In my last post I promised to begin building a list of vital business fundamentals that are non-negotiable–things that must be performed, measured, and in every way, insisted upon.  I asked for your help in building this list and am eagerly awaiting ideas that you have derived from the best of your own experience.  Keep in mind…there are no right or wrong answers here.  The point of this exercise is to emphasize the importance of HAVING A LIST.  And once you have a list, be diligent about setting expectations and measuring that list.
 
I opened this discussion yesterday by pointing to our very own Seattle Mariners as an example of a team that has great talent, yet very few wins.  One of the problems this year began with the relationship between baseball legend and Hall of Fame bound Ken Griffey Jr., and the Mariner’s manager.  Griffey was well liked by the majority of his teammates and was said to be an asset to team moral, cohesion and maturity.  The problem was, that the manager hired to lead the Mariners, didn’t take the time to get to know and develop a relationship with Griffey.

I don’t know whether it was pride, intimidation, or a naïveté that led to this blunder, but because of this, there was little communication between the two.  As a result, halfway through the season, Griffey spontaneously packed up his bags and drove home to his family in Florida with no press conference, no goodbye celebration, nothing…
 
The point is this:  We can spend reams of time with the “hard” practices of our business, but the “soft” principles are equally, if not more important.  One of these soft principles, relationship building, I like to refer to as “Let’s have Coffee.”
 
I can tell you unequivocally, that in my own experience–whether building my private practice, developing a partnership at Tidemark, or helping others with their success–all of these things have begun around meeting for coffee or lunch.  In fact, 23 years ago, with only $3,000 in my bank account and two young boys, I moved to Seattle to begin my practice.  And, although it was tough financially, I designated $1,500 of that money to inviting possible referral sources to lunch (this was before Starbucks was on every street corner).  I did this nearly every day, for the first three months of my living in the Seattle area.  This was the best money I ever spent.
 
“Making time for coffee” is not only important for building a business, but also for maintaining a business.  It helps you to retain your best talent and really get to know what other talent is out there.
 
We can spend so much time building the right tools that we forget about building the right connections, and maintaining them.  It often doesn’t matter what long-term outcome you’re after – Just showing that you actually want to build a connection can open multiple doors in the future and aid in keeping existing doors wide open.
 
A world famous business consultant recently said that 20-40% of your 300 lunches per year should be dedicated to these types of casual meetings.
 
Is this something you are doing?  Do you consider it to be important?  If it is, should you be measuring it?
 
I think I have inspired myself into a corner.  I guess, I better start doing the same…