blogpost – open ended meetings

It feels like the early days, of networking by talking about great things. The meetings are open ended, no contracts are signed, we all leave unclear of the next steps. Tonight I had an extraordinary opportunity to talk with an extraordinary association of homeowners who bought their property on the edge, in a community with centuries of profound history and a future that will only see change, but at a time when bank loans are iffy, and arguably at exactly the right time. But these homeowners wanted a plan – they want to know what to do next.

No one tells you what to do next, but our best shot is to think about the big ideas and try a little piece of it.

This week’s meetings have been amazing, and a cause for wonder:

· Today: with the HOA in my favorite new neighborhood. These are the movers and shakers.

· Friday:

o 4pm – in the shop with a champion vacuum cleaner salesman, an hour full of Raleigh stories, and talk about a building alteration that would change a place.

o 1pm – contractors in my office debating positions on the totem pole. Come on, guys.

o 12pm – lunch with my new bank manager, over sushi, to talk about promoting downtown business. Extraordinary.

o 10am – staff meeting in the streetfront window, in the center of the western world, the Morning Times.

o 8am – networking seminar on how to build relationships by showing up early, getting in the mix, and wearing your name tag and your smile. I got there late, didn’t get a nametag, sat on the edge of the room with a frown because it was 8am and they were out of coffee.

· Wednesday / Thursday: meetings with a custom door supplier to order exactly the right assembly.

· Tuesday:

o 5pm – showed a rendering and a plan that made a strong man cry.

o 10am – added top notch construction management services to our coterie.

And now, a new week begins. Thanks to all the friends we didn’t know we had.