Page 123 - Leadership Secrets of Hillary Clinton

LEADERSHIP SECRETS OF HILLARY CLINTON

Orlando the next morning. The flight was packed, and I
was thrilled that the seat beside me was empty. I pulled out
my headphones and looked forward to taking a well-
needed rest when a woman sat down next to me and
immediately asked if I was the Sticky Floor lady whose book
she was currently reading. I had a choice between nodding
my head and closing my eyes (which every cell in my body
was encouraging me to do!) or taking off my headphones
and answering her politely. Luckily for me, my midwestern
manners had me do the latter, and we introduced ourselves.
She was the president of one of the largest lobbying firms
in Washington, D.C., and she immediately asked me to
speak at the firm’s annual conference. As we continued our
discussion about the conference, she asked me if I had a
blog (which I do) and if I’d be interested in posting each
other’s blogs on our individual Web sites so that we could
both expand our communities. By connecting with just one
person, I added 10,000 people to my network!
Now, you might not be quite so lucky, and you may not
even want to build a network that is called a community,
but who knows what a brief conversation with someone
new will turn into? So, be open and friendly with everyone
you meet. Be curious about who that person is and what he
is doing in the world. Be receptive to potential synergies
and new opportunities that you can create together to sup-
port common goals. And be sure to note the person’s name,
his contact information, when and where you met, and

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