One of the most impactful stories I’ve heard lately involved a “trick” so simple you’ll already be aware of it.
But, in my experience, the people who actually DO it are few and far between.
I spoke at the New York Treasurers Conference, and one of the audience asked me, “I’m a Treasury Analyst at my company so how do I find out about other areas within the firm?”
It reminded me of a story a Global Treasurer shared with me on my podcast, he told me about a time when he gave some advice to a junior team member.
When the junior asked this same question, the treasurer replied simply:
“Coffee.”
What do you mean—do you want one?
“No. Coffee. Go and have one with the head of that team or one of the team departments.”
What for?
“Ask them about what they do and listen.”
Simple advice, right?
And it worked. After a few months, the Treasury Analyst had learnt a lot and over the monthly coffees; he’d started to understand more about how other parts of the company worked and was expanding his knowledge.
The Treasurer said to me, “He was great because he came back to me and said this is working BUT I don’t feel like I’m going fast enough?”
So he told him the easy answer…
“Just drink more coffee. If you want to speed things up, make it a coffee every Friday. More coffee, more learning. And before you know it, you’ll 4x your progress.”
Before long, this analyst was grabbing coffee with different people every Friday morning. Within six months, he became one of the most well-networked individuals at his level.
People began to rely on him because he knew what was happening across various teams—and he was getting noticed for it.
He was then headhunted internally for his role in the CFO’s office. They felt by showing that much interest in the company he was a great fit for their high achievers’ training program.
As the Treasurer said to me, he was pleased to help someone who he could see was accelerating his career growth. However, there was one downside… he’d be losing a great junior from his team! But if he hadn’t helped them, they would’ve left anyway.
From what seems like such a small habit, the results were huge…
Simply asking, “Can I get you a coffee?” transformed his network and career.
So, the next time you’re thinking about ways to grow your influence or expand your understanding of the business, don’t overlook the ideas that seem simple.
You never know who you’ll meet, or what opportunities might come out of it.
Best regards,
Mike
P.S. Have you ever had a coffee that opened a door to something unexpected, I’d love to hear about it.
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