This is not for me…
Allow me to create a vision in your mind. It was a beautiful morning at The National Stadium in Belfast or, Windsor Park in old money. I was sat at a large conference table in The George Best Suite looking out over a magnificent looking stadium. The room itself, as you can imagine, was dedicated to the footballing legend George Best. His image adorned the walls and doors. Words associated with the great man were printed in large letters by his image; ‘Legend’, ‘Champion’ and ‘Greatest’ to name but a few. I had been warmly greeted coming into the room by Damian Campbell, a new but already close friend of mine. I had been served beautiful coffee and a croissant and looking back all should have been well. I had just taken a leap of faith from one business to another and I had found myself in great company in a great venue drinking great coffee and the only thing I could think was “this is not for me, I’m in the wrong room”
I’m not one for small talk…
That’s the truth. I don’t really like small talk. I don’t care for it, never have. In fact I see small talk as the opposite of personal connection. It bores me. In contrast people fascinate me. I love to learn about people, how they feel, why they do what they do. What excites them, fires them up, gets them out of bed in the morning. I don’t really care that Barra Best has said that “it might rain later in the evening” or that “it’s to break by the weekend” Even writing those two phrases sticks in my throat!
I was here to support a friend…
The reason I was here was to support a friend. I’d been studying alongside Damian and found him to be intelligent, funny, self deprecating and most of all honest. Honest in his conversations, open about his struggles, open about his family, his desires, his goals and aspirations and open about some of the things he wanted to achieve, one of which was to set up a new type of networking event and this was it - Knowledge Network. So, in my mind, I was doing Damian a favour, I was giving up my time to help him, I was the person being generous and Damian was the recipient of that generosity.
Everyday is a school day you see…
So I took my place at the large conference table, tried to ‘fit in’ and look like I was meant to be there. I was fortunate enough to be sat beside Philip Miley, founder of Fleet Financial who my aforementioned friend was a senior manager with. Immediately Philip and I struck up conversation. In no time we were chatting about Philips’ family, his past successes and setbacks. Real conversation and I found Philip to be a humble, funny and hugely interesting character with an relaxed personality that would but any man at ease. In that first conversation I immediately realised that my aul chum Damian had done me the good turn, not the other way around. Everyday is a school day Kev!
The speakers…
Our first speaker was a young lady called Suzanna Hall. Suzanna was a Brand Marketer. She spoke passionately about herself, her business and how she could help others. She was hugely knowledgeable yet down to earth. We’ve since been in contact and her advice has been invaluable to me.
Next to be introduced by Ross Moffett, our MC for the morning, was Martin Gilchrist. Martin gave a 15/20 minute talk, which I have to say, blew me away. He spoke directly to my heart. He talked about supporting each other, he talked about connections, he talked about people. I’ve since went on to help organise and present at another event with Martin that was a huge success...I’ll talk a little bit more about that later.
More coffee and food…
After listening to our two speakers I had the opportunity over more coffee and some great food to ‘network’. This would normally be the part of the event that I didn’t enjoy - the small talk. On the contrary, I chatted to a diverse mix of ladies and gents who were fascinating and humble in equal measure. Ross Moffett and I shared a massive interest in the NI music scene and I am still in contact with him about doing some work in that area. Ross was also the MC and helped with the organising of the #mm3 with Martin Gilchrist.
I met Gavin Wall, another interesting character and head of the Wall Group. Gavin is passionate about bringing opportunity to north Belfast where he has several retail outlets.
I met solicitors from Newry, accountants from Belfast, senior managers from Fleet Financial and others that I would be happy to lift the phone and call for their thoughts or help.
The reason I am telling you about these connections, and that’s what they were - they were not just business cards that now live in a dark cupboard somewhere - is because I feel that the way in which this event was marketed, how participants were encouraged to attend, how the venue was selected and how the day was hosted all went to making this event special and what ensured that I made the connections. Do you know what, now that I think of it, I didn’t make connections, I made friends. People who I feel will support, encourage and help me, as I will them, as we go about the business of doing business.