Gary’s Blog

Relationships are Key

There are very few things in life that can be accomplished alone. Most require the work of a dedicated team; large or small. A cohesive team is built one relationship at a time.

That may sound an awful lot like "common sense". The trouble is that there is usually nothing common about common sense. Never has that proven truer than with regard relationship building.

Relationships are built one conversation at a time. Think of your first date. The way that you really get to know a person is by talking with him/her. Our challenge is that with the proliferation of technology and the advent of social networking, our ability to have real, meaningful conversations is diminishing.

Don't misunderstand me: I'm a big fan of social networking and believe that it can benefit us greatly. But like the pendulum swinging greatly from one side to the next, social networking is frequently being misused if not abused.

Facebook, Twitter and Linked In are wonderful tools for imparting information. Stats, whereabouts, thoughts and concerns are easily and readily broadcast to huge numbers of followers. Here, they excel. They are not, though, good tools for conversing and are not good tools for relationship building.

The best way to converse and build relationships is face-to-face. It's talking. There is nothing better. When good news and bad are imparted through a face-to-face conversation a relationship is being built.

We have to steel ourselves and resist the temptation to send a quick e-mail message when picking up the phone and talking will serve us better. We have to look for ways to converse for when we do (like pennies turning into dollars) relationships will be strengthened.

Remember: With strong relationships come strong teams and with strong teams the sky is the limit.

Stop Stopping

Most of us over 40 were brought up with adage, "practice makes perfect". We were taught that in order to do something right, we should practice, practice, practice until we were pretty sure that we could accomplish the task. This worked well in the pre-computer age. Life (i.e., business life) moved at a slower pace; a pace that allowed us the time to practice until we could get it right.

As Tevye lamented to his wife, "Goldie, it's a new world," and he was right. We don't have the luxury of holding back until we think we've got it right. We have to let go of the brake and stop stopping. If we don't, the competition will leave us practicing at the starting gate.

Our young people already know this. They know that in order to learn to swim they have to jump in and not fear getting wet. I call it the Nintendo principal.

In order to succeed at Nintendo (at all video games, for that matter) it is imperative to try and fail. The path to victory is paved with one failure after another. Whether you are mastering a classic game of Pac-Man or the latest incarnation of Unreal, the only way to win is through failure.

So it is in business today. We have to stop stopping. We have to cast off negativity and embrace the knowledge that we will not succeed the first time. What we have to do is learn from our failures.

Technology is a Tool

I founded DOC PC Web Creations 15 years ago and spent 12 years before that working in television. "Technology" has played a major role in my life. I have seen technology change and seen the industries that I have work in change with it.

Photography, videography, nonlinear editing, desktop publishing and others have all gone through numerous incarnations. Most of them are for the better.

One that I am concerned about is basic communication. Whereas we may be living in the most "linked in" and connected time in all our history, we sometime forget that technology is simply a tool used to get a job done. There are times when it is not the most effective tool to use.

E-mail is a prime example.

In it's relatively short history e-mail has become as ubiquitous as the telephone. It's presence is a mainstay in our business and personal life. People that I work with often prefer to send an e-mail message, rather than pick up the phone or walk down the hall to query the same.

"It documents my request," some say. "It is faster. It cuts out all the small talk," others rationalize. This may be the case, but it also depersonalizes communication. It grinds conversation to a halt and it impedes relationship building.

Much has been written about the loss of "nuances", inflection and humour; none of which are effectively communicated through e-mail. More times than I care to count, I have been copied (often blindly) one worker's reprimand of another. Behavior, I can attest from experience, can not be modified through e-mail.

No, when it comes to corrective behavior, conversations and relationship building, technology doesn't improve on good ol'face-to-face conversations. If we remember that technology is simply a tool for us to use, and think carefully about when and where we use it, we will be all the stronger for it. Often, the best communication tool is the telephone and the best word processor is the pen.

The Power of One

Each of us have unique gifts (powers, if you'd like) that when harnessed can enhance whatever projects we are working on. Our goal is to find the key that unlocks those powers.

Look at yourself and ask yourself, "What is it that I am really good at? What do I truly enjoy doing?" Is it reading? Writing? Speaking? Are you good at sports, playing with your kids or grandkids? You have to discover what you are passionate about so that you can peruse it.

Someone who enjoys being with young people will excel working with service clubs such as Kiwanis or Rotary. If sports are your thing then there are a host of opportunities for you to volunteer at, ranging from minor sports to civic community centers.

Volunteering continues to be an excellent way to network and "show your stuff". Each of us shine when doing something that we love. There is no place better to rub shoulders with a potential client, employer or customer then when your passionately contributing to a team project. It doesn't really matter what that project is (slow-pitch, literacy, or a local theatre). The important thing is that he or she sees you shining. They see you passionately involved. They see your power; your power of one.