Leadership Lessons: How to use the Infoview to make important introductions

By Rod Loges, One Degree Captial Founder, and CEO

Facilitating introductions between two great people is one of the best ways we can help someone else, and ourselves.

“The more we help others the more we help ourselves,” boxing great Muhammed Ali was quoted as saying.

Life is about one-degree relationships, not, the six-degree relationships with faraway Hollywood actors like Kevin Bacon. It is not about just having more relationships, or more Facebook friends.

It is about building value into each real relationship that we have.

In today’s digital age, what’s more valuable: a like on your Facebook page or a real-life connection that leads to a conversation around a specific shared interest. It’s like my Grandpa Loges said to me when he was 85 years old; “Rod, how the heck to you email a handshake?”

Of course, the answer is, it can’t be done.

How much does it cost to make an introduction? Just a little time.

What are some of the outcomes of making valuable introductions? We might help another business owner find a new customer, connect them with potential investors, an employee, supplier or even a business partner.

On the personal side of things, we might help someone find a good person that shares their interests, values or a romantic date that might lead to even more.

So how can you make more valuable introductions?

The secret is the Infoview.

Get together with the person preferably – in person over coffee, tea, or some other tasty beverage – take your pick. The Infoview is all about learning about the other person.

And the goal is to help the other person succeed. The key is to identify common interests between the person you are meeting with and people in your Rolodex or today your LinkedIn connections.

Some of the questions to ask are as follows:

• How can I help you?
• How do you define success?
• What do you like to do when they aren’t working?
• What motivates you?
• What do you need help with?
• Why do you do what you do?
• What do you love to do?
• What would you do if you could do anything in the world?
• What are some of your hobbies and interests?

As I am taking notes I write down other people that I know who share this person’s interests, industry, places of previous work or study.

But wait, there is one last thing that is important to the Infoview process. Send any potential people that you might introduce to the person a preview email that tells why the other person might be a good person for them to know and be specific about what they might be able to help the other person.

An example that recently happened was when I met a young man last week, the son of our banker, and he is looking for a job in medical sales. After the Infoview, I was able to make three valuable introductions for him to people that could potentially hire him or help him in other ways along his career path.

I ask each potential person that I might introduce a person for their permission to make the introduction. I never make cold, unannounced introductions via any method.

In addition to making valuable one-degree relationships, I also make sure and share with the person as many additional resources that I know of that might help the person along their journey.

Why do I take the time to make valuable introductions? Because each introduction makes the world a little smaller, a little kinder, and we all know the other age-old saying:

“What goes around, comes around,” aka karma.

Next time you hear someone is looking for help finding a job, a new career, a new business partner or whatever as them if they have time for coffee, etc. and try out the Infoview and then let me know how it went for you and your new friend.

This post is the latest in a series of posts called Leadership Lessons, written by leaders in our community.