I have just returned from the first phase of industry conferences this year. As advised last month, I did drink more water while travelling and I do think it made a difference. Still wiped out when I got back though. I’m not sure why it struck me particularly this year but, while on my travels, I seemed to meet more extraordinary people than in the past.. 

I wouldn’t embarrass them by naming names but a number of characters I met were very memorable. They were successful people and, as soon as I met them, I knew why. Of course their success could be put down to a number of things: sharp business acumen, hard work, ruthlessness, luck, an ability to recruit well, Nelsonic leadership qualities, brilliant parents … a pools win! There are many reasons why people are successful but one quality, I noticed, was common throughout.

They all enjoyed people. When I talked to them they gave me the impression that I was the only person in the room that mattered at that moment. They seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say, in my story, in my ideas and dreams. They talked about themselves only enough to maintain the conversation yet they were open, humble, grateful and thankful to all those who had helped them along their way. They knew they were successful and they wanted others to share it.

Now it’s just possible that they were all brilliant actors. The jury is still out on who originally said: “The most important thing is sincerity; once you can fake that you’ve got it made.”  But if these people were really that good, they deserved an Oscar each. No, there was nothing fake about them. They were the real thing. 

I know that doing well in business is hard. Of course it is. And there are a great many nice people who never made a penny. But it just strikes me that if you are lucky enough to be one of those talented few who have the ability to turn a P&L black, the difference between doing well and doing great might just be the way in which you relate to people. You can’t fake interest or sincerity, not really, but you can develop a genuine interest in others.  Desiderata said ‘Listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant, they too have their story’. It might be that their stories become the secret of your success.