I love connecting with people.
But you knew that already right? I almost like it as much as capturing moments of great people. That's a close second!
Today I had the pleasure of connecting with Cheniere Energy's WILS resource group. Notice I didn't call them a network because if you've been around me or Pink Petro long enough you know I cannot stand that word. It's transactional, top-down, and feels and IS, well, very old-school.
Connection and community produce value, not more business cards or LinkedIn clicks. Communities create and drive movements and that's what Pink Petro is about: moving forward and driving culture change.
The Need to Shift
Today's talk was about the need to shift from the industrial mindset to the relationship mindset in order to drive superior relationships and ultimately attracting the right people into your tribe (life), eliminating the massive noise we get around "networking" today. We did a quick exercise which helped everyone to divide up their work and life. We then discussed "why" we spent time on various things. Simon Simonek says people buy into your WHY not WHO you are or WHAT or HOW. So that's what we did. We discovered "WHY".
One brave participant shared in the room that she had time carved out for nothing -- she described it as an "emptiness". I applauded her courage to say it out loud and I gave everyone a hard time for being too busy. (Another soap box and dirty word for another day and engagement...)
My point was ... you don't need more events or business cards or networking.
You need to connect with the people who are already in your circle and tap into resources you have and then take steps to develop those relationships. But to do that ... you need to be clear about who you are, what you value and what you need and this part in "knowing" can take a while.
We had a fantastically engaged audience from several sites in the USA (Texas, Washington DC and Louisiana), the UK, Singapore and China. I gave big props for our friends in the East who were dialed in late which only speaks to how hungry people are today to connect...to engage...to create meaning and purpose around their work, life, and values.
I literally bumped into Deanna Newcomb, too, who recently took on the role of Chief Compliance & Ethics Officer and VP of Audit. She was the perfect person to kick off the session in London to talk about this very topic. Deanna and I met years ago prior to working with each other at BP. I consider us super connectors. Deanna spoke of her journey as an executive, sharing that building connectivity takes time and doesn't "happen overnight".
Here are some of the resources I shared:
- The Recipe for a Great Brand | Know Show Grow
- Social Media Gone Wrong (at Work)
- Social Networking in Real Time - a hilarious video
- Your Life in Jellybeans - a tear jerker video
- Busyness: MIND-FULL or Mindful?
Here are some of our international selfies.
Thanks to Cheniere for the invite. I can't wait to connect more with this fantastic community of women and men who care about progressing our industry forward.
