you're not the boss of me!
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Reach out and Connect
The book The Tipping Point talks about the phenomenon of word of mouth. Malcom Gladwell (author) says "...word of mouth is something created by three very rare and special psychological types, whom I call Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen. A Connector is someone who has acquaintenceships with a lot of people who move in different circles who they enjoy bringing together."
Now not everyone can fit into these categories. I myself am an inspiring Connector. I have this habit of being social. I meet friends of friends (2nd degree) and then if worthy, I end up becoming their friend (1st degree). This keeps happening and I see myself having all these circles of friends. The key though is mixing the circles together.
It's not easy as it sounds.
Just because you invite Group A to meet Group C doesn't mean that they are going to give a hoot. So maybe I need to start off slow...invite a couple from Group B and a couple from Group A to have dinner and then grab a drink with a member of Group C. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Now here is also where it can get tricky. Some people are what we in society call shy. They open up to me because they know me and..well...I am nosey. But others? Sometimes they don't make an attempt or their quietness can be interperted to "not friendly". I mean, I think we have all been accused of this. We can call this Roadblock 1.
Maybe the key trick to being a Connector is to recognize other Connectors within the circles and then work from there? Challenge Accepted; I'm coming for ya!
Now not everyone can fit into these categories. I myself am an inspiring Connector. I have this habit of being social. I meet friends of friends (2nd degree) and then if worthy, I end up becoming their friend (1st degree). This keeps happening and I see myself having all these circles of friends. The key though is mixing the circles together.
It's not easy as it sounds.
Just because you invite Group A to meet Group C doesn't mean that they are going to give a hoot. So maybe I need to start off slow...invite a couple from Group B and a couple from Group A to have dinner and then grab a drink with a member of Group C. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Now here is also where it can get tricky. Some people are what we in society call shy. They open up to me because they know me and..well...I am nosey. But others? Sometimes they don't make an attempt or their quietness can be interperted to "not friendly". I mean, I think we have all been accused of this. We can call this Roadblock 1.
Maybe the key trick to being a Connector is to recognize other Connectors within the circles and then work from there? Challenge Accepted; I'm coming for ya!
DC
i love going away for the weekend.
This past weekend I went to good old Washington, DC to visit some of my friends. In a lot of ways this trip turned out to be a big reunion for me. It's really amazing to see how close knit the indian community is. You know that whole "6 degrees of separation"? well with Indian's, it's like "3 degrees". If you know at least 1-2 people in a given location, chances are you will know their friends and their friends. I ran into people this weekend that I haven't seen in years. Why? Because they are all from Pittsburgh and I have family in Pittsburgh. Then I met some friends of theirs...and there it goes again. Crazy.
This past weekend I went to good old Washington, DC to visit some of my friends. In a lot of ways this trip turned out to be a big reunion for me. It's really amazing to see how close knit the indian community is. You know that whole "6 degrees of separation"? well with Indian's, it's like "3 degrees". If you know at least 1-2 people in a given location, chances are you will know their friends and their friends. I ran into people this weekend that I haven't seen in years. Why? Because they are all from Pittsburgh and I have family in Pittsburgh. Then I met some friends of theirs...and there it goes again. Crazy.
