Photo by Gamze Bozkaya on UnsplashI just got off the phone with the publisher of a magazine I’ve written for in the past. He was wondering why his emails to me have been bouncing, so he gave me a ring.

How’s THAT for personal attention? They have thousands and thousands of subscribers, but he remembered my name even though we’ve talked maybe three times in the past 15 years. I’ve written a handful of articles for them.

Whenever something surprises me, I try to ponder what I can learn from the experience. In this case, some interesting lessons come to mind.

Consistency: I’ve been coaching for nearly 20 years at this point, which has given me a rich set of connections in different contexts. Like magazine publishers!

Don’t assume: Just because I’ve lost touch doesn’t mean that others have lost interest. Everybody’s busy, and things ebb and flow. It can be great to re-connect with people from my past.

Generosity: In our discussion, I pointed out that I especially appreciate what his magazine does because they’re focused on serving their community. Many others tend to be built around being not-so-subtle sales vehicles, which turns me off. I write my articles from a philosophy of serving readers, not as a lead generator.

Individuals matter: At the end of the day, we’re dealing with people. When we lump them together as a large group, there’s a tendency to generalize and stereotype. We all do it, but it’s a habit we need to recognize and avoid.

I suspect I’ll be contributing to their magazine again!

This article was first published in InnovatioNews.

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