Smart People I Know, That You Don’t Know, That You Need to Know

As a young marketing pup at Procter & Gamble, JWT, and Leo Burnett, I kept meeting phenomenally smart people, weekly. They could have appeared smart at the time because their experience was much more tenured than mine, but as I was to later learn, wisdom is different than knowledge.

A few years ago, I discovered that whenever I left a conversation with some people, I was smarter, inspired, and energized. I couldn’t wait to meet and talk with them again. I also realized that many of the smart folks I knew, didn’t know each other.

After a brief timeout for COVID, I’m about ready to ramp up again my “Smart People I know, that you don’t know, but need to know” lunches.

These aren’t disguised sales meetings, but a chance to introduce folks, who have made me smarter, to each other.

My good friend Alana Muller, who literally wrote the book on networking (Coffee Lunch Coffee: A Practical Guide for Master Networking) often speaks to my students. They are new to networking and overcome with fear and inertia. They don’t know where to begin. Alana’s sage advice is “start by reaching out to someone you know.”?https://coffeelunchcoffee.com

A month before I became an entrepreneur – I had flashbacks of standing on the high dive for the first time as a kid, looking down, and afraid to take the next step. I wrote a two-page business plan, took it to the 15 smartest people I knew (that knew me very well), listened, took their advice, revised my plan, over and over (20+ times) until I had a clear path forward, and one with confidence. The next three folks I met became my first three clients. I had yet to meet Alana, but her wisdom was apparent – the smart people I knew were only happy to help – all I had to do was reach out.

I teach graduating seniors about to begin careers in marketing and attempt to find the right language to encourage them to network, yet understand it’s a skill that comes with practice, small steps, and trusted friends. As you master your networking skills, become comfortable being a “connector,” someone who enthusiastically is looking for ways to make mutually beneficial introductions.

My Challenge to You

Even better, my challenge to you in 2022, identify 4 smart people that you want to learn more from and introduce them to each other over coffee, breakfast, or lunch. Facilitate the discussion, I assure you the response from the attendees will be “Wow!”

About David

Dave Patrick teaches advanced brand strategy, marketing, competitive strategies, and entrepreneurship in the MBA programs at the University of Missouri and University of Kansas.?He’s a Partner at WizeWebz (www.wizewebz.com) a business growth consultancy that helps clients get to their next stage of growth through smarter business, marketing, and technology strategies. Dave is also the CEO and Co-founder of High Performance Marketing Boot Camps which helps companies improve their marketing effectiveness.?https://highperformancemarketingbootcamps.com

“David Patrick is legendary for two things: deep marketing expertise and extraordinary teaching skills.?My experiences as his student and collaborator have educated and inspired me.” Jack Mackey,?Former Chief Evangelist, VP Customer Engagement, Service Management Group??

“David Patrick is masterful at understanding the strategies that unlock growth. He’s able to apply those learnings to a variety of industries and help executive teams approach marketing in a new way to achieve greater results.” Laura Scobie, SVP Strategy, Barkley

"David Patrick's knowledge and experience in marketing is deep. I find he has wisdom and case studies for almost every conceivable situation. Always a pleasure to spend time with David and listen to his insights and perspective on business and marketing challenges. If you are considering David and his team to help with your marketing strategy you should do so with confidence." Grant Gooding, CEO & Founder of Proof Positioning