A few years back I was stunned by a call that I received from a good friend, Steve Halland, whom I had worked with in the early 90's.
He told me that he had been really surprised that when he was searching for work as a technology executive that many of the people that he had met and worked with for years wouldn't even take his call or avoided him.
He said that that experience changed his perception about not only looking for work but also how his valued network didn't provide much value at all. He vowed that he would never do that to anyone and would always take the time to talk even if he didn't have a direct referral to give.
As we've changed roles over the years and have gone on to do very different things, I have always tried to keep what Steve said in the forefront of my mind when folks have reached out. Just today I got a call from Ana Luisa Wu. I interviewed her about four years ago and really thought she was a very smart and articulate person with a great background in Hispanic marketing/media including an MBA from Cal Berkeley. While we didn't eventually fill the role, I did keep her in my network.
When she reached out today I tried to provide as much value and advice (and contacts) as I could. I also let her know that I was here in case she wanted to talk again and would be open to helping if I could.
I could tell that even that short 1/2 hour meant a lot to her. That she truly appreciated the advise and contacts. It not only made me feel good (and hopefully increased my good karma) but also I provided real value to someone in need.
Let us all not forget the value that we possess and how by just taking a small bit of our time how much it could mean in the life of someone else.
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