Everywhere I go people show a desire to connect. I hear it at a networking event, training program, online, off-line.

They want the human contact, they don’t just want to be on the computer, learning at a webinar, chatting in a chat room They want the one-on-one, they want to be in a relationship with others. They realize the power of relationships, but they’re not attending networking events and are often overwhelmed by all of the social networking sites online. They’ve heard that route ‘doesn’t really work.’ Instead, they report that the networking sites are a way to ‘gather’ contacts, but question ‘where do you go from there?’ What’s the next step to connecting and developing those interpersonal skills to effectively manage and utilize personal relationships. We have to remember that people are generally helpful, want to connect, and want to offer their expertise and intellectual capital. With our information age, we’ve moved quite a distance from the actual connecting. So much so, that we’ve got to find a way to get back to human connectedness.

Not everyone is a Paul Revere (have you read The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell?) who manages to change the future through personal connections, spreading information via horse… like wildfire (i.e. the British are coming!). But we’d all love the power to make that possible, right?! Even if we’re not looking for thousands, or hundreds, we all need at least a few really great people in our life to rely on. I’m reading a great and - really on this pulse – book right now, Who’s Got Your Back, by Keith Ferrazzi. Keith’s bottom line is that we all need to build deeper relationships in order to succeed and flourish. Now I know you’re probably reading this and thinking – sure I know that, but I don’t have time. Well, you’ve got to make time, which is why I’m making time to write today.

Those of you whom I’ve coached know how I constantly talk about networking for relationships and success, and how you need to:

Build a network of people in your industry, both at work and outside of your workplace.
Develop, develop, and master those interpersonal skills.
Improve the skills to not only reach out to make connections, but manage the process of building deeper relationships.
Be able to utilize the benefits of research on personality style and interpersonal connectedness.
Find out more about your own personality style and the best way to utilize your own strengths.
Take a minute and commit to one of these points. Carry it around in your pocket for the next few weeks. And stay tuned… this is a topic I’m fired up by!