The Business of Relationships

We spend a large portion of our waking adult life in our work–selling, designing, delivering, investing, writing, etc. Building and maintaining strong professional relationships is, in my humble experience, the central variable to a truly fulfilling professional journey. We are social primates at our core, and even the more introverted of us (like me) thirst for and thrive on genuine connection with others.?

Taking relationships for granted

Great relationships–family, close friends, significant others, business partners, you name it–are easy to take for granted. I, for one, have been guilty of neglecting some of my close relationships at various moments. Indeed, proactively investing in those close connections is a central activity of mine these days both on the personal side and the professional side.

Maintaining your relationships in business

Regardless of your field, trade, or discipline, your work almost surely involves interacting with other people. I struggle to imagine what a theoretical career might look like absent meaningful interpersonal relationships with teammates, customers, managers, investors, and beyond.?

One high ROI habit that I recommend (but I see too few adopt) is merely letting those in your professional network know when you’ve made a significant career-related change such as taking a new role, starting at a new company, moving to a new city, going back to school, etc.?

Suppose, I've accepted a new role at a new company that I'm super excited about. I might send an email to folks in my network with whom I've especially enjoyed interacting to let them know that I appreciated meeting them and wanted to keep in touch.

This kind of email is wonderful because there is no “ask.” Rather, it’s a rare gesture of thoughtfulness of a genuine, sincere variety.

I might consider sending a version of this email to?

• former bosses
• a salesperson I bought (or almost bought) something from
• a customer I sold (or almost sold) something to
• someone I met briefly at a conference or event, but I had an especially good convo with
• someone I went to school with who may be in the same field/industry today
• an investor I had a positive interaction with
• a professor studying/researching/teaching in a relevant discipline

All upside

Adopting this simple norm/tradition has, for me at least, yielded rewards beyond measure.

First, actively thinking back on the people I’ve crossed paths with professionally and letting them know that I remember them positively and appreciated meeting them is a tremendously fulfilling thing to do; provided the exercise is sincere, this is often a much appreciated gesture among those to whom you reach out.?

Second, taking the time to send such an email often (not always, but very often) has very positive knock-on effects. The world we live and work in is small and grows smaller with every birthday. If you’ve had a positive interaction with someone professionally in the past, it’s a good bet that were you to have another opportunity to work together, it would also be good.?

Pro Tips:

• Be genuine and sincere
• Don’t spam anyone
• Keep wordcount < 150
• Send from your Gmail

Conclusion

Again, we invest a huge portion of our waking adult hours working. Hopefully, you have the good fortune to meet and interact professionally with others you jive well with and energize you. Recognizing those connections as they happen and recalling the most positive ones is an activity that will likely positively influence your own emotional well-being. Great professional connections, no matter how brief, tend to come back around.?

From my perspective, keeping within the orbit of those professional connections who’ve been most positive along the way in your professional journey is well-worth contemplation and a quick email..