Yesterday morning I had the pleasure of attending a half day summit featuring Mitch Joel (author of Six Pixels of Separation), Julien Smith and Chris Brogan (authors of Trust Agents). The event was put on by the Women Tech Council and I was a guest of Pounders Grill (an amazing Hawaiian food restaurant here in Utah, highly recommended). All three presentations were inspirational and all three men are very down-to-earth, genuine human beings. Though they are presenting, the vibe is much like that of an engaging conversation. However, one area jumped out at me:
Be The Lead Goose
Growing up as a kid in Idaho, I would often see Canadian geese fly overhead during their seasonal migrations. Similar to the picture above, the geese fly in a V formation. As many of us know the lead goose puts in the most effort and makes flying easier for all the other geese in the V.
Julien compared the V to your network and you should be the lead goose. That means you’ve got to make things easier for your network. But how?
- Invite, Invite, Invite – You may have overcome the temptation to sit on the couch, but others in your network may need a little help. Invitations can help get people off the couch, because you have 0% chance of making connections at home, but at least some chance if you go out. This works for your business life and your social life.
- Carpool – If an invite isn’t enough, carpool. Every little bit of motivation helps.
- Make Introductions – If you’re talking with one acquaintance and another comes to say hi, introduce your other friend. Better still, include a compliment in the intro.
- Follow-up – This includes not only connecting on LinkedIn or following someone on Twitter, but making sure you follow up on any promises you made. Did you say you’d introduce them to a friend? Do it. Did you say you wanted to have lunch sometime? Schedule it.
What are you doing to be the lead goose?
About Robert
