Why Am I Doing This?

Over the years, I’ve spoken a lot about “Connecting & Colliding” and its one of the core philosophies I talk about in many of my programs and in my personal life. But like most people, I realised I’d never really tested the strength of my own professional network and what value people place on “a connection.”

So this financial year, I’m reconnecting with people from my LinkedIn network dating all the way back to 2010 to better understand:

• why people connect.
• whether people are still open to reconnecting after all these years. (I hope so).
• where people are now: personally and professionally. I’m genuinely looking forward to this because I haven’t caught up with a lot of great people for years.
• the real benefits of professional networks like LinkedIn.
• the real value of professional relationships over time and,
• whether ‘connecting and colliding’ is still important in modern business.

The Process…

It’s simple…

1. Reach out to people who have connected with me on LinkedIn across different years, industries and stages of my career.
2. Invite them to a real or virtual coffee with no agenda, pitch or expectations.
3. Explore where life, business and passion have taken people over time.
4. Capture any patterns, reflections and observations around modern business, marketplace presence and professional connections.
5. Share selected insights publicly  and on this website as the experiment evolves.

My Network (3,000+) and counting

Some connections I will know really well, some I don’t know much about at all, some are friends, former colleagues and some are complete strangers who might even wonder who I am and why we connected in the first place.

Not every connection will respond. Not every collision will lead somewhere.