Coffee Lunch CAKE!

As you may know, the expression, “Coffee Lunch Coffee,” was taken from the way that I structured my days when I first began networking based on my goal to connect with at least 15 people per week.  The idea was to organize your day around three key meetings: One in the morning (Coffee), one at midday (Lunch), and one in the afternoon (Coffee again).  This morning, my brother-in-law, Brian Hammer, reminded me of an important caveat associated with my approach to networking – that is, the importance of adapting the Coffee Lunch Coffee approach to fit your lifestyle.  Believe me, so long as you are networking, I’ll take no offense to changing up the approach while adhering to its principles.

 

More specifically, this morning, Brian sent me the coolest email.  In the subject line was simply the phrase, “Not Exactly.”  The body of the email said, “Greetings from London” and included a photo that he snapped outside of a little café.

CLC Adapted for the Sweet Tooth

 

“Coffee Lunch Cake?”  Brilliant!!!  I may have to change my whole approach to include dessert.  I don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner.

 

As I shared in a post about a year ago, “Coffee-Lunch-Coffee Doesn’t Work for Everyone,” the standard approach may not work for you.  In fact, many people protest that they simply cannot dedicate time for 15 meetings per week.  Truth is, at this point in my career, I can’t either, so I aim for five to ten.  Rather than determine that Coffee Lunch Coffee isn’t for you, I urge you to adapt the Coffee Lunch Coffee approach to fit your lifestyle, your goals, your aspirations.

 

Start by setting a goal – maybe one connection each week… or five.  Whatever the case, make a commitment to yourself to spend regular, dedicated time connecting with others.

 

Oh, and during the holiday season, I always like to adapt and add a fourth timeslot for consideration.  Turns out that office life really slows down between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day.  People are often willing to leave work around 4:30pm for a glass of holiday cheer.  Therefore, I might reconfigure my holiday schedule to accommodate Coffee Lunch CAKE DRINKS!

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