Chance connections aren’t really by chance, they are meant to be!

“Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous” – Albert Einstein

Last Thursday I was walking down Yonge Street in Toronto heading for an 11am meeting when I ran into a throng, quite a large throng I may add, of business men and women all suited up with clip boards in hand walking to who knows where. I was wandering what the big occasion was…. was it a tour group, real estate agents checking out the new condos being built, a convention going on I didn’t know about? I happened to walk along-side a lady that was part of the throng and started up a conversation.  We exchanged the usual pleasantries, talked about how great that it wasn’t raining and continued walking along the street. I found out the “throng” had just come out of a company meeting and that she was working on several projects. I asked her how the project was going and what her role in the project was. “Funny” I said to her “I am in fact a project manager.  I know just how it feels working on a challenging project”. Projects, project teams, deliverables, milestones…. kind of language are near and dear to me. She asked me where I work, to which I responded, “I am in transition and looking for my next opportunity”. She then excitedly suggested I run up two blocks to the head of the throng, to meet with the recruiting manager. Not an easy feat in heals and a tight skirt in the heart of busy Yonge Street sandwiched with people beside and ahead of you. Thanks, but no thanks!! I gave her my business card, asked her to pass it along to the recruiting manager and asked her to keep in touch. The latter being the most important. I love meeting people, building relationships and maintaining those relationships. Some of those relationships have become some of my closest friends, trusted advisers and one of those relationships, ended up my husband! So, I don’t take chance meetings lightly in the least bit.

The next day I had an email waiting for me from my newly found friend letting me know that she’s passed my information over to her recruiter. I then got a call later that day, from the recruiting manager himself discussing the future opportunities, company culture, and turns out, he happened to know three of my former bosses that I loved working with! It’s a small world after all!

I don’t believe in coincidences. I believe that things certainly happen for a reason. I believe that chance meetings grow into infectious connections. In a time where we are inundated with noise, information, throngs of people and just our day to day busy lives, it’s so important to connect, be it short and so called “coincidental”. These connections will eventual grow, become infectious, help tie our talents and ideas and ultimately bring us closer to helping each other out. Next time you are walking next to someone, make sure you walk with them, take a moment to say hello and be open to the wondrous possibilities!

You learnt Networking in Kindergarten…. You just need to bring it out!

I have been silent for a while and was wondering what to blog about. I started on a post only to switch gears to talk about…. networking. Since of late I have been attending a lot of self awareness and entrepreneurial workshops. One of the workshops was on self branding and networking. As I sat eager to absorb all what was in store, I looked around the room, observing everyone’s reaction to the speaker. About half the room was wide eyed and bushy tailed, the other half nervously shifted, looking around the floor and at everyone but the speaker. The information was an easy digest for those wide eyed bushy tailed folks, but quite extreme for the other half. I heard one say “I am not in sales, it’s just not for me”. Hmm, don’t we sell something at some point in our illustrious lives? Didn’t we all have to sell chocolates or raffle tickets for our school club or sports team? Didn’t we have to sell our parents on the latest video game, toy, gear or social event we ABSOLUTELY needed? For those of us parents, haven’t we sold our kids on programs, books and lessons that were CRITICAL to their development and growth? “It’ll be lots of fun” I’d say making sure my tone and excitement matched the desired outcome. I digress….. back to NETWORKING.

First what is networking? It’s building and maintaining relationships. It’s making new friends and keeping the “old” ones. Networking is vital to starting and maintaining a business, to gaining satisfactory employment and contributing to your community and society. It started in kindergarten and that we do it everyday without us even realizing it. My hope is that we recognize it, do it with intent, be authentic and don’t focus on getting but also giving in return. The bolded words need the most focus. Focus on the giving and it will be a pleasure to network, any time and anywhere. Be authentic and it will feel smooth as butter. So, here’s what we ALL learned in kindergarten that will help us network and be better relationship builders! 

• Ask your friends if they want to play. Then ask your friends to bring their friends to play next time. Soon you will be playing with your newly found friends and all you had to do was just be introduced. Haven’t we done that playing in the sandbox? You invite your good friend Jenny, then she invites her friend Sammy and soon you and Sammy are hanging out. The same goes with relationships today. Connect with your friendly circle, who will then introduce you to their friendly circle and before you know it you have a bigger friendly circle to play with.

• Share your toys! Sharing is caring and it’s never fun to play alone. You have talents, stories, ideas, skills, experiences and passion, which are your grown-up toys. Share them and share them willingly with people. You never know when you will be called upon to share them. Your passion and willingness are key! Share them grudgingly and my guess is that you will be enjoying your toys all by yourself. Share them willingly and passionately and you will be sharing a whole lot!

• Ask questions! We stopped asking loads of questions somewhere between kindergarten and high school, not sure why. Go back to kindergarten and be child-like in your questioning. Ask them what they do, what they like about it and what they don’t. Ask them what “toys” they have and share with them the “toys” you have. Didn’t we all do that? “I have a school house with a bell on it at home we can play with, what do you have?”

• Be nice! Be yourself and Smile! Yes that’s 3 bullets wrapped into one. 

As I end this know that I am smiling. I am myself and dare I say most times I am NICE! Happy networking all!