How To Be Intimate in Commercial Relationships

1. Be the person who nurtures relationships over time, playing the long game where others play for right now.
2. Give value without any intention of capturing value now.
3. Go first, be vulnerable, and share your story. This makes it safe for others to open up about themselves, knowing that you are open.
4. Be digital where and when it makes sense, but be a real life human being in a face-to-face meeting or over the telephone faster than anyone else.
5. Communicate with greater frequency, and plan those communications so that they are always valuable to the recipient.
6. Have a presence by entering someone else’s world to prove that you care, and so you can gain a deeper understanding.
7. Do something unexpected, something that isn’t required, and something with no intention of reciprocity. Do something just because.
8. Remember the small details that others miss, and know that the little things are big things.
9. Keep your commitments, large or small, and do so with great haste.
10. Uncover issues, challenges, and problems outside of what you, your company, or your solutions solves, and make a difference.
11. Do everything with greater consistency and commitment.
12. Send thank you cards. Not emails.
13. Listen. Listen. Listen. Listen. Listen.
14. Care about someone else’s outcomes more than anyone else would dare.
15. Value the relationship more than you value any single transaction.