I'm excited to share a new chapter of my enterprise, for it embodies change, growth and new possibility.

At the heart of my work, my mission is to help business owners, sales people, and business development professionals grow their business. I accomplish this by leading private discussions focused on sharing 1) market intelligence, 2) best practices, and 3) referrals to qualified prospects.

The conventional sales and business development model says you find your business on your own without help from anyone else. You drive opportunities to your door and maximize profit. Others can prove themselves just like you do. It's a competitive world, and may the best man or woman win. Considered virtuous by many people, this model is the norm in business, capitalizing on the doctrine of WIIFM. Perhaps our recent economic mess is one manifestation of that model.

I believe there is a better way, in which the interests of other people are just as important as our own. It's why I started Connector Groups. It requires thoughtful choice of the right people who 'get it'; the one's you want to surround yourself with. It's a cooperative and collaborative approach, requiring a high degree of selectivity, because not everyone 'buys in' to this practice. Generosity and trust are significant influencers, along with discernment and understanding another's true intentions. I believe the practice of people looking out for each other's interests is an idea whose time has come. 

Daniel Pink in his most recent book Drive describes a complimentary model. "When it comes to motivation, there's a gap between what science knows and what business does. Our current business operating system---which is built around external, carrot-and-stick motivators---doesn't work and often does harm. We need an upgrade. And the science shows the way. This new approach has three essential elements: 1) Autonomy---the desire to direct our own lives; 2) Mastery---the urge to get better and better at something that matters; and 3) Purpose---the yearning to do what we do in service of something larger than ourselves."

This is unconventional thinking driven by maximizing purpose, rather than being solely driven by profit.

Pink goes on to describe a group of current Harvard MBA students who went so far as to create 'The MBA Oath'. It's first sentence reads, "As a manager, my purpose is to serve the greater good by bringing people and resources together to create value that no single individual can create alone." It goes on for five hundred words. They pledge, "I will safeguard the interests of my shareholders, co-workers, customers and the society in which we operate." "I will strive to create sustainable economic, social, and environmental prosperity worldwide."

Pink's ideas resonate deeply within me and inform my path. Along with this, many other lifetime experiences have informed and shaped who I am today; from doing farm work and delivering newspapers as a boy, to repairing navy airplanes, to stage managing theatrical productions, operating deluxe travel programs for thousands of people, and booking gigs for musicians and theatrical shows. Today, through Connector Groups, I get to fulfill a dream - explore, discover, understand and share how we all can work well together.

On this beautiful May day, smack dab in the middle of Spring, change is abundant. All around us everything is transforming into outward expressions of life & growth. May you too experience change in a life-affirming way, and may we all prosper and be well.