I’ve just read this brilliant quite personal story by Peter Bregman on Harvard Business Review “Why Friends Matter at Work and in Life“ . The author analyzes a few interesting researches how friendships affect your business and everyday life. I love the authors points taken out of the research:
- If you’re looking for a job you’d better have friends. The number-one way people find new jobs is referrals by friends.
- Once you’re on the job, having a best friend at work is a strong predictor of success.
- Friendships in high school were a strong predictor of increased wages in adulthood — to the tune of 2% per person who considered you a close friend.
- Want to stay in that job you have? Then you’d better have friends.
In my opinion the real friendships are of vital importance factor in Social Media and community building. I know that this topic of friendship has been discussed over and over again but there is a big difference in having “fans” and having at least a few very good “friends” in the community you are building, mainly because of there reasons indentified by Peter :
- Friends can refer your business to their friends
- Friends can stand up for your business and brand values and send the right message to their friends
- Friends can help to grow your business by heavily engaging in your social media activities (commenting, sharing and etc.)
So are you here to make friends?
