Help Yourself Through Helping Others

Have you ever had someone help you out to the degree that you sat at your desk and simply pondered what you could do to return the favor?

One such time happened for me in 2002 when a friend worked to get me on a team for a major project that resulted in an $200,000 contract for my company.  What took him 15 minutes (time spent selling someone else on using my  services) would have cost me 40 hours of phone calls, multiple lunches, and numerous meetings, and even still I wouldn’t have been guaranteed a spot on the team.  Needless to say, I was not only thankful to my friend for his work, but I literally sat at my desk working up ways to return the favor.

 The key to this story wasn’t how he helped to get me on the team; it is how your actions can motivate other people to help you.  Those 15 minutes of work have resulted in dozens of referrals and project leads as I have worked to return the favor.  As my friend focused on helping me, he was developing a mutually beneficial relationship that resulted in me working hard to help him.

If you are looking to increase your effectiveness, start by helping other people in your network.  What can you do today that will leave someone else pondering what they can do to return the favor?

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