He was someone who knew virtually everyone everywhere he went and knew something about them. When he talked with you he would ask about your business, about your children, about what you had learned lately that was interesting, etc. Then he would share news he had learned from his travels around the country. His natural curiosity led him to discover the new and relate it to the old. When he saw you again, he would ask how things were going and likely would mention something you told him before. You see, you had a relationship.

This man was respected and admired, as well as loved, for the personal way he approached his business. He was all about helping you with your business. He loved putting people and resources together as he came upon potential matches. Then he would get out of the way and let you figure out how to make it work. He was helping you build new relationships.

I served on his board for a number of years and the days I would ride with him to another city to meet would be filled with information sharing as well as the collegiality of laughter. He was easy to laugh and hard to say a bad word about anyone.

He says he wants to spend more time on the golf course, but I suspect he will continue pollinating the countryside wherever he goes with relationship building for success and friendship.

Evolution is about learning and growing to not only meet the needs of today but ensure you will be around tomorrow. It is sometimes difficult to take time to learn something new, but it’s what professionals do. If I want to consider myself a professional, I have to take ownership of my learning. No one will care as much about my survival as me. If you are waiting for someone to develop you, I wonder what you have done to take the first step for yourself. Leaders lead the way. If you want your employees to be interested in learning something new, you have to also be a lifelong learner.

The other piece of learning is sharing what you know. Find a way to magnify your value by teaching it to someone else. You not only grow yourself by learning it deeper, you help someone else move along in their evolution.

I can’t tell you how many times I have heard in the last few months that someone would like to know more about social networking because they just don’t understand it. Is that you? It’s me! Well, I have tried to stick my toes into the water little by little with the help of my daughter and a few friends, but I’m not convinced I do it very well. So, I have attended a couple webinars recently and I signed up for a comprehensive, hands-on social networking course offered by the Broken Arrow Chamber of Commerce. Hopefully, I might find I’m doing some things right as well as learning what else I should do.

It is so hard to keep up with the latest as the world is changing so fast. Therefore, it’s important to use the tools we have efficiently. I don’t have time to do everything, so I have to figure out what will give me the most results for the least effort.

Whatever it is you need to learn, get started right away. You don’t want to be one of those “old people” who don’t understand what this world is coming to. Be part of the change now and it will be easier down the road.