Personal Authenticity, Alignment of Goals & Mutual Respect Are Keys

Steps 1-3 of the 12 Step Process to Building Long Term Relationships

Being authentic is often referred to as the approach. This is pretty simple. Be who you are and accept others as they are. The authenticity of connecting personalities, beliefs and points of view can accelerate relationships. Generating a personal touch is a solid business characteristic, but personal politics and religion are often deal killers. Business is business. Professionalism is just good business.

Identify Shared Goals and Values. Have you ever heard the statement, “Birds of a feather flock together”?   In life we typically seek out people with whom we share similar goals and values.  How do they treat others? Do we respect them? We cannot always share the same point of view with everyone, but shared values are a must. 

It’s ok to agree to disagree!  Learn to compromise and appreciate how people with different goals, ambitions, and viewpoints can enhance your life. Most importantly, learn what they can teach you. Disagreements can enlarge and broaden a partnership. Different points of view can create contrast.  If everyone agrees on everything then you may have inadvertently created an echo chamber and not a sounding board for differing business strategies and tactics.

Respect is earned. Developing relationships takes time, dedication, and a willingness to humble yourself. Nobody likes a know-it-all!  Conveying some degree of prowess isn’t an issue; but how it’s conveyed can sometimes be a turn off.  Your knowledge base may indeed be impressive, but you can cripple your message by being pedantic. We prove ourselves over time and must be willing to take an occasional risk. Some relationships simply do not work out the way we hoped. Having a period of courtship can help determine if there is a basis for building a long-term relationship. Time and treasure are both limited commodities, so choose wisely.

Join an industry group, Toastmasters, Blogs (LinkedIn), volunteer for a charity, join a professional industry group. There are a variety of groups that are well respected, that will help you grow professionally and will refer others to you.

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