Someone I knew twenty five years ago just reminded me of the time I lived in Boston and had become friends with a great guy named Phil. We’d gone out for a bit, but decided friendship was our path and we’d see each other every so often.
I hadn’t seen him in awhile when I left town to fly to Dallas for a business convention. The convention ended early (or my patience with it did) and at the end of several chaotic days I headed to the airport, hoping to find an early flight back home. I ended up falling asleep on a luggage cart, waiting for the early morning flight and I was delighted to finally board a flight nearly a day ahead of my original schedule.
My flight connected in Pittsburgh, where I hurried off, and was able to nab another early flight. My luck ended when a self-proclaimed “arteest” sat next to me and tried to talk me into a date. When the plane had been in the air for a while and the flight attendants were making their way down the aisle, suddenly I heard, “Jill?”…and I looked up to see Phil. The artist, without missing a beat, asked Phil, “Do you know my wife?”
So here I was, on two flights that I wasn’t supposed to be on, coming home to Boston from Dallas through Pittsburgh and happened to be on the same flight as a friend from Boston. What were the chances?
And what were the chances of me sitting in the bleachers during a t-ball game at Huntersville Elementary and hearing the mom behind me mention that she’d moved to Huntersville from Cape Cod where my maid of honor lived….and then finding out that they actually knew each other and socialized with the same crowd?
What are the chances of someone in Huntersville bumping into another person who might very well need the services your business provides? You just never know.
Today, I stopped by the Harris Teeter pharmacy and talked to Lou. We chatted about how Lou had served a couple that had just moved to Huntersville and how she bragged to them about our town. I mentioned how lucky we had been to have had the International Wheelchair Basketball Championships play here. Lou had helped a couple of athletes from Great Britain when they fell ill and needed a medication.
The rule of six degrees of separation has great potential to apply to all of us and we should be constantly aware that this could affect our business relationships as well. Lou proved to be the perfect ambassador for newcomers to our town and to international visitors. People will remember Lou, Harris Teeter and Huntersville fondly because she took the time out to simply be kind.
How many degrees are you away from a successful customer visit, a stellar recommendation, an unbelievable opportunity?
You just never know…but you could be prepared….
SwainsWorld 