I recently came across a LinkedIn post that made me reflect on value, relationships, and money.
In that LinkedIn post, the author explained how he received a request from a gentleman asking to meet with the author over coffee to pick the author’s brain.
The author’s immediate response was to inform the gentleman that the author’s going rate was $1,000/hour, and that the gentleman could book an appointment directly with the author or with the author’s agent.
Apparently, yet not surprisingly, the gentleman did not respond to the author’s monetary request. Further in the LinkedIn post, where the author recounts the virtual interaction, the author proceeds to discuss his own academic accolades, accumulated experience, and time limitations, all of which contribute to the author’s $1,000/hour going rate.
As I reflected on this post, I thought about value, relationships, and money. Actually, I thought about all three ideas in one simple, yet profound, interpretation: When we value money over relationships, we limit ourselves to a dollar amount that can be easily surpassed by the byproducts of friendship, professional relationships, and network development.
I am astounded by the author’s preference for dollar value over “human” value. Instead of fostering a relationship or, at the very least, reciprocating the request with a “thank you for reaching out,” the author immediately jumped into dollar terms at the expense of people terms.
Granted, the author of that post is very financially savvy. I’m sure he’s familiar with the time value of money, in which a dollar today is worth more than a dollar in the future. Following that line of reasoning, it makes sense for the author to try and secure a dollar amount from his interactions TODAY.
However, the author may have ignored the time value of people. The time value of ideas. The time value of relationships, networking, and personal development. Unlike the time value of money, the time value of these “intangibles” works in reverse – people, ideas, relationships, networking, and personal development are worth more in the future than they’re worth today. As ideas, people, and relationships grow, over time, they are able to adapt, synergize, and unleash new opportunities previously unexplored or unanticipated. The potential for ideas, people, and relationships is only limited by the amount of effort placed into these ideas, people, and relationships.
Almost all of us have heard the expression, “Your network is your net worth.” This expression stems from the sentiments expressed above – as ideas, people, and relationships grow, over time, they are able to adapt, synergize, and unleash new opportunities. And, from a monetary perspective, the development of your network will far surpass any dollar amount you secure from a particular transaction or exchange today.
The author of that LinkedIn post opted a dollar amount over a new connection. A new relationship. A new access to an expanded network. All for $1,000. Now, he’s one connection, one relationship, and one expanded network poorer. And he’s out of $1,000.
Treat people like people. Not like a dollar amount. Human potential, and the cultivation of that potential, is priceless. Approach all situations with a win-win perspective, and you’ll soon realize that “winning” is rooted more in securing relationships and adding value to others, as opposed to seeking value for yourself. And, apparently, yet not all too surprisingly, the win-win perspective and value-adding approach seem to trickle back to unprecedented monetary realizations as well (but, most importantly, realizations of purpose, meaning, and self-actualization).
How much are you charging for your coffee? Are you the cashier, where you’re charging the consumer for the coffee? Or are you the barista, who secures plentiful bags of coffee beans and continually creates nourishing, delicious coffee for the masses? Be the barista – nourish your relationships, and you will be nourished more than previously imagined.
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I was going to include my initial comment that I provided in response to the LinkedIn post in question, but after only a couple hours, the post was removed from the author.
