Fear, Love, LinkedIn Message Diatribe, Virtual vs. In-Person Meetings, An Open-Hearted Vision of People who Embrace Life
“There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life.” — John Lennon
Good morning, we hit the bed at 9:00; I’m up at 5:50, it’s a 9-hour sleep fest, and I feel rested and ready to take on another day. The sunrise is fantastic; the clouds are sitting at about 4000 feet, we can see the mountains and the clouds rolling in; it makes for a beautiful morning. The sun is just peaking her head up; I’ll wait for a few and snap a photo to accompany this soup.
It’s quiet here; the sound of our windchime and the fireplace crackle is all that one can hear. The light typing of my fingers on this keyboard allows for another little sound. PVHT is now chewing on a plastic container, another sound to add to our morning orchestra. If you can, stop and listen to your music’s sounds, there is music all around; some never stop to listen.
My friends Dave Fingers and Kyle Grivette have a video podcast weekly, and I got a mention. Kyle was sharing he was a face-to-face guy, but I had transitioned nicely to the online virtual world. It’s true; I like nothing more than connecting with folks virtually but still put a premium on the face-to-face interaction. They talked about getting pitched on LinkedIn, and I’d like to drop some wisdom around this topic.
For example, I got this from a man I don’t know, but I do know his company. Hi Anson Ross Thompson,
At Vistage, our model gives CEOs a forum to come together and tap into each other’s insights and experiences to solve their challenges, learn and grow personally and professionally. This outside perspective can help you avert disaster and substantially increase your company, all while connecting with growth leaders and a one-on-one mentor.
Your experience as Co-Owner with Jenny Dils Durr and executive-level positions make you an excellent fit for a Vistage group. We have a few openings for someone with experience in your area.
Would you be open to chatting this week? If you’re interested in exploring this opportunity, take a look at some benefits to you, and my team will be in touch soon after.
Wishing you every success,
Jim Meredith
Regional Consultant - Team Lead
Ok, Jim, well stated, but no interest. I’m on a TAB Board these days; I’ll connect with you but have no interest in your offering. You are the man I meet at a networking event, and instead of telling me who you are, you tell me what you do and how your features and benefits might help my Queen and me.
I understand Jim’s approach but think a more who over what message might garner more attention. If you plan on sending a personal note, look at the person’s profile and see if you can find a hobby or interest that you share. Then say something like, “Anson, your V.W. Bus is amazing; my wife and I are talking about investing in a bus. Would you be open to sharing how you found your little bus of joy?”
That message tells me two things; he first has looked at my profile; we have a connection, and we can chat about something more significant than what we do for money. If you are marketing using LinkedIn, try this approach, I think you might be surprised how many people respond. Connect with their who and if the what comes up in conversation, decide if there are synergies, and schedule another call.
We have time, you know, if you are leaning into the virtual world, you can run 7 or 8 new calls a day. At 30 minutes each, that is 4 hours of an 8-hour workday, that gives you four hours to do your other work, answer email, write some bullshit, maybe work on your novel, and read some enlightenment from another human.
The camel’s nose is under the tent, and for all of you that want to return to our pre-2019 world, there will be a sect of society that wants to return to driving an hour to meet you, flying across the country to have a business meeting. But I’ll be a little more selective. I think there are those of us who will choose to work virtual more than not but use that personal visit as a cherished time to share.
The world will be drawn up between new school and old school work approach; you might want to think about how your company will move forward. Do you want your sales team to have one to two face-to-face meetings a day, or would you instead run 7 or 8 a day and then take a day to only meet with those that provide a human connection?
I had this experience this week with my Peer group, many in our group have the office mindset, and I respect their approach. But for me, driving an hour one way at 6:30 a.m. in a snowstorm didn’t make much sense. Coaching and counsel will move to the virtual world, with those receiving the teaching now can choose to drive or Zoom in. I’m a Zoomer, and it might cause me to begin searching for a meeting that is virtual only.
My new teaching company is virtual only. If you want to fly me to your place of business, put me up in a swanky VRBO or Air B and B, you may, but I would prefer you allow me to teach your team from the comfort of my mountain home. Will this work, I have no idea, but I’m going to give it a try.
Speaking of peer groups, initiated by the LinkedIn message from Jim Merideth from Vistage, I think it time we begin thinking about homos and heteros. I’ve been a member of many hetero peer groups, but I think a homo group might be good for our company as well. The outside perspective is excellent, but what about some inside baseball from others in your industry from around the country. What tools are they using, what is their process, how are they fighting the demons that you too fight daily.
If you are a young entrepreneur, might I suggest you begin a virtual peer group for your industry? I’m going to do this, set up multiple in my industry; if you are an insurance agency owner and need some help, message me; I’ll connect you with other similar-sized insurance agency owners from around the country. You and I will meet for an hour a month to uncover your major problem or problem(s), and the group thinks of solutions.
I’m just spitballing, but I do think the virtual training peer group model has legs. As I gain more time due to my new way of working, I’ll build a policy and process for my new company. This new world is my dream, and it took a bat in China to expose how I can work smarter and not harder. Enjoy the day, but you have some things to ponder, how is your LinkedIn initial message working out, should you go who/what, are you going to go back to the way it was or lean into the way it might be?
“There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life.”