This is Part II of a two-part guest blog entry from Jason Lauritsen and Joe Gerstandt of Talent Anarchy. Their site, www.TalentAnarchy.com, provides more insight into their philosophies.
Enjoy!
BS
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Have a Beginner’s Mind
The mind is a funny thing. It can be a funny thing, a powerful thing and it can get in the way of your efforts to build a valuable network if you let it. It is human nature to make assumptions about people, especially people that we do not know very well. While it is our nature to do this, when it comes to meeting people and making connections, these assumptions work against us and they can limit our ability to tap into the true potential of a given relationship. When we make the assumption that a person we are meeting will be of limited value to us, we may make an inadequate investment in that initial conversation. We may not be completely present in the conversation. We may not send the follow-up e-mail or invite them to join our LinkedIn network.
I think a great deal of this takes place on a subconscious level, and I am not talking about being mean or treating people poorly. I am simply talking about the assumptions we make about those we meet and how that translates into subtle differences in how we interact with them. The thing to keep in mind is that when we meet someone, regardless of what we see or hear (or think we see or hear), we have only learned a sliver about this person and their life. There is often a great deal we do not know about people that we have known for much of our life, so a brief initial conversation with someone truly is the tip of the iceberg.
In thinking about how assumptions can get in the way of developing a valuable, new connection, I am reminded of something that was said by Shunryu Suzuki, “In the beginner’s mind, there are many possibilities; in the expert’s mind there are few.” I think that working to have a beginner’s mind when meeting new people will enhance your ability to build valuable connections and appreciate the value in those connections.
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