Boutique Consulting Club - Informal Conversations

Here's a great joke I came across this week:

John comes into a church to confess:
"I’ve had sex with a woman who is not my wife", he says.
"What's the woman's name", asks the priest.
"Oh, I can't tell you that", says John.
"Well I can't give you penance if you don't tell me who it was."
"Was it Mrs. Jones?"
"No, father, it wasn't."
"Was it Mrs. Smith?"
"No, father, it wasn't."
"Was it Mrs. Williams?"
"No, father, it wasn't."
"Well John, in that case I can't give you penance", says the priest.
On the way out John meets Robert.
"Well, John, did he give you penance?" asks Robert.
"No, he didn't, but he gave me three good leads", says John.

Some of you might dislike the joke due to John's sexist behavior, but that's not why I'm sharing this in a blog for boutique consulting firms. The point I want to highlight is: conversations create opportunities.

In fact, a conversation might generate business opportunities even if it's not business-oriented. It's a two-way interaction where ideas get exchanged, and, in doing so, makes it more likely for people to find ways to collaborate and be helpful. Conversations increase your luck surface area.

Having more and better conversations should be a top goal for any consultant leading a practice. I've written about it before - in my opinion, we should all:

• Create time for broader conversations, rejecting efficiency;
• Never skip small talk in a business chat, to humanize relationships;
• Cultivate weak ties, connecting with other people outside your core network.

If you want to grow your practice and become a router, don't shy away from having more conversations.