be able to help.  The exercise begins in the place where you store contact information, a database, excel spreadsheet, one place you can organize them all together.  Once you are here, evaluate each contact from a scale of 1-10 with this one question–How important is it to develop this relationship, even more?   (1= not so much, 10= double down, big time).  How would you answer for each person?  

This exercise gives you feedback about where to spend your time and energy this month.  The data for you to calendar intentional connection with a phone call, coffee, or lunch.  In Adam Grant’s book, Give and Take, he shares that givers are people who unselfishly help others without expecting anything in return and are most likely to succeed. Takers try to obtain more out of their social interactions than they give in return, putting their own interests first. Matchers try to find balance between giving and taking.  Leaders are givers. Leaders initiate conversation and engagement, without expectation of something in return.  When you reach out, connect with the sole intention of listening and learning how you might be able to help them.     

You are either visible or invisible to your people, on-purpose or by accident.  A little more intention can go a long way.  How will you prioritize connection with your people this month?  As always, stay open, brave, and on-purpose.