So, one of the best ways to connect with people is to engage them in conversation about the things that interest them as quickly as possible. Focusing on their interests is the first step to building a strong relationship. Given that you generally only have a few minutes—seconds more likely—to make a memorable impression, you have to act fast. Here are a couple of interesting articles on how to make that memorable impression:
A couple of days ago, I blogged this quote from Never Eat Alone:
Who you know determines how effectively you can apply what you know.
I would also add that who you know determines how effectively you can get things done.
Before reading Never Eat Alone, I read Getting Things Done, and over the last six months I’ve seen my productivity increase. I also saw my patience for small talk decrease. I disappaeared from the daily team lunch. I closed my office door more often. I was heads down in my work for I was getting things done.
But I was getting things done at the expense of maintaining my relationships. Co-workers complained that they never really saw me anymore. I wrote this off as a necessary side effect of being more productive—I just wasn’t going to have more time for all that relationship “stuff”.
Relationships, though, are the key to accomplishing ventures of any significance. They are the key to growth, to happiness. They make work seem less like work and more like fun—if your coworkers are your friends, the time you spend at work seems more like hanging out with friends than, well, work.
Now, I make sure I take at least five minutes every day to connect with coworkers. (I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: The daily five is a perfect way to maintain relationships with your coworkers.) I’m also making it a point to have lunch with at least two people every week—I’m not quite ready to commit to never eating alone, but I’m getting there. 
The relationships I’m building may not always help me accomplish my next action, but at some point they will, and building and cultivating those relationships ensures that when I need them, they will be there. As Keith says, “Build it before you need it.” What’s more, relationship building now is a GTD project, ensuring that my commitments for the day are balanced between accomplishing tasks and building relationships.
In the end, the combination of these two life skills—time management (or energy management) and relationship building—is invaluable: Who you know determines how effectively you can apply what you know to get things done.
