I was asked the question:

"How do I sustain a connection past the initial interaction?"

Share your own tips for fostering a new relationship.

5 comments // In Relationship Development Skills

Check out a few of the great posts on the myGreenlight blog this week:

• If the Timing's Right... - The best time to send emails for optimal response is up for debate. Join the discussion.
• Giving as a Business Strategy - A post by speaker, writer, strategist, Dan Waldschmidt.
• Relationship Roundup - Tips on diversifying your influence style, how “NO” can help clear your plate for the important, connecting in the future, and the new connected consumer.

Enjoy!

0 comments // In Site News and Happenings

I met Garrett at Summit Series and was so impressed by his success story launching his nonprofit (buoyed by advice from NEA!) that I asked him to contribute a blog. Audacity and the power of a great idea are the big drivers here. - KF

I was a college student when I co-founded SEE College Prep, a non-profit that has helped more than 1,300 low-income high school students improve their SAT scores an average of 200 points and become the first in their families to go on to college. At the time, I had no idea what it meant to raise large amounts of money, or the kinds of relationships I would need to build to do so.

Fortunately, a friend clued me in to Keith and Never Eat Alone and that wisdom has supported me ever since. It has been an extraordinary learning curve: in a short period of time, I went from not knowing a single person who could donate more than a few hundred dollars, to raising nearly $2 million in 18 months.

I followed my heart, risked embarrassment by asking simple questions, and found the courage to ask for people’s time and eventually money. I was empowered by the mission of what I was trying to achieve, and since I had a calling I knew that no request was too silly or too bold. I reached out to mentor after mentor—first professors, then non-profit leaders, then heavy hitters like Stanford University President John Hennessy and billionaires John Fisher, John Morgridge, and Laurene Powell Jobs. Not all of these conversations were successful, but I saw first-hand how little I knew and how much people were willing to help. Technology has helped people like me: many of the most impressive people I’ve met have agreed to meet following a cold e-mail; some of those people are my closest mentors and advisors today. Read more →

2 comments // In Entrepreneurship

First, an update on donations for Guatemala: Last week we asked you to help us raise $3200 so that we could fund every child from our trip. The balance as of Jan. 13, the day I'm writing this: $3367! I couldn't be more grateful.

Ready for this month's myGreenlight master's mission? John Hagel and John Seely Brown wrote this week's tip to help you diversify your network to expose you to the broadest range of ideas and opportunities. These simple tips will strengthen your safety net – try it! -KF

It is no surprise that we instinctively seek out those who share our interests. This is especially true in times of increasing pressure and uncertainty. We have an understandable tendency in such times to seek out the familiar and comfortable as a buffer against the unforeseen changes around us. In so doing we can inadvertently put ourselves in a cage of similarity that narrows our peripheral vision of the world and our options. The result? We may be even more vulnerable to being blindsided by events and trends coming at us from new and unusual directions.

The Internet compounds this narrowing by invisibly removing subjects and people from our online searches and even our casual exploration of websites, explains Eli Pariser in his new book, The Filter Bubble. Worse yet, we tend to become more extreme and entrenched in our beliefs when we become involved in a tight-knit group that shares them.

The bottom line: the choices we make and the technology we use can progressively narrow the range of experiences we have. To counteract the potential stultifying effects of the filter bubble we will have to overcome our natural instinct to seek out the comfort of those who are most like us. Here are some suggestions:

1. Audit and re-shape your social network. With the advent of online social network platforms we have an increasing visibility into the make-up of our personal social network. Whom do we interact with most frequently? How similar are they to us?

Scan the periphery of your social network and explore those "weak ties", the people you may have met briefly and who come from very different environments. Who are some of the most diverse people on the periphery of your network that you might benefit from getting to know better? How could you use online social networks to reach out to people you have never even met but who are engaged in arenas adjacent to your own interests? Each week, resolve to introduce yourself to a friend of a friend on an online network who seems to be the most interesting and most different from you. Read more →

24 comments // In Business Networking

Check out a few of the great posts on the myGreenlight blog this week:

• Networking for Introverts - a transcript expert from Tahl Raz's interview with author Nancy Ancowitz.
• Take Control of Your Inbox - What Deserves Your Attention?
• Stress-Free Networking Apps
• Relationship Roundup

Enjoy!

1 comment // In Site News and Happenings

I am just back from my second trip to Guatemala, and am feeling more committed than ever to weaving volunteerism and service into corporate America’s culture. There are so many in need, and I believe that as in all real relationships, the benefits are mutual – we receive as much or more than we give.

This year, it wasn’t just “my” trip. I traveled to Antigua, one of Guatemala’s poorest regions, with a group of 11 others, all of whom not only volunteered but also made donations  (along with some of you via Paypal!). Together these donations will send 25 of the brightest, most promising children to school and pay for food and health care. Thank you to the Livecchi Family, the Lim Family, Gold, Jordan, and those who donated online!

Media entrepreneur Joe Livecchi wrote a trip diary and shared the story of a moment that I think is a strong metaphor for the entire experience. After spraining his ankle and having to sit out some of the day’s fun activities, he wrote: “One of the boys I had talked to earlier came over to check on me. He offers me a piece of the candy he retrieved from the piñata to try and ease my pain… That's when it hit me. I had flown thousands of miles to help these kids and I was the one being comforted by an eight-year-old child who has almost nothing.”

Again, we get more than we give. In fellow traveler Max Lyons’ words, “The transformational impact we're seeking to have in the lives of these children is being returned to me just as much, if not more so.”

Joe’s daughter, Sophie, age 12, wrote her own blog. My favorite line from it: “I suddenly just figured out this whole new world of poverty. Nobody on the other side realizes this world. If everyone could get the experience that I got to come here... The other half would be more grateful, and this half could get more help.”

As I wrote on the blog, I went intending to fund 10 children. I finished the trip with a total of 41 names. Together, between my donations, those of everyone on the trip, plus Paypal, we now have enough money to support 25. That means we’re looking for donations to support 16 more. For $200, these kids can go to school and have their basic needs paid for. I mean it when I say no donation is too small: If everyone who reads this email donates just ONE dollar, we’ll more than cover the $3200 we need for those children, and be able to support several more projects in those villages through Cultural Exchange.

Click here to contribute. I will follow up next week and let you know whether we hit the target!

If you’re interested in reading all the blogs from this year’s trip, here are the links together:

Max Lyons: The Transformational Impact of Service

Growing a Middle Class through Education: The Story of Our Seven

Collaborative Action Comes to Life in Guatemala

For Chet

In Guatemala, $200 Can Change a Life

Joe Livecchi: One Family, One Mission

Sophia Livecchi: Our Guatemalan Mission Through a Child's Eye

Thanks for reading – and I look forward to some of you coming on a future trip!

P.S. Check out Mark Goulston's Usable Insight mailings at: http://markgoulston.com and sign up at the NEWSLETTER SIGNUP window. I've  been a subscriber for several years!

1 comment // In philanthropy

Check out a few of the great posts from the myGreenlight blog this week:

• How to Become the Big-Idea Creative - Read Tahl Raz’s post on his Social Capitalist interview with Management Guru and Fast Company Co-Founder Bill Taylor. Boost your creativity and stand out in your industry.
• Best Relationship Posts of 2011 - Favorite relationship-related posts of last year from across the web.
  
• Relationship Roundup - Five ideas for using relationship capital to survive and thrive in 2012.
  
• Reclaiming "Resolutions" for Truly Transformative Progress - Read myGreenlight's Program Director’s take on resolutions vs. intentions for the New Year and how the distinction affects her plans for 2012.
  

0 comments // In Site News and Happenings

Sophia is the 12-year-old daughter of my friend, Joe Livecchi.  She and her family joined us on our service trip during the holidays and it was incredible to see the experience through the eyes of an American child.  Here is her blog.

My first day in Guatemala was great!

First we went to a Guatemalan school. The kids were so nice! We were playing soccer and my dad sprained his ankle, and he went to go sit down. All of the children started gathering around him and offered him help.

After I got to know the kids better. They were all so nice! Most people had 5 or 6 siblings in their family. I showed some of the girls my iPod touch, and they were fascinated. Their eyes lit up like stars. They took pictures, looked at my pictures, and played games. They had never seen something so magical like this before. With no electricity and power for these children, they have never seen an electronic device in their whole life.

Afterwards our group put up a piñata, the kids went crazy!! They loved the excitement of the happiness in the air... and the candy! I was so happy seeing them happy. Some kids have never even had candy in their whole life - this was their first time. Some girls went over to my dad and offered him candy, because they felt really bad about his ankle. We gave them pizza and soda.

Next, all of the children lined up, and we handed out plastic toothbrushes. You should have seen the look on their small faces, they were overjoyed.

After the piñata, all of the kids said goodbye to us and said thank you and walked home. I started cleaning up the trash from the candy wrappers and piñata shreds, when the cutest 3-year-old boy came up to me with a handful of trash. Together, we cleaned up the grounds of the school. The best part was, the whole time when he was cleaning up the trash, he did it with a big smile on his face.

As we were leaving the school the little boy waved to me. He was all-alone. I wondered if he had a place to go. I wonder if he had family.

I often go home thinking about all of the flaws in my life. They seem big to me, but really, they are nothing compared to the kids here and still, they are so happy. Why can't I be like them and see life with a positive view all the time when I have everything and they have nothing? I don't even think about a toothbrush, I just receive it. I would never be overjoyed to get a toothbrush, yet they are grateful to receive anything, even if it's small. Now whenever I think about a flaw in my life, I will think about these kids. No parents, so poor, no food... I hope I can become grateful for everything I receive, grateful for my life, and keep an open mind to my problems.

On our second day we visited a really poor community center. We got such an amazing welcome! All 400 people stood around us in a circle shouting "bienevidos". I couldn't believe how many children were there. I got to know a lot of the kids, who were very nice.

There was this one girl who really touched my heart. She told me that she had no mother or father, and she lived with her sister who is my age, but sometimes her grandmother comes over also. Even though she has lost her parents, she has not lost her happiness. She is a beautiful girl who deserves a better life.

Grace, my sister also met a little girl her age named Jocelyn. They didn't understand what they were saying to each other, but they were inseparable. Always holding hands and laughing.

We fed the kids snacks and they were so happy! We ran out at the end because apparently kids who are living on the streets who were starving came in the community center.

Gosh... I suddenly just figured out this whole new world of poverty. Nobody on the other side realizes this world. If everyone could get the experience that I got to come here... The other half would be more grateful, and this half could get more help.

Afterwards we went to visit Jocelyn's home. They didn't let us see most of their house. They showed us their roof and backyard. They had a cute bunny and cat and dog :)  They were moving out of their house into a smaller house because Jocelyn did not have a father anymore.

We needed to go, so my parents finally told Jocelyn and her grandmother the big news. My family was paying for Jocelyn's school tuition!! They were very happy!  They walked us to our bus and Jocelyn gave me and Grace a gift. She said "remember me by this" hugged us, and started walking back to her house.

I watched her and her grandmother and her sister walk back to their house. I wanted to cry for them. A girl with nothing gave us a gift. She is a beautiful caring girl. Hopefully now she will get an education and experience the world.

Finally we went to a school with 62 kids. When we got in, they told us to line up. All 62 kids came and gave our group hugs! It was too sweet. Afterwards we got a tour of the school and I donated $70 in Guatemala money to help get the school more teachers. I hope that my donation will help them.

If you want to help - like Sophia did - please donate and help us help more kids!

0 comments // In philanthropy

Joe Livecchi, a media entrepreneur, is a friend.  Joe's family was an incredible addition to our trip.  Here is his account of the experience.

December 26th 2:30am, Jamaica, NY
The alarm clock is especially cruel this morning. I jostle my wife and two young kids (Sophia 12, Grace 8) to wake up for our 5:30am flight en route to our immersive mission trip in Guatemala. On paper, the trip sounds amazing. Daily mission trips to orphanages, schools, shantytowns and impoverished villages where we will put into practice the philosophy of Serve and Grow. Serve others and grow individually and together as a family in the process. Right now, that doesn’t mean much to my family. They are tired, worried about our safety and getting sick abroad.

We have a handful of sustainable growth projects we are hoping to accomplish on the trip. There is also time for some play, nice meals out, and opportunities to mix with the locals. We drop our bags at our hotel Casa Santo Domingo in Antigua. It’s a former monastery converted into a beautiful historically rich hotel. The expansive grounds are dotted with tremendous art, foliage, exotic birds and several stand alone museums. The staff wear traditional Mayan garb and speak little or no English. Massive volcanoes, ancient ruins and centuries old cobblestone streets surround the city of Antigua. Almost instantly we are transported to another time and place.

Our mission group is an eclectic mix of families and individuals. Students. Physicians. Authors. Executives. Children. I'm not sure why but I'm surprised the group is so friendly and warm.

Still sluggish from the travel, we accept an invitation to visit a renowned coffee plantation in Antigua. Our gracious hosts treat us like family and provide us with lunch and show us the process of harvesting beans for coffee. The quality beans will be sold to Starbucks in the U.S. The locals in Guatemala City will sell the lower quality beans for consumption.

Here, there is no minimum wage and coffee pickers work for as little as a few dollars a day. I cant help but wonder what life is like for the women we see balancing 30 or 40 pound sacks of coffee beans on their head as they retreat from the miles of lush green sun dappled fields. Beauty and poverty sitting so close together. This is the story of Guatemala.

Read more →

1 comment // In philanthropy

My interview with Robert Courteau, president, SAP North America, at Live Talks Business Forum, is up now on Vimeo – check it out!

1 comment // In Entrepreneurship