Connectors
I first picked up Malcolm Gladwell's book, "The Tipping Point" in 2002, but at the time I was too distracted to absorb much of it. That is why, before I start "Blink", I want to revisit "The Tipping Point". I'm glad I did, because it's brilliant.
One of Gladwells "Three Rules of Epidemics" is "The Law of the Few", which, includes Connectors. I won't go into the background here, but he asks the reader to think of a Connector they know. I know one helluva connector.
Her name is Carol Ellen and I had the fortune to meet the fabulous Miss Carol early on in my adoption to Toronto. I met Carol when I thought I was all alone in the big city. Little did I know that meeting her would put me into a scenario where I would be 2-3 degrees of separation from nearly the entire population of Toronto.
She knows people from all walks of life, all professions, all interests, all colours, all political affiliations, and every corner of the city. In our first meeting, she had me take out a notebook and write down a 'few' contacts to help me with my search for work. She gave me 20. Then she said she could email more if I didn't get anywhere with those.
Carol is a recruiter. I think that recruiters should have to have the Connector gene. If you think about it, recruiters, matchmakers, financiers, fundraisers, sales, etc. are the types of jobs that requires that person who is brilliant at meeting new people and connecting them with people they know.
I rely on Carol to be my Connector. I don't have the energy to do it anymore. In fact, the more people I meet, the more I miss my cat. (I'm not quite that cynical, but there are so many wankers in the world of marketing)
Carol is one of those brilliant people that can enter a room knowing nobody and leave it 3 hours later knowing everybody. She treats everyone the same: with dignity and respect and kindness. The only problem she encounters is when someone she is seeing gets jealous because she isn't paying sole attention to him. And she gets that alot.
So if you need a job, or need a friend or need a city of friends, Miss Carol is the woman to know. I should know. She's my best friend.
Who is your Connector? Or are you one yourself?
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