Online Business Freedom

Connectors – Part 1

It’s interesting how an idea can make sense in theory, but it will only HIT you when you finally experience it firsthand.

When I first read Malcom Gladwell’s “The Tipping Point” a few years ago, I didn’t know too many people in the business world.

So the theories in the book were fascinating, but they only made sense on a theoretical level.

In the book, Gladwell states that for an idea to become viral, it takes the participation of three, distinct types of people.

These people are Connectors, Mavens, and Salespeople.

Since any sort of business can go from an ordinary, humdrum operation, into a viral phenomenon, it makes sense to understand who these people are, and how they can help you.

Today we will go over the archetype of the Connector.

Connectors are vital to the spread of an idea virus, because they are, in essence, the “carriers” of the idea. They spread the word through their special set of talents.

Connectors are distinguished by the fact that they know a lot of people. And we all know sociable, gregarious people like this.

But there are some critical differences between ordinary, social people, and true Connectors.

First, it must be understood that genuine Connectors have an inherent quality that gives them an unfair advantage in social settings over ordinary, social people.

This isn’t to say that you can’t learn how to network or improve your social skills, but natural Connectors are different in that they ENJOY the act of meeting and keeping in touch with people.

During an interview with a Connector named Roger Horchow, Gladwell asked how Horchow’s connections had helped him in his business endeavors, thinking that Horchow’s primary reason for networking was for his business.

The interesting thing is that Horchow was genuinely quizzical about this question. He was puzzled because he didn’t see his connections as a business strategy.

There wasn’t an agenda behind his having a vast sphere of influence. And his business contacts, as well as his personal contacts, were all just CONTACTS to him.

That’s the edge that natural Connectors have. They aren’t meeting people with their palms up. They just enjoy the process.

Second, Connectors view social ties in a completely different way than most people.

Connectors collect people the way a stamp collector collects stamps.

And they tend to have an uncanny knack for remembering the details about their social interactions, names, and events.

They remember things like the phone number of their best friend in elementary school, the name of their wife’s first boyfriend, and their gardener’s grandson’s birthday.

Details like this are critical to a Connector.

For instance, Roger Horchow keeps a personal mailing list of 1,600 names and addresses, and on each entry is a note describing the circumstances in which they met.

If you ever met Horchow and he liked you, and you mentioned your birthday to him, he would write it down in a red diary, and you would get a birthday card from him forever after.

If he enjoyed a particular restaurant, he would send out a fax to his contact list in the immediate area to share the recommendation.

If you mentioned that you were in real estate he would give you the names of 2 real estate agents, a mortgage loan officer, and an appraiser he once talked to in the elevator at work.

Most people wouldn’t even THINK of going to those extremes, just to connect people they barely knew.

But these are the types of things that make Connectors, Connectors.

While most people tend to keep a tight circle of friends, and shy away from too many acquaintance style relationships (ordinary people just don’t have enough energy to invest in having so many “almost” friends), Connectors embrace these types of “weak ties” for what they are: a friendly, yet casual social connection.

So how do Connectors know so many diverse people?

An important point to keep in mind is that Connectors run in various social circles and groups. Not just a few, like most of us.

But by having a foot in these different worlds, they are in essence connecting all of them.

For example, I have a Connector friend who represents screen writers, directors, actors, has a real estate investing group, is part of a public speaking group, has a spiritual accountability group, a business accountability group, is a marathon runner, has a cooking and wine group, and a fundraising group.

He knows a ridiculous amount of people, and he actually randomly mailed me a copy of “The Tipping Point” simply because he enjoyed the book and thought I would as well.

The array of different people he talks to on a daily basis is truly dizzying.

Third, there is a way to test if you or someone you know is a Connector. But we’ll go over that tomorrow…

-James D. Lee

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