What do Highly Connected People Have in Common? To be a highly successful entrepreneur, you ought to embrace generosity and expand your reach and connections to strengthen your business ties
By Sania Gupta
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You may wonder if there is anything common among highly successful and well-connected people or is it mere coincidence that they have reached the zenith of success in their fields. Easy to surmise, there are a few personality traits which have helped these men rise above the average strata and make it big. It isn't any coincidence or Luck God being favourable. Any kind of success means you have made your way working with the right kind of people and connections.
It isn't any kind of rocket science to reach the desired connections and touch the epitome of success. You have all the traits you need to reach there, you just have to garnish and polish them. Networking is the biggest game-changing asset as well as a challenge these days. Browse through the following headers and see how networking and a few traits typical of highly successful people have turned the tables for many:
1. Respect the Other Person
Learn to respect the other person, no matter how educated or rich you are. You never know what bundle of talent the other person has and when any sort of connection with him can be fruitful. Never condemn, ridicule or belittle anyone. Treat and deal with each person presuming that they are a bundle of talent and knowledge.
Vikas Aggarwal, MD of Shabnam Sales happily shares, "Each person is unique and one must respect the uniqueness of others. It is this respect that makes people comfortable in your presence and they can closely connect with you. Never be under false pretentions that you are superior."
2. Focus on Building Quality Connections
Building a solid network demands time and patience. Never be in a haste to build multiple connections when only very few connections are long-term and helpful. Focus on building quality connections with people you are ready to help and who are keen to help you. Do not focus on increasing Facebook or Instagram friends. The quality linkage will yield you sustainable business over a period of time.
Aditya Puri, MD of Hindustan Plywood vouches for quality connections and reiterates, "A highly connected and active network of people is more likely to fetch higher volume of business than an enormous yet dormant network of people. Building long term and sustainable affiliations is always better than a humongous network of people."
3. Value Two-Way Communication
Highly connected and successful people lend their ears to hear the other person, their tales of woe and their stories of success. This has a two-fold impact. One, this makes the other person feel comfortable and rely on you; secondly, this gives you cues as to what fallacies you can avoid and what positive traits you need to imbibe to be successful.
Sachin Aggarwal, MD of Share India Pvt. Ltd. says, "A two-way communication, where you give another person a chance to present their side of the story and seek your attention, is crucial for networking. Listening to other people is the essence of connecting." Even Vikas holds a similar viewpoint that to be strongly connected you need to speak and listen attentively.
4. Be Approachable
Show a genuine interest in others and be ready to help them. You don't have to travel miles to reach out to them. Just a small step to show that you are available to help goes a long way. There isn't any point in building pretentious social media friends when you aren't approachable enough. Highly connected people are ready to reach out and mutually benefit each other.
Varun Takkar, MD of Viraat Textiles says, "Reciprocity is the essence and once you step forward to help others, they are bound to express their gratitude by being helpful to you. Keep yourself proactively engaged in helping others and build goodwill by being approachable."
The Takeaway:
Make it a point to build strong connections with people you meet and keep your network strong by helping others. Reaching out to those long-entangled weaker connections can also help you build an army of connections. To be a highly successful entrepreneur, you ought to embrace generosity and expand your reach and connections to strengthen your business ties.
