Humans are gregarious beings, we are made to share and build relationships. However, that does not mean that we have the skills or the right approach to carry them forward, if that were the case all bonds would be healthy, lasting and satisfying, but that is not so. For that reason, it is important that you don’t create transactional relationships, but that you give a twist to the way you bond.
I’ve been a startup founder for more than 10 years and I’ve been able to meet many, many people over that time. One of the things I have seen many times, and I have the impression that it has increased in the last few years, is the transactional approach.
You used to meet for coffee, now most of the time it’s a video call. Just as photos are now posted with a filter, it seems that human encounters are also using them, as if that really helps at all.
Nothing convinces more than the genuine, in the same way, as the best way to open opportunities is to help others to get theirs too. However, we are full of transactional relationships, I give you this and you give me that. In other words, a business, but not a relationship.
Of course, in every human bond we have a transaction, of time, attention, ideas, emotions, etc. However, I wonder if this is the model applicable to everything today, or maybe not everything, but more things than it should be.
Personally, I was also like this for many years. Maybe because I lived superficial relationships, interest bonds and taking advantage, is that over the years my look changed and I only want to link with those who really want to open collaboration that enlarges the cake and not only think about how we share it.
Human beings have a unique creative capacity, so great that if we get together and exchange views, experiences and ideas in an open and generous way, we will surely create bigger and better things. But of course, if I share my idea with you, “they will steal it from me”. The magic has always been in those people capable of taking ideas and turning them into reality, and this process of transmutation of thought, as Napoleon Hill would say, happens in a better way when we do it in a network, collaboratively.
Many talk about circular economy, shared value, mentoring networks and so much more, and I ask you, are you willing to contribute without looking at the calculator? If we are, genuinely and constantly, we will see that the same calculator now only knows how to multiply, because in the encounter of the human, the divine, the abundant and the opportunities that were hidden before, emerge.
In times of great changes and challenges of enormous size, the construction of networks and links is a necessity and something we must promote. However, if we do it from the transaction and how do I get something for myself, we will continue to weaken the magic of making community, collaboration and joint construction.
Today, we do not create transactional relationships, but rather networks of reciprocal, genuine, open and generous collaboration. Just as human life has always been in community, today, businesses and organizations must also be built with the same perspective, leveraging the strengths of each one to obtain encouraging results in a highly complex and challenging world.