Strangers in the night | Exchanging glances | Wandering in the night | What were the chances
– Strangers In The Night, Frank Sinatra
Our days get so busy with work, and life, and thoughts, and…so much more, we tend to forget or not realize all the people that we come across every single day.
Some of those individuals make up our close-knit work family that we collaborate and grow with, others are within our personal life outside the office, and some fall in between.
But in the end, just as devs are people, all people are people, and you never know who you will be running into.
Will the person behind you in line be your next employee, or will your barista plant a seed that will grow into great copy, or perhaps that quiet neighbor is an investor who’s looking for new directions.
On the one hand, you should have different types of messages available for different audiences, needs, and knowledge, but mostly you should treat individuals like human beings because you never know where it will lead.
Pay attention once you’ve met that person and nurture those meetings as you would consider nurturing them in your marketing funnels, warming them up, educating them, and qualifying them until they are ready (or not).
The timing may not be best right now, or no idea or collaboration will arise from a one-minute meet & greet, but it can evolve and grow the next time you run across them, or a month later, or years later when the stars align.
Each person we meet is an opportunity in one way or another, and with life always getting in the way, we miss precious chances at perfect strangers possibly growing into great mentors, or partners, or clients, or friends.
So don’t be a stranger.