Connections – Again

I witnessed something the other evening that was remarkable. I facilitated a roundtable discussion for SCORE. Entrepreneurs of varying ages, seven of them of varying stages of development in their business formations, came together to air their questions and needs. To make their business dreams take form from the start, or to advance what they already had in place. My job was to get them to mix and share – who they are, what they needed help with, and what they could share to help others in the room.

Well I got them started. And then – Wow! Pow! – things happened fast. All at once they seemed willing to share openly and rapidly. The real mover was a 19-year-old guy from Aurora. An African American who was excited and on fire with enthusiasm. He had ideas and was working them in real life and commerce. E-commerce. And that topic was what most of the folks needed to talk about.

Small businesses. Small marketing budgets. The need to get their name, product and services out in front of other people. People to buy, to help, to network with. How to do this without breaking their piggy banks? How to understand how to work social media as marketing (that’s what it is!) and get it to work for them.

Social media works great if you know how to work it. Few know this. Our young Aurora friend did. And the roundtable took care of itself.

I got the ball rolling and they took it. I sat back in amazement and realized what was happening. I understood some of it, but my job was to get things started and get out of the way. I did!

I’m still trying to make full sense of it all. Here is what I’ve come up with so far:

·         Younger generations absorb the universe around them. They feel the connection

·         Younger people feel the entrepreneurial bug just like we did; they have different tools and methods than we did and do

·         They intrinsically trust more than we did (?) and share more willingly

·         They give and get at the same time; the price and payoff is built into that dynamic

·         They continue doing this in place when they sense the value is there

·         The deeper they go into the subject matter the more they can share with others who need help and receive as much help as they give in return

I am certain the above bullet points are true. Still working on them. I will continue to do so and share what I learn in this blog.

Meanwhile how does this fit with my understanding of the broader world? That is taking more time and effort. Some early conclusions are these:

·         Each of us has much to learn from one another

·         Our private minds and spaces are our creative labs; portable and contained

·         Other people are needed to prove our ideas and creations work; we must remain in relationship with others

·         Communication is an act of relationship; it requires trust and willingness to be open to others

·         Younger people are less encumbered with protocols, knowledge and enculturated norms

·         Older people have much to share but some of it is baggage that hinders sharing and mutual understanding

·         Much of our environment contains fresh new data and understanding how it fits with old data – or replaces it!

·         Figuring out how the new works and enhances our lives takes openness and courage to explore

·         We cannot advance if we sit in our quiet little private spaces

·         Seek new people, new data, and new experiences to advance your own understanding

·         Include diversity in this brave new world: men and women together; cultures and ethnicities enriching each other; acceptance and tolerance of differences, better yet, ignore those differences; taken as differences they hinder; unaware of them they enrich

That’s a good list to start with.

Meanwhile older folks need to know that younger people have a gift for us. It is ours if we are open to receive it.

October 6, 2017