Rolodex

Yesterday was a good day. It was a good day for a lot of reasons, but for the purpose of this post, I'm going to try to corral my thoughts around one issue.

I don't respond well to "cold calls." I know everyone has to do them, and I've had people I'm responsible for make a great many of them, but I generally don't have time to talk to people when they show up without prior planning.

A couple of weeks ago, a vendor show up in out of the blue, and I wasn't actually in the office. He left information, and honestly, I was never going to do a thing with it. Then he did something smart. He sent an email telling me he was going to be in Des Moines this week and asked if I had any time to meet with him. Now, although I can ignore a "cold call" with the best of them, if someone appropriately asks for time, I can't tell that person no.  So, I scheduled the meeting.

The time came for the meeting and Ryan from Kraft Tank in Kansas City did the next smart thing. He arrived exactly on time. Not a great deal early, and not a minute late. He had now cleared the next hurdle with me. He respected my time. I invited him into my office and rather than attempt to engage in a great deal of meaningless small talk, he introduced himself and went about the purpose of his meeting. He started telling me about the company he works for and what they may be able to do for me. Okay, really? He just hit the trifecta of making a call on me, and honestly I think on a great deal of other people.

Since we'd reached the point where I actually cared about this person and what he had to say, the whole tenor of the meeting changed. I stopped the meeting and asked my fuel manager, Seth, and to join us so we could talk about some of the trailers we use in our over-the-road operation. We also had the chance to talk about a piece of equipment that we might want to sell. All of a sudden, there is the possibility now of  entering into a  transaction with Kraft for that trailer.

Then the most interesting part of the conversation happened. I started talking with him about who he knew in Kansas City and almost immediately discovered he'd worked with a couple of people in the MHC/Kenworth organization I'd really enjoyed when I worked in that market - Todd and Larry. I could almost feel Seth rolling his eyes as this conversation took off.

Seth is just beginning to truly embrace the power of a network. I have always cultivated a strong network, clear back to the days of using a Rolodex. Whenever I left a company, the one thing they most often wanted from me was my Rolodex - all of the contacts and information therein. I guess they cared about me, but they really cared about all of that info.

Anyway, after Ryan from Kraft Tank left, I felt the need to go one step further. I picked up the phone and called Todd just to catch up. It had probably been the better part of a decade since we talked, but as so often happens, the conversation took off just as though we had spoken yesterday. He even laughingly told me he'd told a "Jim Martin" story in just the last couple of weeks. Todd has done well in his career - now a Vice President with MHC/Kenworth. It was really nice to talk with him again.

I know we all realize the power in the contacts we have - the network that we've fostered, but the manner the world is interconnected is sometimes even beyond our ability to really understand. I have friends who believe I'm more connected than they are. I don't for a minute think this is true.  But maybe I've been more willing, deliberate, successful at identifying the many ways I'm connected to others.

Like I told Seth the other day as he was trying to decide if he should go to a networking event, "Get in there and figure out how you know these people."  It will do you good, and honestly, it is just fascinating to find out how connected you are.

You should try it too.  Have a great week.