Building Sideways

In a world filled with distractions, being recognised by others isn’t by the amount of posts you make, but the trust that grows.

We don’t always have to be looking up at what the revered business names tell us, but to build sideways and connect each other in the regions and industry we are a part of.

Being seen as present by others, comes from reaching out and bringing others in.

Whilst I used to label myself as introvert, I don’t anymore because whether I still am or not, actually doesn’t matter as we have to break out of a self-fulfilling prophecy. As part of that social rehabilitation, I do prompt myself to get out more with one primary aim to support the events of those people that have supported me along the way, as well as those I want to give a social media nudge for.

I also had to get through that barrier of doing selfies. A balance of photos of the event, one with you in, and a photo of you with others feels a good balance now. It not all about you. It feels more comfortable making it about others, but, you do need a slice of the pie too. To be seen, to be known, and yes, to build your profile.

Trust is a valuable thing. It takes time, effort and action to build up. I found it was easier to build by making it all about others and being a supportive connector. My advice for those wanting to build a name and make an impact in their area, one of the best things to do would be to write a longer piece, not just a Tweet or short post, about the events you go to. Delve a bit deeper into the content and what it meant to you and name check speakers or contacts that you met. And repeat.

Whilst I made a good start on our awareness campaign on hypertension, high blood pressure, especially for business owners as that context is my context, it has stalled. I was hoping it would explode like a nuclear chain reaction, but now I have a couple of new angles to try.

Sometimes we need to reach up and ask someone to take us to a higher level. Mark Schaefer covers this in a section of his book Cumulative Advantage. We should also reach down and do the same for someone else. Then the other times, you reach your arms out sideways, scoop people up and bring them with you.