Super-connectors Run The World
I have come to learn that connection is our most powerful tool. Whether that be physical or virtual, person or resource, the impact of connecting drives our lives forward.
I believe super-connectors run the world.
Who are super-connectors?
Super-connectors are the unseen tether between what and who we know to what or who we don’t.
I consider myself one but only formed the characteristics by aspiring to help others the same way my mentors, friends, and colleagues helped me.
Super-connectors are more than a matchmaker; they’re an information broker.
I would bet that you can look back and find a moment where you relied on this value. Knowing super-connectors can lead to opportunities, connections, and aha moments that you could rarely get searching or scrolling.
Being one can change your trajectory completely.
A super-connector is someone who knows how to move information from one network to another so that what you know can be used by others. If you know how to do this well, you can become incredibly valuable to everyone you meet.
How do they do it?
Give-first mentality
Give-first is an approach to relationship building where people share knowledge, networks, and resources without wanting anything in return.
Simply put, it means giving — advice, resources, assistance, etc. — with no expectation of getting anything specific back. When a network of people, such as a global community of entrepreneurs, live in a ‘Give First’ way, each is helpful whenever they can be.
TechStars
As an entrepreneur, you’re never short on a list of needs to run your business. Its importance touched every aspect of our work — provided we were clear in our needs, super-connectors always gave us a nudge in the right direction.
Deliver powerful intros
On my startup journey, I constantly benefited from people who did this for me. Especially for fundraising, where warm intros drive meetings and provide access to capital. More importantly, I truly felt inspired when I got to meet with other founders, advisors, and startup people to who I’ve been introduced over the years.
Introductions are a currency of networking. I have conflicting views on it but it remains true. You need to connect with people before they’ll give you what you want: an opportunity, a contact, a resource. But not just anyone will do.
Assuming trust is built, super-connectors make this happen every day.
Connecting the dots
Super-connectors are more than a matchmaker; they’re an information broker.
For me, the majority of my journey has been navigating the uncharted waters of building startup businesses. No two days have been the same. Where I would come up short on identifying the next step, a trusted advisor, a super-connector of their own right, would step in.
The real power comes when the super-connector helps connect the dots for someone at the right time with the right resource. If you allow them to, they will happily direct you!
Give Thanks to the Super-connector
No matter who you are or what you’ve accomplished, it’s been with the help of others. We may not acknowledge their work until it has benefited us, or worse, not at all.
Find that person who helped you connect the dots, make an introduction, or point you in the direction
