Time to make the donuts

It's Monday. A new week chock full of opportunities and growing a relationship.

Opportunities to connect that is.

Mondays are the perfect time to assess who from your network you need to reach out to during the upcoming week. Monday mornings for me is a great time to sit down with a nice cup of coffee, open up my address book or my LinkedIn and pick someone that I know in my heart of hearts that I need to reach out to and reconnect with.

Maybe it's someone that I haven't talked to in a while.

Might be someone I met at an event and I'd like to continue the conversation.

Could be someone that I know would benefit from an opportunity I heard about last week.

Possibly it's someone I know who will smile just because I made the effort.

There are tons of reasons to reengage someone from your network if you just take the time to put a little thought into it. And that's the key my friend - you have to put some thought into it. You should always have a valid reason for reaching out to someone from your network even if it's just to let them know you were thinking about them.

This one little action can be a game-changer for you.

If you committed to just reaching out to two people from your network each week, imagine what that might mean to the health and dependability of your network over the course of a month?

I shouldn't have to point out the obvious but I will.

Someday you might need these people from your network. You might need a new job, you might need an early adopter of your startup idea, and you might need to bring on some talent for your organization.

The keys to this and so much more are buried in the depths of your network. However...

Relationships don't grow without attention. 

That attention requires action: a phone call, a voice mail, a text message, a nicely written card (yes, people still do that) or an invitation for lunch or drinks. Every bit of that effort you put forth growing a relationship may benefit you at some point in your life and career.

Recently I reached out to a connection with whom I had not spoken in a while. They were happy to hear from me. As luck would have it, they were in the midst of wanting to make a career change. Because I had taken the time early on to get to know them, what they did, and ultimately what they liked about their job, I was able to quickly and easily make a connection to a firm that I knew had an opening.

The result? They started last week with a new venture. They are happy. The CEO of that other company is happy. The Ripple I made simply by "reaching out" and making an effort will undoubtedly fill the relationship tank I have with both individuals for some time to come.

The timing couldn't be more perfect. Was it chance? Perhaps. Was it an opportunity? Absolutely. Would any of it happen had I not taken the time to reach out? Absolutely not.

So, it's your turn. Today is a perfect day to follow my lead and go make some stuff happen. Go do some reconnecting and who knows, you may just find an opportunity to create a Ripple or two along the way.

It's time to make the donuts my friend. They ain't gonna make themselves.

Ripple On!!!

ICYMI: Visible Leadership