There’s Power in Connections – Who Do You Know?

I remember when I was in school and always hearing, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.”  I didn’t like that and was so proud of the good grades that I was always getting.  I was bound and determined to prove that expression wrong and get ahead because of my smarts.

Now, many years later, I see that saying a lot differently.  Yes, as I write so often in this blog and say so much on episodes of “Now Hear This Entertainment,” you can never have too many contacts.  Who you know, will, in fact, open a lot of doors and lead you to opportunities that you otherwise would’ve likely not gotten.  But then, of course, once you arrive, you do need the smarts and the experience to advance even more.  It’s like singer Amy Keys told me on NHTE 231, that you can be a good hang, but when it’s time to step up and perform, if you don’t have it, just having been fun to be around won’t cut it.

I’m on record as saying that “Now Hear This Entertainment” has helped me build so many contacts.  But then what do you do with those contacts once you start to establish a rapport with someone?  Knowing that I’m also outspoken about not always having your hand out, I always am sure to offer, “Let me know if I can help you in some way.”  Or, similarly, “(name), how can I help you?”

While not revealing my age, let’s just say my days as a college student are definitely in the rearview mirror, and I have been doing the podcast every week for more than five years.  So, by now I should be getting the results that I encourage you to strive for.

Case in point, there was a guest I interviewed via Skype (audio only, no video).  So, when an opportunity presented itself during my travels, I was sure to meet with that person.  Being like-minded in terms of knowing the value of connections, that NHTE guest brought someone along that seemed like would be a good person for me to meet.  This diagram really then started to grow different branches as yes, that new person proved valuable to me in that I was offered an opportunity for myself that, keep in mind, I otherwise wouldn’t have gotten.  (Although there again, just meeting someone new doesn’t guarantee you an opportunity.  How do you handle yourself in those introductions?  What is your conversation style in getting to know someone?)

Where I saw things continue to grow from there brought a smile to my face.  With the former NHTE guest I mixed in a current client, making an introduction that has now benefited them both (including in one way that I didn’t even know was an option).  Plus, the former guest had listened to an NHTE episode or two and asked me to make an introduction to someone else that’d been on the show.  And now this past weekend that connection manifested in a face-to-face.

I have this NHTE virtual rolodex of well over 200 guests that I’ve interviewed.  What good does it do me to keep those all to myself and not share the love?  Since I’m an advocate of collaboration, shouldn’t I practice what I preach?  I’m seeing people benefiting from me putting them together, and ultimately it comes back to me in positives, plural.

If you’re writing, recording, and/or performing music, you obviously know a lot.  But now who do you know and what can you do with those relationships?

It’s not quite the Kevin Bacon game, but, what connections have you made that you’ve stood back and watched a relationship or project flourish as a result of?  Talk about it in our Facebook group.