It was over lunch with a group of fellow consultants and speakers, where one of them mentioned a phrase that stuck with me – 100 cups of coffee. It was a reference to meeting people, spending time, and building relationships. Over coffee. Or in my case, tea (since I gave up coffee almost a year ago).
Now, you might be saying – 100 is a lot. But, is it really? It’s 9 days a month. Comes to about twice a week.
Shouldn’t we be able to find enough time for two cups of coffee with a friend or colleague? Think of what we might be able to accomplish if we set a goal of meeting twice a week.
Networking.
Collaborating.
Sharing.
Brainstorming.
Learning.
What if our business goal for the year was to have 100 cups of coffee tea?
I think this is a very cool concept. We talk all the time about the importance of networking and building relationships. But really don’t quantify it. 100 cups of coffee – it’s a quantifiable term. We can now measure the impact of our efforts.
For example, what if we learned one thing during each “cup of coffee” meeting? It might be something about another person. It could be something about ourselves. Possibly something about our business or profession. After each meeting, we wrote down the one thing we learned.
After 100 cups of coffee, think of list you’d have and how valuable that list would be.
Image courtesy of HR Bartender
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Patti Chaffee says
I love this concept. It takes a topic that people often shy away from and gives it a quantifiable/social bent. I find that many of my candidates feel like networking is disingenuous, but it doesn’t have to be. Coffee (or in both of our cases, tea) is an excellent way to build your social network while not committing as much time as it takes to attend a networking event or lunch. I’ll be sure to pass this idea on. Thank you for sharing.
Sharlyn Lauby says
Thanks for the comment Patti. I was really attracted to the quantifiable aspect to the activity. It will be interesting to track results.
Lisa Rosendahl says
First BMW and now 1oo cups of coffee or tea! Love this. I drink 3x that on my own, wouldn’t it be fun to share the time with someone else.
Sharlyn Lauby says
Thanks for the comment Lisa!