The essence of who I am as a person and what I do for a living lies in relationship building.
Lately, I have realized the enormous potential of playing the long game in relationships. There is a simple question I now ask for every new person I meet: would I want them at my funeral?
Thinking this way modified my behavior, and provided a straightforward, albeit robust framework for decision making when it comes to networking. Go deep with few people rather than connecting with plenty of folks with little sagacity.
"The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them."
— Ernest Hemingway
You don’t need formal training to be responsive, meet deadlines, and to show up on time. Pick the right people you want to go deep with and offer them value without expecting anything in return.
Be relentless. Add so much value that they don’t have another choice but to want you in their lives.
Stop spending time on social media doing small interactions with thousands of people. Go deep. Win.
ps — thanks to Jess Lee for the funeral metaphor.
As we approach significant milestones at Atman, it is time to have an office again. We are all going to adapt to a hybrid way of doing things.
I love shopping offline and local. That said, traditional retailers that don’t innovate will die pretty fast. Long live $SHOP and $AMZN.
One should only invest in inevitable founders. A good investment is the one that needs you the least but gets to the final destination faster once we partner.
