when there are no business cards
Shortly after returning from serving as Scholar-in-Residence for a civic engagement program in South Africa, Greg wrote a column entitled "When There Are No Business Cards". It chronicles the series of events that led him to Africa, looks at the business-relevant lessons that can be learned from that journey, and shares his philosophies about how we treat the people we meet while we travel (and how we treat people, in general, when we don't know who they are). The column ran in Business Edge Magazine in Canada. To read the column, scroll down.
WHEN THERE ARE NO BUSINESS CARDS
- Curiosity, sincerity can lead to amazing results
By Greg Forbes Siegman
On the second leg of a plane ride home from a business trip to Ontario, I sat next to a complete stranger.
The man was dressed informally for a day of travel. There was no way for me to know he was actually in a position of some authority with one of North America's best-known companies.
And it would not have mattered. I was happy to learn about him, his family and his interests simply because life had seated us side-by-side. In fact, even after he said what he did for a living and for whom he did it, we still spent most of the flight talking about other things (predicting who would win the next Super Bowl, for instance).
None of which is to say the overall experience had no impact on business. Six months after our chance meeting on that plane, he hired me to speak at an event he was hosting for a hundred or so of his colleagues. That day, I discussed, among other things, the importance of treating the kid who serves coffee with as much respect as you would show the CEO who drinks it. At the time, I had no idea my words would prove so ironic.
One night earlier, after arriving in town for the event and getting dinner with a friend who happened to live in the area, I had gone to a coffee shop to prepare for the speech and work on a portrait I had been sketching (a hobby to take my mind off business every now and then).
While I was there, the coffee shop's employees - some of whom were also in school - approached me to look at the portrait-in-progress. (I was drawing Shel Silverstein, the legendary poet who addressed seemingly complicated issues in profoundly simple ways.) The staffers and I ended up speaking for the next 30 or 40 minutes. At first, we talked about art. Before long, the conversation had covered everything from civil rights to college to careers.
I'd never been to this place (or the town, for that matter), and did not know anyone on the staff. There was no way for me to know some young people working at a coffee shop had the influence to do anything more than give me a complimentary treat to go with my drink. And it would not have mattered. I was happy to take the time to get to know them simply because we found ourselves in the same place at the same time.
The next day, unbeknownst to me, while I was delivering the speech, one of the staff members at the coffee shop told one of her teachers about our chance meeting. In turn, from what I understand, that teacher looked up my website and then shared it with someone else. And just like that, the Ripple Effect had begun - the link being passed along, one person at a time.
A few days later, one of those people to whom the story had spread - a complete stranger - contacted me online and then extended an offer for me to do some work in the United States and some additional work in Africa.
Three months later, as improbable as it might seem, I was packing my bags for Cape Town.
The man on the plane and the young woman who serves coffee. I treated them the same - blissfully unaware that either could impact my life quite like they did, and yet, profoundly convinced it was worth treating them like they could. I ended up with two new friends, and a journey half way around the world.
There are some who will read about this chain of events that led me to Africa and chalk it up to little more than serendipity and dumb luck. Admittedly, when it comes to business, I am not exactly sophisticated. I have been known to keep my files in cereal boxes. I don't know the first thing about venture capital. Interest rates confuse me and I have never written a business plan. But rest assured, what happened was no fluke. In fact, these Ripple Effects can and do happen every day. It just requires time, the willingness to spend it, and a little curiosity.
Well, actually, there is another prerequisite. Sincerity.
If we want to experience extraordinary results from the seemingly ordinary, chance meetings that happen every day, then we have to believe - sincerely - that it is worth our time to meet people who do not appear to be able to help us advance our careers. Upon reflection, we have to believe - sincerely - that it was worth our time even if they never did help advance our careers. We have to believe sincerely that they possess knowledge and experience we can learn from.
And we have to believe sincerely that their lives cannot be defined in full by anything printed on a small rectangular piece of paper. A business card can only tell us a person's name, what he or she does, and where he or she does it. It cannot truly tell us who a person is. It cannot tell us why they do what they do. It cannot tell us about the family who raised them, the teachers who guided them, the supervisors who mentored them, the books which influenced them, the places they have explored, the obstacles they have overcome or the philosophies by which they live.
To be clear, I am not suggesting we blindly trust everyone we encounter. Nor am I trying to minimize the value of meeting men and women who have ascended to the top of the corporate ladder and are justifiably proud of the impressive titles on their business cards. All I am suggesting is that they are not the only ones who can influence us.
If we are open to learning about the people who cross our path during our travels - without regard to the "prestige" associated with what they do or where they do it - there is a good chance they can impact our work (and, more importantly, our lives), too. The server who brings us lunch while we are in the airport restaurant, the flight attendant who reminds us to fasten our seat belts before takeoff, the passenger sitting next to us on the plane and the bellman who helps with our bags when we arrive at the hotel all may well be just as worth learning about and learning from as the executives who sign their paycheques.
At the very least, there is only one way to find out.
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Click here to return to the home page of www.GregForbes.com
- Curiosity, sincerity can lead to amazing results
By Greg Forbes Siegman
On the second leg of a plane ride home from a business trip to Ontario, I sat next to a complete stranger.
The man was dressed informally for a day of travel. There was no way for me to know he was actually in a position of some authority with one of North America's best-known companies.
And it would not have mattered. I was happy to learn about him, his family and his interests simply because life had seated us side-by-side. In fact, even after he said what he did for a living and for whom he did it, we still spent most of the flight talking about other things (predicting who would win the next Super Bowl, for instance).
None of which is to say the overall experience had no impact on business. Six months after our chance meeting on that plane, he hired me to speak at an event he was hosting for a hundred or so of his colleagues. That day, I discussed, among other things, the importance of treating the kid who serves coffee with as much respect as you would show the CEO who drinks it. At the time, I had no idea my words would prove so ironic.
One night earlier, after arriving in town for the event and getting dinner with a friend who happened to live in the area, I had gone to a coffee shop to prepare for the speech and work on a portrait I had been sketching (a hobby to take my mind off business every now and then).
While I was there, the coffee shop's employees - some of whom were also in school - approached me to look at the portrait-in-progress. (I was drawing Shel Silverstein, the legendary poet who addressed seemingly complicated issues in profoundly simple ways.) The staffers and I ended up speaking for the next 30 or 40 minutes. At first, we talked about art. Before long, the conversation had covered everything from civil rights to college to careers.
I'd never been to this place (or the town, for that matter), and did not know anyone on the staff. There was no way for me to know some young people working at a coffee shop had the influence to do anything more than give me a complimentary treat to go with my drink. And it would not have mattered. I was happy to take the time to get to know them simply because we found ourselves in the same place at the same time.
The next day, unbeknownst to me, while I was delivering the speech, one of the staff members at the coffee shop told one of her teachers about our chance meeting. In turn, from what I understand, that teacher looked up my website and then shared it with someone else. And just like that, the Ripple Effect had begun - the link being passed along, one person at a time.
A few days later, one of those people to whom the story had spread - a complete stranger - contacted me online and then extended an offer for me to do some work in the United States and some additional work in Africa.
Three months later, as improbable as it might seem, I was packing my bags for Cape Town.
The man on the plane and the young woman who serves coffee. I treated them the same - blissfully unaware that either could impact my life quite like they did, and yet, profoundly convinced it was worth treating them like they could. I ended up with two new friends, and a journey half way around the world.
There are some who will read about this chain of events that led me to Africa and chalk it up to little more than serendipity and dumb luck. Admittedly, when it comes to business, I am not exactly sophisticated. I have been known to keep my files in cereal boxes. I don't know the first thing about venture capital. Interest rates confuse me and I have never written a business plan. But rest assured, what happened was no fluke. In fact, these Ripple Effects can and do happen every day. It just requires time, the willingness to spend it, and a little curiosity.
Well, actually, there is another prerequisite. Sincerity.
If we want to experience extraordinary results from the seemingly ordinary, chance meetings that happen every day, then we have to believe - sincerely - that it is worth our time to meet people who do not appear to be able to help us advance our careers. Upon reflection, we have to believe - sincerely - that it was worth our time even if they never did help advance our careers. We have to believe sincerely that they possess knowledge and experience we can learn from.
And we have to believe sincerely that their lives cannot be defined in full by anything printed on a small rectangular piece of paper. A business card can only tell us a person's name, what he or she does, and where he or she does it. It cannot truly tell us who a person is. It cannot tell us why they do what they do. It cannot tell us about the family who raised them, the teachers who guided them, the supervisors who mentored them, the books which influenced them, the places they have explored, the obstacles they have overcome or the philosophies by which they live.
To be clear, I am not suggesting we blindly trust everyone we encounter. Nor am I trying to minimize the value of meeting men and women who have ascended to the top of the corporate ladder and are justifiably proud of the impressive titles on their business cards. All I am suggesting is that they are not the only ones who can influence us.
If we are open to learning about the people who cross our path during our travels - without regard to the "prestige" associated with what they do or where they do it - there is a good chance they can impact our work (and, more importantly, our lives), too. The server who brings us lunch while we are in the airport restaurant, the flight attendant who reminds us to fasten our seat belts before takeoff, the passenger sitting next to us on the plane and the bellman who helps with our bags when we arrive at the hotel all may well be just as worth learning about and learning from as the executives who sign their paycheques.
At the very least, there is only one way to find out.
##
Click here to return to the home page of www.GregForbes.com