One of the most important books my dad ever gave me was Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty by Harvey Mackay. Mackay tells a story about a friend who got a call at two in the morning from someone he hadn’t talked to in more than ten years. The caller was semi-hysterical because his accountant had called him that afternoon and told him he was broke; his company couldn’t make payroll, and if he didn’t retrieve the checks he’d written, there was a good chance he would go to jail. He needed $20,000.
Mackay’s friend offered to lend him a few thousand dollars, but he didn’t give him all he needed even though he could have. Why? Because the connection just wasn’t there anymore. Not only did this 2:00 a.m. caller not dig his well before he was thirsty, he waited until he was dying of thirst before he even broke ground.
The premise of Mackay’s book is that it’s important to build relationships long before you need them. The biggest thing that resonated with me in the book was the concept that a network never sleeps. To this day, that is still a guiding concept in my life.
Here are four simple strategies you can implement to go the extra mile and show people you are interested in getting to know them. Taking the time at the very beginning of a relationship will make the difference. These simple steps apply to building relationships in business and the rest of life as well.
1. Learn Names
The first step in establishing deeper level connections is to learn and remember people’s names. Make an effort to learn a name the very first time you meet them.
I’m sure you’ve been in social situations where you have a neighbor that moves in. You might ask their name the first two or three times, but once they have lived there any longer than that—five or six months—and you still don’t know, it becomes awkward. It comes across as insensitive not to have taken the time to learn it.
The same goes with teams and coworkers. When somebody first joins your team, you have the unique opportunity to get as much information from them as you can. Open up and be vulnerable, share, be empathetic, understand where they’re coming from, and try to learn all about them. Take notes and establish that deep connection early. If you wait too long to take this step, it becomes more difficult.
