The Importance of Nurturing Your Relationship with So-Called “Strangers”
I write in my second book, Five Eyes on the Fence, about the importance of protecting your social capital. My thesis is that financialFive Eyes on the Fence_WEB capital is a byproduct of four other types of capitals. When human, social, intellectual, and structural capital are well-tended, financial capital flourishes.
Social capital can be summarized in two words: Relationships matter.
The strength of your relationship with clients, potential clients, vendors, employees, and colleagues determines the extent to which these relationships can be accessed as a resource. The stronger the social capital, the more likely your financial capital will benefit.
And the stronger your relationship with strangers, the better your social capital.
I know what you are thinking, “Wait a minute: How can a person have a relationship with a stranger? Isn’t not knowing the person the very definition of a stranger?”