BRX Pro Tip: Find Your People
Stone Payton: Welcome back to Business RadioX Pro Tips. Lee Kantor, Stone Payton here with you. Lee, I had a business mentor early in my career and he would tell me, “Play your music for the folks who want to hear your brand.” But he was trying to say, you know, find your people. But I mean, how do you find them?
Lee Kantor: Yeah. I think it’s so important to adopt a philosophy that your mentor shared with you because it is so critical. You don’t have unlimited time and you can’t convince the world of what you’re doing. Find the folks who kind of believe what you believe, who are on the same mission that you’re on, who have the same values you have.
Lee Kantor: And I think that a lot of professional services people really don’t -they don’t really grasp that. And there’s a difference between going to a networking event in your industry and finding your tribe. Networking events typically are focused on professional connections, career opportunities. They’re more often than not transactional. And really, that’s not where you want to be. Typically, you want to be in a more relationship-driven kind of situation. And that’s really – that’s what happens when you find your tribe.
Lee Kantor: Finding your tribe is focused on creating meaningful relationships and a sense of belonging. It’s more intimate. It’s more community-oriented. It involves building relationships with a group of like-minded individuals. It also requires more active participation. It’s not something where you can just write a check and get some benefit. You have to contribute. You have to become, you know, an active member. It’s not something that you can just write a check and show up and, you know, sit on the corner and drink a beer with somebody. You have to do some work to show what you’re – that really allows you to demonstrate your values, not just talk about your values.
Lee Kantor: So finding your tribe, to me, is a more holistic approach to personal and professional growth, and it might require you to create this community. If there’s not a group of people that kind of match your values and your beliefs and your mission, you might have to create this community on your own. And that way you’ll be able to, you know, kind of be the change that you want in the world.
Lee Kantor: So I think it’s important to think about networking as finding your tribe, rather than it is about handing out a business card.
