We spend our entire lives building relationships. Beginning at birth, and for the rest of our lives, we forge friendships, families and acquaintances, constantly increasing the number of people with which we share and experience the world. We develop a fear of isolation, a nervousness that arises when we are alone or feel distant in thought or actions from those we consider close.
Our business relationships are no different. From the contracting stage through the execution of our ideas, we constantly develop relationships with our colleagues. When someone expresses an idea that causes us nervousness, we tend to shut ourselves out by creating an artificial isolation. We push back, express doubts and do our best to keep our status-quo.
In the following video from a public open-enrollment workshop last September, Peter Block explains how connection is the cure for isolation. Connection helps us overcome both isolation and the nervousness we feel about inviting new ideas and methods into our syntax. In business relationships, that means forging stronger connections to achieve the change you want to see.
When you take a stance of advocacy for your ideas you should expect resistance. What’s important is understanding your contribution in how the conversation is going, knowing that it’s the connections we make, not the isolation we feel, that ultimately decide whether our projects and relationships will be successful.
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Want to learn more about Peter Block’s work or attending a public workshop? Click here!
