A recent epiphany...

One of Seth Godin's recent posts inspired me to share something with you. I was at a Track and Trace conference in Washington, DC last Fall and had one of those moments he is referring to - although mine was more personal in experience. I had that striking realization you would consider true to the definition of an epiphany. 

At this conference I suddenly recognized what was happening and how my extroverted approach resulted in what Seth would describe as the "exchange of gifts". To understand what Seth means by "gift" you should read one of his books, such as Linchpin. Or, perhaps faster would be to read some of his blog posts such as this one.

This approach has always worked for me. It's natural and often resulted in the creation of new relationships and some that have lasted a very long time. Attending conferences such as this in our current financial environment at my employer are a luxury. I made a point at this conference to get around and meet as many of the industry professionals as I could, exchange business cards, and then keep in touch to share ideas and stories after the conference.

The attendees included big-pharma (my employer) but also a lot of small and medium-size pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers. It's quite predictable, as soon as you sit down at a table of attendees and introduce yourself, you can read the expressions and what they are asking themselves. "I have to watch what I say because here sits someone from my largest competitor." "Why is he sitting here and introducing himself?" "What is it he's trying find out that we should be cautious about discussing?"

How do you break the silence and get people to feel safe in opening up to you? Answer: You share! And don't start by sharing the successes you've had in an arrogant manner. Share the failures, your struggles with the environment, the hurdles you face or expect to face. Give gifts.

It works. People open up. You will be surprised by the results; the sharing of stories, active discussions about what the presenters were telling us and we learned from each other. Perhaps even more important, the colleagues I connected with left with an impression of me and my genuine desire to collaborate for the betterment of our industry. I was no longer "that guy" from the big giant pharma company who thinks everyone needs to listen to him...just because he's from the big giant pharma company.

They are now in my collective network as colleagues.