It’s not who you know, it’s how well you know them
It used to be said, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” Social media is adding a new twist to this old saying. It’s no longer who you know (we’re all connected within 6 degrees!), but how well you know them that makes a meaningful impact on peoples’ lives.
As I work with our incredible field force, I’m often struck by the power and depth of the relationships our advisors build with one another, their clients and their communities. They’re making a real and very personal impact that stands out in a world where building “connections” is often more about growing a following than developing deep and authentic relationships.
These real, human connections are the reason our advisors describe our field force as “family,” feel inspired to take leaps in their practices, and have the conviction to stand in front of an audience of 11,000 to share their stories of impact at our company’s Annual Meeting.
It’s the same human connection that clients feel when they meet with our advisors. The trusted relationships they build empower clients to talk about their most personal goals and, more importantly, take action to become more financially secure.
We just had a number of advisors out to our NY home office for a co-creation event to help us enhance the financial planning experience clients have with us. The insights our advisors regularly bring to the table help us get to know our clients even better, so we can deliver what they truly want and need from us.
But it's not just the work we do together in the business, it’s also our advisors’ commitment to fostering real connections in their communities, building an intentional relationship with organizations they care about, that maximizes the impact they have on others.
I believe developing real, human connections requires us to build bridges – to put in the work of investing in relationships, to establish trust, and put ourselves out there as a resource to people.
I’m grateful to have many friendships at this company and to be building new bridges with our advisors and field leaders. It’s a daily inspiration to see their impact on others and a privilege to work together to increase our collective impact. This work’s given even greater meaning to my relationships with them – in a way that goes beyond the connection, to the heart.
Advising Business Leaders on Consumer Behavior
5 年Well stated. It's so easy to overlook this aspect of our professional lives, but it really can be the most fulfilling.
Sheepdog roots, shepherd goals—evolving to serve.
5 年Nice article Tim. This personifies what I struggle with as a business owner and in developing meaningful connections and relationships with friends, family and business contacts. Your article is so well-timed for us (as we just launched our app) because it proves why people need an app like ZooWho to help them establish "meaningful" connections and not just growing their network. It's those meaningful connections (friends, family, business associates) that really propel someone in business?and their personal life. One thing I try and do to establish a meaningful connection is to capture "factoids" and "goals" for those in my network. If I ever find myself in a position to help someone achieve their goals, it's a good day! Of course, we wrote the app to help someone in these efforts. Best wishes and thank you for the article.?
Strategist, Brand Builder, Problem Solver
5 年Great write up! Human connections are everything.
Great article Tim - deep relationships are at the very core of our organization. ?Those relationships are built on trust. ?Understanding those two things are fundamental to our success. ?Thanks for being a leader who truly gets it!
1st Black Councilman in Wauwatosa/Sr. Consultant/Civil Rights Advocate
5 年Great article!