Jason Buffington .com

video transcript

• Connecting people is a superpower
• I don’t mean superpower like no one can do it.
• I mean superpower in the massive effect it can have, when you do.

Last month I was in Kentucky and I met up with an Army vet who’s working on his MBA. He was talking about his growth goals for next year. Turns out that evening, I was supposed to have dinner with one of my favorite executive coaches. PS go follow Lori Huss on LinkedIn. So I asked Lori, “He’s early career, but he could probably benefit from just a little coaching on focus areas while he’s wrapping up his MBA” – especially since they’re both local. Of course, because she’s awesome, she says sure I’ll take a call. It turns out she knows some senior leaders who’ve made that transition from soldier to executive, so when the time is right, she’ll connect them.

Another example, there are some amazing Marketing leaders available, thanks to some downsizing and layoffs. One of them, Dani recently finished radically reimagining what a small data protection vendor was doing. The company’s most recent stuff is certainly punching above their weight. But she got laid off. So, when we’re talking, she says she’s thinking about consulting, since she’s led marketing at both massive vendors as well as some small ones. So, I connect her with Trista, who’s easily one of the most impactful virtual CMO’s I’ve ever known – and one or two other folks that are also doing virtual CMO stuff, and now they’re talking among themselves. Technically there’s some overlap but they all leaned in because there’s more than enough of that kind of work for all of them.

In both cases, it cost me nothing, just a few text messages and 10 minutes talking to get those folks connected. Hopefully, it informs and maybe accelerates their journeys.

You know people.  You know people that are in a growth stage – and you probably know people that are past a similar growth stage.  Connect them.  We all need a few more professional friends, coaches, mentors, and next employers.  Connect your people with each other; it can make a real difference.

See you next Monday.