“They may forget what you said — but they will never forget how you made them feel.” — Carl W. Buehner
This is so true, even for work environments.
If you're talking to a client, boss, coworker, or prospect, they all have one thing in common: they are all just people.
And I believe you can't be truly successful until you realize this.
It’s about the people.
There's this famous quote by author, public speaker, and former Yahoo! director Tim Sanders:
“Your network is your net worth.”
But who is your network?
Your network is the number of people who have a positive impression of you.
So, what does this mean? What makes people have a positive impression of you? Here are my 8 tips from 8 years of professional experience:
- Be friendly and helpful.
- Smile.
- Be human and relatable.
- Be reliable. You shouldn't say yes all the time, but people should be able to rely on your word.
- Respond fast, even if you just write “I’ll dig into that and come back to you”. That takes the matter off the other person’s mind.
- Listen and ask questions. Don't talk too much. But make yourself heard!
- Tell something interesting from time to time. A great way is to do presentations on new technologies you encounter or about interesting problems you solve.
- Learn how to do small talk and quickly connect with people. Ask people on Monday how their weekend was. On a Friday, ask them what their plans are. Use those few minutes in a meeting before everyone is there to talk with the others.
People matter. For collaboration, opportunities, and just to have a good time.
Reading Recommendations
“Most thoughts, emotions, & anxiousness caused by worry are negative, imagining worst-case scenarios, anticipated threats, or scenarios. Learn how to worry less…”
A Theory of Lying and Dishonesty
“As a social species, we have strong motivations to behave prosocially, and honesty is a key element of prosociality. However, people are not all equally prosocial. Some consistently behave selfishly, taking more than they give. Since antisocial selfish behavior is widely repudiated, practitioners tend to conceal it. They lie. They cheat. They steal.”
Micro Frontends - extending the microservice idea to frontend development
“Extending the microservice idea to frontend development. Techniques, strategies and recipes for building a modern web app with multiple teams that can ship features independently.”
Weekly Mindfulness Practice
On your next short break, when you walk somewhere in your room, walk so slow that it annoys you.
Observe this feeling. Where does it come from? What effects does it have on your body?
Then let go of that feeling and only focus on walking.
End Note
If you enjoy this newsletter, please share it with someone you know. Just forward them this email.
Have a great week
Simon
PS: What do you think about this? Please hit reply and let me know. I’m curious!