Last year, when I gave the graduation speech to the Business and Law faculty at one of the universities I lecture at, I talked about the importance of building a network. I explained that starting this at school and expanding it out, particularly during one’s university years, is valuable, and over the years my most important asset has been my network.
In other words, develop an ability to connect with other human beings. In all relationships, people contact is vital in building those connections, whether it is with friends, family, business, or nation to nation. The most important thing is to connect. I encourage you to build your network and to be clear that the key is person-to-person contact.
I recently experienced another example of this. I was asked to attend a meeting in my role as chairman of one of the Business Councils. I had to meet an important trade delegation headed by the former chief executive of the postal service of his country.
Due to the fact that we had had a personal relationship, stemming back several years, he introduced me to his twelve-man delegation as his friend, which changed the whole tenure of those meetings.
Over the years, I have heard many teachers talk about ‘relationships being all there is,' and I think we all have had experiences of how our relationships, in so many cases, impact our outcomes. I always remember, when things when things don’t go as well as I would like them to, that the other person is doing the best that they can, based on their experience and viewpoint.
This is why I believe that it is really important when we have discussions that we have a purpose, a reason, for what it is we are doing or want to achieve. This really helps clarify things and if we follow this with being clear about what is our intention, we will soon discover the power of purpose and intent. Whether it is with family, friends, business relationships, or when I have something important to discuss, I always say, "The purpose of what I want to talk about is..." "The outcome, my intention is to achieve..."
You will be amazed to see how people, when they focus on these points, create some extremely positive results in their lives. Try it!