Travel, whether it is for business or pleasure is an incredible opportunity to meet up with people. I was reminded of this as we took our annual vacation to San Francisco. Between colliding schedules and activities it was impossible to see everyone on our “field trip,” as my 6 year old Alex referred to our vacation. The highlights we breakfast, lunch or simply drinks with people all over town. People I keep in touch with mostly via FaceBook or LinkedIn. I did a good job of reaching out to about half of my people. Where did I fall short?
I should have made a bigger effort to organize a happy hour with people I know only thru LinkedIn or Twitter. My good friend Mike Davis does this when he travels and he has forged new and improved relationships as a result. What if you don’t travel, or you do not want to “work” while on vacation? Do you travel locally? Do you head to the West side for breakfast or any of the local special interest group meetings within a reasonable proximity of your home or workplace? It takes effort, but it is worth it. Look thru your list of contacts on LinkedIn or even Outlook and contact 3 people for meet-ups next week. Whether it is coffee or lunch or good old fashioned alcohol, we all have to reach out into our networks and see each other face to face.
I truly appreciate the effort people made to see me out West. For some it was easy, others made time and got to odd locations at odd times. I have regrets for all of the people I missed and will put them at the top of the list next year. Are you making the effort to share your life? Do the hard work building up your presence and connections on your various social networks. Do the even harder work of getting together in real life. Find someone interesting on Twitter and meet up. If you want to dig out of this recession, you must practice and experiment more. Believe.
