A recent holiday to Cyprus highlighted something critical to your future success.
That friends and “family” can be relied on to help you get things done.
I saw firsthand how a united family can work together for another family member’s good and happiness.
Some became logistics experts shipping in products from abroad and arranging multiple deliveries.
Others were planners with detailed spreadsheets sending instructions to other members as and when required.
All called on contacts around the island to help them deliver their objective, whether they be cars, cakes or signage.
Collectively they delivered spectacularly.
For you, the context here relates to your business friends and business family.
With family and friends, you get to know each other, good points and bad.
That special knowledge comes from growing up together and from sharing experiences.
So too it is in business.
There may be colleagues who have become work friends because you share the same values or work ethic.
You trust their judgement, and you admire and value how they go about their work.
Likewise, there could be individuals within key suppliers that will support you or your business in sticky situations.
Relationships like these don’t just happen.
They take time. People and businesses need to get know each other.
That’s very different from networking, and it’s far more valuable to your career or business.
Over the years, colleagues and suppliers have helped me through various sticky situations.
Likewise, I’ve helped them when the roles have been reversed.
You don’t need to have a big “family.”
A small group you can count on and who you can celebrate with in success, yours or theirs, is what you need.
You can’t choose your biological family, but you can choose your friends.
Choose carefully.
Very best,
David O’Beirne