Becoming a relationship builder has been my slowest area of progress.  I am sure I could come up with some reasons that sound good as to why I have not developed as much in this area.  The primary reason is that of my three objectives, this is the weakest, and I do not have a clear-cut answer as to how to improve.  Therefore, I avoid it a little bit.  I have taken some actions I can classify in this area, but I have not wholehearted made a commitment to make big improvements.

I approached this objective by setting a learning agenda.  I put together several lunch and coffee meetings with people I know that I believe set the standard in this area.  My goal in taking the meetings was to find an answer as to how I might improve.  I took the meetings and learned a lot.  Not quite enough for me to know exactly how to be better.  However, I did generate some ideas and consistent actions to ensure I am working at it.

The most significant learning from this first round of meetings was the suggestion that I read The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy.  It is about finding consistent actions that will pay big dividends in the long run.  Read my book review of The Compound Effect.

My routine is simple at this point, and I have yet to complete all the actions in a given week.

My goal is to:

• proactively reach out to an existing customer I have not talked to in a long time
• provide an update to a customer we have been working closely with
• reach out to a new prospect
• write a recommendation for someone who impresses me
• reinforce a relationship with a longtime friend

These goals are intended to be the minimum expectation of growth.  Many times, I have done more than the minimum in a category of growth, but not yet covered all five.

The most encouraging aspect of this effort has been the reminder of an important principle.  I continually guide my life by a philosophy that success often comes from finding the one next thing to do.  In so many meetings and events, I have been able to find at least one follow-up action.  From these single actions now come a long string of connections that have added so much value to my life, both professionally and personally.  I was reminded of this recently because I had subconsciously raised my expectations to multiple actions instead of looking for the one next thing.  This totally takes the pressure off.  Finding one more thing is easy.  An example of the compound effect.  How about that?