“If a man does not make new acquaintances as he advances through life, he will soon find himself alone. A man should keep his friendships in constant repair.”
They tell you that one of the most valuable strengths you can have in the world of business is adaptability. The world will be constantly changing around you, so it is absolutely imperative that you adapt and adjust along with it. Otherwise, you’ll fall behind and disappear by the wayside.
In Your Personal Life
That is true from a professional standpoint, but it is equally true from a personal standpoint too. You hopefully have some very close and loyal friends who have been by your side for yours and will hopefully stay by your side for years to come, but you also have to realize that even the best of friends come and go. And that is why, as social animals, it is important to keep socializing and keep making new acquaintances.
This advice comes by way of Samuel Johnson, a renowned author from 18th century England. His work includes everything from poetry to essays, biographies to critiques. In 1755, he even published A Dictionary of the English Language, which was held as the pre-eminent British dictionary until the Oxford English Dictionary was published over a century later!
The Social Network
For my part, even though I work from home, I have to agree with Dr. Johnson. That is one of the reasons why I attend Dot Com Pho: to hang out with old friends, but also to meet new acquaintances. It’s also part of why I go to events like CES and BCIT Tech Days, making those critical connections with like-minded individuals in the same industry.
The Internet has proven to be both a blessing and a curse in this regard. Never before has the world been more connected, but we’ve also become increasingly disconnected from real human interaction. By way of Facebook, for instance, I’ve been able to reconnect with old colleagues and classmates, but many of these re-connections have not translated into real-world interactions.
A True Friend Indeed
While it is certainly not about quantity, it is only by “keeping your friendships in constant repair” that you will be able to find, develop and grow those quality friendships.
Totally agree with you Michael, but I also believe that you need trim the fat, keep what is still important to you and move on.
A perfect example of that for me is my social presence. I started out with Shoemoney and Problogger online. They pointed me at John Chow who led me to you, Stephen and the others in Vancouver. I’ve stopped following and reading John because I found him unfriendly and impersonal. But that is from social interaction.
On the other hand, I have developed what I consider a close friendship with you. I enjoy our conversations, and interaction. The same goes for Stephen and I have cultivated another social respect for Aaron with his conversations here and from what I watch on Dot Com Pho.
At work, I am always working on the relationships with the people who make the decisions and the people on the vendor side so that I can be of value to the district in a larger capacity in the future. In business it is all about worth to the business, but building those relations for a future in all my business.