Knowing Your Neighbors

Don't be this guy!

Growing up I knew all the neighbors especially the few other kids on our small street. It was nice being able to go from house to house, yard to yard, and know that I could always be reached if I was needed at home (this was before cell phones). It really was like having a giant front yard where we could play, go sledding, or ride our bikes. Everyone knew everyone.

While I still make a point to introduce myself to our neighbors, I am not as diligent on making sure I meet each one. I guess there is something about the impermanence of renting that just makes it seem like there are better ways I could spend my time. This is rather selfish, I admit, but, oddly enough, it has also allowed me to spend the time getting to know more people. Rather than going out of my way, I let things happen and eventually, I am able to meet everyone and find out a little bit about those who live and work around me.

I just let things happen and when we have a chance to meet I do my best to engage in an interesting conversation. Of course, those of you who know me also know that when you get me talking it is almost always going to be a lengthy discussion regardless of the topic. So, in the end, I guess you could call this passive aggressive networking. So far it has worked for me (at home, work, and lodge) and I have gotten to know some great people this way.

I enjoy working with people on a daily basis and find that this approach allows me to treat others as friends more than just someone who lives or works near me and I have treated these relationships accordingly. And the mutually beneficial aspects have been fantastic. We all have different networks of people and sometimes we can connect others either because of business or common interest. While I have given business to others, a number of people have introduced me to contacts that have, in turn, saved me a heck of a lot of time and money.

What I am trying to say is don’t just learn someone’s name. Get to know those around you. Know what your neighbors do for a living (I will try to do a better job of this when we are in a place that we own). Know what your colleagues’ interests are and those in neighboring businesses. Know the occupations and interests of your fellow brethren (or those members in an applicable club, religious institution, etc). You will almost certainly be surprised to find that you have more in common with the people around you than you realize and there is a tremendous opportunity to help those around you and they will usually return the favor in kind. Plus, it is just nice (and comforting) to know the people around you.  

Falling Behind for Good Reason

My blog schedule sometimes has the same effect on people.

As it relates to this blog and the schedule that I keep trying to make sure everything is up to date it has been an interesting year to say the least. While I maintain this space as a place for daily posts and schedule them accordingly, there have been instances when I have fallen behind and for good reason. But, in the end, I always make up for the lost time and posts in order to return continuity to the project.

In addition to a routine that has taken a radical left turn in the last few months, there have been a couple of events that have caused my disappearance from this blog. The first significant one was when my son was born. Days in the hospital, lack of sleep, and a complete shift in focus completely pulled me away from writing these posts and from just about anything else in the world that didn’t involve our son. It was well over a week before I was able to get things back on track.

The other large gap that I can recall was just over a week ago when I was hit by a sudden and nasty case of food poisoning. I try to get ahead and write a few things here and there that I can archive for a future date but that has not been happening as frequently as I would like and they are used too often due to a lack of available time and an ever changing schedule. Only now am I able to finally catch up and get things on track again. I guess we will just have to see how long this one lasts.

I am till in the process of finding a few guest bloggers on a variety of topics in order to alleviate a little of the scheduling demands but thus far it has been difficult to find people to make the commitment. In the meantime, I will just keep writing. Some of the post will be a bit of a ramble like this one while others will be a little more opinionated, interesting, and/or research based. As many of you have found out, you really don’t know what to expect on most days and to be honest there are a lot of days when I have no idea what is going to be posted either.

So, I guess if you want to be picky, this hasn’t really been a daily blog. It has been a nearly daily blog but there has been no hiding that fact as anyone who follows my posts has noticed that from time to time there are some days that go by without a new entry and, all of the sudden, I am caught up a few days later. Heck, if you are reading this post you will notice that it didn’t quite make it up in time for the day that it was scheduled.

The Importance Of Client Dinners

Last night, after a long day at the office during which my evening schedule remained in flux, I walked out the door and headed to Sports Clips to prepare for our persistent client dinner. Thankfully I left a little early as my simple haircut and trim took much longer than expected. However, I still had plenty of time to drive up to Yardley for dinner (and I didn’t even get lost).

The Yardley Inn has become one of the regular spots where we meet this particular client for dinner. It is only about 20 minutes from each office location and the food has always been excellent. At least this is what I have been told as this was my first time there and so everything was new to me. However, after last night I can highly recommend the beet salad and the pork paprikash. And it doesn’t hurt that it is located on a beautiful lot right along the Delaware River.

Client dinners are always something that I look forward to as they are generally a more relaxed time to meeting and discuss other things besides work. These are the time that we really get to know our clients on a personal level and the one we met with last night is a perfect example of that. Too often we get caught up in the position that someone holds or the current projects that we are working on. However, we have to keep in mind that there needs to be a bit of a separation as those projects and insights basically encompassing the entirety of my job.

The stories that each of us shared last night are really fascinating as they both demonstrated the common interests and clearly defined the different experiences that have shaped us. All of which led each of us to the same table. The glimpses into life and experience that has shaped the people we work with and the things that they have accomplished in life are really what piques my interest and what motivates me to want to work even harder for them.

As the orders were placed and the drinks poured, the night continued in excellent fashion. We have worked hard all year and have had countless conversations with our client through email and over the phone but moments like this are the true motivators and give us that little bit extra drive when a project is nearing completion or an event is quickly approaching. In fact, I am looking forward to our next client meal after the long days on the show floor in Chicago in a couple of months. This was just the additional motivation I needed.  

Keeping In Touch... Not Such A Simple Concept

A large part of my everyday job is very simple… it is basically to keep in touch with people, clients and reporters, and make sure that they know everything that is going on. Some call it pitching and for the sake of making it easy I do to but it really is a matter of keeping communication going and talking to people. After all, there is only so much selling that you can do before someone just tunes you out and starts thinking about how they can get you off the phone.

However, as I previously mentioned in my blog yesterday, while I am constantly talking and writing while at work, some of the other connections that I have most importantly friends, have suffered a bit in my desire to keep working and pushing myself harder and harder. While I have made a little bit of progress as of late in getting in touch with friends whenever I have a minute or two here or there, there is still a lot of work that needs to be done. If only I had more hours in the day.

The way that I approach my job is not really a common practice for most people in the industry (at least most people that I have met over the years) but it has been working for me. I enjoy talking to people, getting to know them, and seeing if there are commonalities we share beyond the work that we do with a given company. I try to do the same thing with clients when given the opportunity as well. After all, success in this business is reliant upon the relationships that you form with people.

By approaching my job in such a way there are moments when I get a call or an email from reporters and editors and before we delve into business we see how the other is doing, any plans, and anything that may have happened since the last time we spoke. Without a doubt, talking to the media is my job but it is also the job of every other PR person out there. By treating the media as people and not publications or positions, there is a greater possibility of them actually talking to you and you looking forward to reaching out to them. Do that enough times and you have made a professional friend.

As has been a common thread in many of the posts since I began this blog, this is another instance where I need to keep seeking the middle ground. I can’t have work completely dominate my ability to keep in touch with people… there are many friends that I haven’t spoken to in some time. Actually, sitting and thinking for a few minutes, there are many that I can’t remember the last time that I actually heard their voice. Keeping in touch seems so simple until the day you come to the realization that you are only using ten percent of the numbers in your cell phone. Time to get that percentage up.