When
I grew up, Gaithersburg
was the last outpost before entering the Maryland farm belt; and
boasted the county fair as well as a State Roads Equipment Depot. It
was a close community where people knew each other (if I got into
minor mischief, my mother knew about it and would be waiting when I
got home to interrogate me about the particulars).
Although
terms like 'connector'
and 'matchmaker' (business, not love) were not used then, the
storekeeper at Southern States (similar to a general store) or the
barber could tell you who to see to get various projects done – or
who may have a need for such projects. The response would be along
the lines “if I needed that done, I'd go see Jack, and if he's busy
then I'd ask Dick.”
It
wasn't from a directory or the yellow pages (this was long before
Angie's List and on-line vender sites) – the referral was from
personal knowledge and conveyed a recommendation by the individual.
As the community and business
environment has changed over time, we have almost lost those
knowledgeable and trusted personal referrals / recommendations.
Almost.
Dick
and I met just such an individual this week - Jacob
Shoval. He knows the Rockville and Montgomery County, MD
communities intimately – we think of him as the unofficial mayor of
Rockville – as well as what's happening in the close-in region of
MD-DC-VA.
During
our meeting with Jacob, he offered a half dozen referrals of
individuals wrestling with business issues, discussed new innovative
ways to use social media and the internet to inform and educate, and
spoke about the emergence of local professional development
presentations taking place in national technology retail stores. Wow
– it's like he builds a hillside while we watch, and now invites us
to hop on the skateboard to enjoy it!
He is
a matchmaker reminiscent of the old storekeeper tradition – all the
more impressive because of its uniqueness today.
An
interesting thing about connectors – they invest time to meet and
get to know others, they give their knowledge freely, and they are
superstars in their 'day job' – they are successful personally, but
are a valuable resource contributing to the success of the community
as well. A connector personifies Zig
Zigular's famous quote: “You
can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other
people get what they want.”
Do you know any
connectors in your community or agency? If not, how would you find
this precious resource?
It's my impression there are a lot fewer of these "matchmakers," due to the internet. Recommendations are a way to get some value out of research that didn't particularly work for my project at the time, but introduced me to someone I admire. Passing that along rewards me, the person I admire, and the person who needs the help.
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