The Connection Culture

I had a meeting today (just one? HA!). I left the meeting frustrated.

I went into the meeting thinking the questions were going to be technical but they were "philosophical." Now, I love to discuss and debate managerial approaches to issues, however; this was a larger group and not all members were responsible for developing or articulating the philosophy. Not the best forum.  Lessons learned, but still a little frustrated. There was more. 

It took a little pondering to get to the bottom of it and it came down to one thing for me - a lack of connection. I didn't feel a connection with the group. Was it the topic, the group size, the group members, everything to do with me, or nothing to do with me? Connection is important to me.

Connection can also be a source of competitive advantage and I had not thought of connection from that perspective. Have you? Well, Michael Lee Stallard did and addressed it in his manifesto, The Connection Culture: A New Source of Competitive Advantage.

"Connection is the key. It makes a difference in families, in workplaces, in schools, in volunteer organizations, in communities, and in nations. No one can thrive for long without it."  He may be on to something!