I enjoyed “the most interesting man in the world” advertising campaign for Dos Equis beer. It was a big hit that inspired many Internet memes and skits on Saturday Night Live. Everyone could identify with that theme. From what I understand, it was successful as the brand saw year-over-year sales increases in the face of overall declining US beer consumption. Of course, that was when actor Jonathan Goldsmith played the debonair gentleman with a lifetime of memorable experiences and beautiful women at his side. His replacement, French actor Augustin Legrand, not so much. Ultimately that campaign was scrubbed in 2018.
I cannot claim to be the most interesting man in the world, however, for two hours on Thursday I was one of four interesting people. It was during that time then I stumbled on a novel if not completely new networking technique. The title of the event is “lunch with four interesting people.” Our host, let’s call him John, is a wealth management executive with one of the larger banks in the area. He has been conducting this luncheon once a month for the past 18 months. His lunches are by invitation only, referrals from prior guests. The idea is to become acquainted with one another on a personal level. Unlike most networking events, it isn’t overtly business-related, even though we all spoke to some extent about our occupations.
I arrived at noon, and John’s administrative assistant escorted me to a private room where I met John and the other guests. When everyone was seated, the administrative assistant thanked us all for attending the luncheon and then made her exit. At that time, John thanked us again for accepting his invitation and provided background on the concept. As opposed to more traditional business networking events the overall point of this luncheon is designed to resemble a cocktail party. The structure is spontaneous, allowing each of the participants to ask questions of one another to keep the conversation moving. To minimize wasted time ordering from the menu, we chose our meal days before the event. The only decision we had to make was choosing our beverage and dessert.
John explained that due to a very severe encounter with cancer he had come to realize the value of nurturing personal relationships. The concept of lunch was a result of his epiphany. He began with his story which was very compelling. As it turns out, we have a few things in common. We are about the same age, sporting full heads of silver hair. We are transplants to Atlanta whereas the other guests grew up in the area. Additionally, we are military brats; his father having served in the Navy while mine served in the Air Force.
When John was finished providing his background, he went around the table clockwise, asking a question of each guest, to begin the presentation of their personal story. Each guest received a different inquiry, so there was no way to prepare an initial response. The other guests were encouraged to ask questions of the presenter to keep the conversation going. It was like a cocktail party, much less structured and improvisational. Two of the other guests, one a female, were probably in their early to mid-40s, and the other was closer to my age. The lady at the table is a television producer, whereas the two gentlemen are attorneys.
I was the last to reveal my background. John asked me, “if you were to send a letter to your younger self, what would it say?” Although I didn’t expect that question, I was prepared to answer as I had pondered that thought many times over the years. I said that I would encourage my younger self to come to Atlanta early in my career and to avoid corporate moves of questionable value. That led to questions of where I grew up, my favorite place to live, and advice on interacting with grown children.
At the end of the meeting, one of the servers took a group photo, and John encouraged us to refer someone for the October luncheon.
I spend a great deal of my time networking, but I found this meeting to be most refreshing, as it was about making new friends. If it leads to business opportunities, then that would be an added benefit. For anyone looking for a different twist on building a network, I recommend that you consider this concept.
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