A few months ago I attended a session at school on Servant Leadership put on by Christian Business Leaders. Jeff Hirsch, a manager at Proctor and Gamble in Cincinnati and the father of one of my best friends, the infamous Jack Hirsch (who is indeed alive, after much concern) gave his testimony and shared his insight. Dean Kohmann, a vice president at Charles Schwab in Cleveland, also shared his story and outlook on life. Both men talked about the importance of building relationships in order to impact people. Dean shared something especially poignant that has stuck with me over the past few months. He said:
At the end of your life, the only thing that makes you different from anyone else is the relationships you’ve had and the books you’ve read.
I’m certain I’ll elaborate on the value of a little mind stimulation via printed ink on a page at some point, but today I’m going to use my cyber pulpit to preach about the importance of relationship building.
It’s incredibly easy to get wrapped up in our sometimes mundane, yet—at the same time—seemingly always hectic, day-to-day lives and totally miss out on the most important things in them: the people. Work will always be on your desk the next morning when you head home to battle rush hour at five o’clock. That movie from Netflix is in no hurry to get back in the mail. Those dumbbells aren’t going anywhere. You’ve already gone this long without doing your twelve loads of laundry. These things are all guarantees. One thing on this earth that is not a guarantee is tomorrow.
In his book Crazy Love (which I can’t recommend highly enough), Francis Chan started the second chapter, “You might die before you finish this chapter.” He’s not trying to be morbid; he’s being realistic. It’s a sobering thought, but we have no idea when our life on this spinning-rock-suspended-in-space will end.
Ok, so let me get this freight train of knowledge back on track. I’m going to put it bluntly so buckle your seatbelts: stop ignoring the daily opportunities you are given to build relationships with people and get over yourself long enough to realize you need to genuinely love people to make a difference in their lives. I’ll be the first to admit that when I’m in the middle of something I think is important, I’m often quick to dismiss someone else’s concerns. I tend to forget that conversations are what determine the quality of our days. You can read a book, watch a movie, or go for a run at any time; but who knows the next time you’ll get a chance to meet up with a person for lunch when they are in from out-of- town? Have you ever considered how much impact a single conversation can have on a person when you ask a question like “How are you really doing?”
This week I challenge you to put that book back on the shelf for an hour or two. Skip out on that flick on HBO you’ve already seen 100 times and own on DVD. Call an old friend you haven’t talked to for a while and let them know you are thinking about them. Fix a relationship that’s gone unrepaired for too long by offering an olive branch (read: lunch on you) and apologize—even if it wasn’t your fault. Call a new acquaintance and see if they’d like to get together and chat over coffee. Do whatever it takes this week to be intentional in your actions and show someone they matter. Invest in people—you will get a greater return on investment from human beings than from any financial decision you will ever make.