Serious Soft Skills

Relationships are at the core of all business these days, so our ability to manage them is paramount if we are going to be successful in practically any job.

In today’s episode, cohosts Dr. Tobin Porterfield and Bob Graham discuss:

1. How changes in the work world necessitate building more relationships
2. How to manage relationships
3. Examples of well managed and poorly managed relationships
4. The benefits of managing relationships with workers, former colleagues, bosses and others

Here are some hints for better managing business relationships:

• Make amends. If you have a bad business relationship, fix it. Now. 
• Scroll through your phone contacts every week or two. I sometimes see someone's contact information that I haven't talked to and have called or emailed them right away. Everything happens for a reason.
• Find beneficial ways to interact. I like to send articles to people that I think they might find valuable. They seem to like it. It shows I am thinking of them, and it's easy enough to send an article.
• Just say hey. Sometimes it's great to hear from someone who you haven't heard from in a while. I had a former coworker who I helped mentor contact me recently out of the blue. She told me she missed “my first mentor.” It made my day. 
• Use LinkedIn. I love LinkedIn. It allows me to know what other people are up to, to be able to contact them when they change jobs or locations and it's all free. I like to see who is celebrating birthdays, job anniversaries or whatever else. I respond often, and it pays off. Ten minutes in the morning or evening can yield great fruit with LinkedIn, or do it every Sunday night.
• Be grateful. If all else fails, contact someone at least once a week who has had a profound effect on your career and tell him or her that. Believe me, if that's where the conversation starts, it will end much better – for both of you.

Have you joined The Soft Skills Revolution at thesoftskillsrevolution.com? Why not? We are giving resources out for free to people interested in better understanding their soft skills. It's free and it's easy. Just provide your email and away you go. Nothing to buy or sell. Jut go to thesoftskillsrevolution.com.

Next Week

Next week, we will tackle another soft skill. New episodes come out each Wednesday. Until next week, thanks for listening, good day and good soft skills.