I blew it. I was at Tim Hortons on my way home from hockey. The guy behind the counter apparently saw my ‘Laurier‘ sweatshirt and asked if I’d gone there. When I replied in the affirmative, the conversation went as expected.
Him: What’d you take?
Me: PoliSci
Him: Ah, a Politics guy. What do you do now?
Me: Well, not politics! I work for an local search engine.
Him: [blank stare]
Me: [15-second elevator speech]
Him: oh, like the yellow pages!
Me: Yep. [hands over business card]
Him: Cool. Have good night.
Me: Later.
So, what did I do wrong? What’s missing from the conversation? From the transcript above, what do you now know about the guy behind the counter? Nothing. That was my mistake – I didn’t engage.
I recently picked up (and am half-way through) Darcy Rezac’s book Work the Pond. So far, a few things have stood out:
- The best opportunities often come from the ‘weakest’ contacts – mere acquaintances.
- Treat all contacts like Gold.
- Always carry (and dispense) business cards – really, always.
- Every conversation is a networking opportunity.
So I had my cards with me (even though I was just playing hockey). Great. I gave one to the guy. Great. I have no idea who the guy is. Not so great. What I should have done is obvious in hindsight. Did he go to Laurier? If yes, what did he study? Is the Timmy’s thing his only gig? Who knows, maybe he’s a crack freelance ASP.NET web developer – we need one of those. Maybe if not him, maybe if someone in his family is someone who has data or technology or whatever that can help my employer (or me ;) ).
I’ll never know – opportunity lost.
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Tags: Darcy Rezac, Networking
you could never know who he was… OR, seeing as you know where he works, you could go back and see him again and re-take the test.
on the other hand, just ’cause everyone presents an opportunity does not mean you always have to capitalize on them. there is something to be said for NOT THINKING ABOUT WORK! if this had happened at a trade show – problematic. but, it happened at Timmy’s after hockey… not everything revolves around work, my friend.
P.S. the blank stare kinda indicates to me that he isn’t an ASP…thingy. just a thought, though ;)
It’s not so much about everything ‘revolving around work’… it’s more about networking being about more than just work. Networking is used at work, but it is not limited to it.
The other day at A&W, we had a nice chat with a guy who worked there and was going to Heritage College studying Children’s Ministry… I should’ve given him a card, too, since I might be able to help him out in the future.
No worries, Cailean,
You have to kiss a lot of frogs to find a prince. Positive networking is discovering what you can do for someone else, with no expectation of anything in return. If you do it enough, you will find amazing things happen to you, and those you touch, in random and expected ways.
Remember even Ted Williams, with his all time high batting average of 412, didn’t bat a thousand, the theoretical maximum.
Lighten up on yourself, practise the steps and enj0y the dance…you are doing just fine. Keep it up.
Cheers,
Darcy Rezac
Author, Work the Pond! (Prentice Hall NY, 05)
Thanks for the encouragement Mr. Rezac! I appear to be a little harder on myself than I actually am – just to emphasize the point.
I appreciate you taking the time to comment.