Bridges

I got a phone call yesterday from the guy who was the head of account service at the agency where I got my start in the business. He wasn’t young then – so now, he’s really not. He called because he saw an article in the New York Times Magazine last Sunday that made him think of me. (it was a great article, btw) We made plans to meet for lunch in a few weeks to catch up. We meet every year or so. He doesn’t work in an agency – he no longer has the fight in him. He consults with clients, with agencies, works on new business pitches. He’s a really smart ad guy with strategic inclinations. He hasn’t, however, kept up. He doesn’t understand any of the new media and, frankly, doesn’t understand the new generations. (anyone under 30 is a mystery to him is my guess) But I digress.

What dawned on me after talking to John is that I have burned very few bridges. I keep in touch (perhaps loosely) with most people I’ve enjoyed knowing over the years. It’s so wonderful, in my opinion, to have a network of people from different stages and places. I admit I got snickers from my friends when I called a babysitter from 7 years ago in another city to ask if she could sit for my guys when we were in town. She not only said yes, she said she would LOVE to and that she couldn’t wait and didn’t want me to pay her. Of course I paid her. But the thing is, she hasn’t babysat in all those years. She’s a golf pro. But we had a relationship and I maintained it. And it was wonderful to see her.

Andrew and I have a client who used to be his supervisor years back. We have friends who started as clients and clients who started as co-workers and relatives who were clients and so on and so on and so, in reality, it never pays to burn bridges.

Our business is mainly fueled by referrals. The word-of-mouth revolution is nothing new – only the conduit is new. Today, we got a new client. A referral. But the funny thing is, we don’t know the guy who did the referring! Someone must have told him about us convincingly enough that he passed it on. And we’re grateful.