As the world becomes vastly more digitized, we rarely see our colleagues, and at times may never see them in person at all. So, how can we get to know them and trust them better? Gary Ware, founder of Breakthrough Play, took part in Covve’s workshop spear-headed by Hansen Hunt on cultivating authentic connections in a remote work environment, and shared some critical qualities often overlooked in the workplace.
Through his expertise in applied improvisation, Gary helps teams develop vital people skills, improve communication, and foster deep connectivity.
Take for example an instance where you are a recent hire at an organization. Getting along with your colleagues, understanding how they work, and identifying where you fit in are the first few steps in creating a sense of belonging. You would begin by identifying your commonalities and differences to gauge where you stand with the various members on your team.
At the core of Gary’s philosophy lies the belief that beneath our surface differences, we share fundamental similarities that can be uncovered through intentional effort. He stated that “if we dig hard enough, we are more alike than we are different.” Gary continues explaining how we can find these commonalities, placing emphasis on “the importance of rituals and being intentional about rituals. That is going to create that foundation for connection.”
In Covve’s podcast series Wired to Socialize, Professor Robin Dunbar, renowned evolutionary psychologist, discusses that we are more likely to forge deeper connections with people we share more commonalities with. Akin to Gary’s belief that, “if we dig hard enough, we are more alike than we are different.” Gary believes that making the effort to intentionally discover commonalities, we create a stronger bond with one another.
When we are in the office, we may be early to a meeting with other colleagues where discussing out-of-office matters comes naturally. This example of a ritual is a way to routinely engage with colleagues and fellow industry professionals to find commonalities and connect.
Establishing trust in our workplace relationships can also help out of the office. In the workshop, Gary shares a personal anecdote about a colleague who provided crucial support during a stressful period in his personal life.
By checking in with colleagues with a simple message to see how their day is going or sharing a relevant meme to lighten up their day can go a long way in nurturing that relationship. Taking initiative is critical to showing your intentions. These are small, spontaneous interactions that can closely mimic hallway and watercooler moments at the office.
Interact and engage with thought leaders and experts like Gary Ware in Covve’s upcoming workshop, Healthy Habits of Connection on October 17th, and gain fresh and practical perspectives and practices to elevate your relationship building skills.
Every office has that crucial team member who carries positivity and embraces creativity, such as sharing music and crafting gifts for colleagues. Kat Vellos, the creator of weshouldgettogether.com, is exactly that person in Covve’s workshop on cultivating authenticity in a remote work environment. She believes in the value of sharing creative passions with colleagues and workplace connections. They represent a deeper personal connection.
Receiving a gift from a colleague that was crafted by them, personally, would feel much more intimate and meaningful. For some, a hand-crafted Christmas stocking may be more appreciated than a bottle of wine in the office’s Christmas gift exchange. Getting to know your colleagues helps in finding ways to connect beyond the usual office and off-site interactions, and will encourage feelings of safety, creativity, and intimacy.
Kat highlights that we can discover these elements about our colleagues by empowering our questions with intention. “The thing to remember with the way that we use questions with intention and with purpose is to acknowledge that they are a doorway to connection.” She has also developed a kit titled Better Conversations to help people better navigate asking and answering questions in the workspace that allow for deeper connections.
She recognizes the significance of identifying individuals with whom we have a high frequency of connection and conversation, as we would know more about them allowing us to forge meaningful relationships. Kat also suggests to forge connections with people who share an identity with you or share your work in your industry but do not work in the same company with you.
You may meet such a person in a conference or a workshop, which can lead to nurturing a strong colleagueship as there is space between you and them, allowing for a favorable frequency of interactions.
These relationships often hold more depth and strength, especially when there are shared roles, skills, or team memberships involved. By acknowledging these connections, we can prioritize and invest our energy in fostering and nurturing proximal relationships.
One powerful approach Kat suggests is to really dig deep in shared passions and interests. These commonalities provide a strong foundation for maintaining connections over long distances. For example, creating playlists or curating music together with friends who share a love for a particular genre or artist can serve as a shared passion and a medium for ongoing connection.
Our world of instant connectivity can sometimes remove authenticity when reaching out to someone. Getting a birthday card from someone in the mail would be much more surprising and personal than a message on the team’s communication channel or on social media. Kat supports using “snail mail” as a means of nurturing intimacy and fostering connections over time.
While conversations may be less frequent, gifting creative and thoughtful items to friends and colleagues through mail allows for a unique and tangible way to share creativity and maintain a sense of connection. By designing and sharing creative things with each other, individuals can express their creativity, surprise one another, and strengthen their bond through these tangible acts of kindness.
Join us and connect with people who share a passion for being bridges and connectors, helping others build relationships. Gain practical insights on the habits of experts in relationship building, and engage with like-minded people to practice the lessons being shared. We are thrilled to introduce you to the experts who will be guiding these discussions.
Kevin Monroe, a seasoned expert with over 45 years of experience, is globally recognized for his work in fostering gratitude and positive change. His mission to create cultures of gratitude and human connection has made him a sought-after consultant for leading organizations like AWS, Pfizer, and PepsiCo.
Kevin is also the creator of The Grateful App, an accessible tool grounded in neuroscience and positive psychology. Known for his infectious optimism, Kevin empowers individuals and teams to develop sustainable gratitude practices, enriching both personal and professional lives.
Dr. Vaneeta Sandhu, Head of Emotional Fitness and Operations at Coa, brings over a decade of experience to the table. With a background in clinical psychology and facilitation, she has worked with prominent companies such as Lyft, Yelp, Twitter, Reddit, and Dropbox, assisting managers and executives in developing essential leadership skills. Dr. Sandhu specializes in principles of behavior change, interpersonal dynamics, and adult learning, offering guidance on prioritizing mental health through emotional fitness.
Jessie Jacobs, the Senior Community Engagement Manager at Culture Amp, is a seasoned event and experience designer with a flair for fostering meaningful connections. She spearheads a thriving network of over 100 Culture First Global Chapters exceeding 10,000 members, transforming ordinary networking events into opportunities for reimagining and improving our professional lives.
With a diverse background spanning venture-backed startups, fintech communities, and innovation consulting, Jessie possesses the expertise to guide individuals and organizations toward building meaningful connections.
These remarkable expert will be sharing their unique insights, experiences, and practical advice during our workshop. Join us for this exclusive opportunity to learn from the best and revolutionize your approach to connection-building. Get ready to embark on a journey towards healthier, more meaningful connections in your workplace and beyond.
The world is moving at a rapid pace, impacting our relationships with others and causing them to feel superficial and taking a backseat to our busy lives. Covve recognizes the profound impact of authentic relationships and is excited to present our upcoming workshop “Healthy Habits of Connection in the Workplace – Learn & Practice the Habits of the Experts,” on Tuesday, 17th of October from 12:00-13:00 (ET). The workshop will be spear-headed by our community lead, Hansent Hunt, who is emphatically passionate about building meaningful connections.
It is the second addition to a series of workshops which offer practical insights and opportunities to build meaningful relationships in an interactive format. This isn’t just another online event; it’s a unique opportunity to reshape your approach.
On the backdrop of Dr. Vivek Murthy’s statement in the US Surgeon General Report 2023 where he stated, “loneliness and isolation represent profound threats to our health and well-being”, Covve, together with Hansen Hunt, aim to delve into what individuals and organizations can actively do to cultivate long-lasting relationships for both personal and professional networks.
Given today’s heightened competitiveness, constant busyness is celebrated, potentially compromising the depth of our connections. Identifying and implementing systems, tools, and mindsets to navigate busy schedules and time constraints. This live workshop offers a departure from the ordinary, inviting you to embark on a journey towards more profound connections. It’s more than just sharing knowledge; it’s about fostering genuine, enriching relationships.
What Awaits You in This Workshop
You will have the opportunity to connect with industry experts like-minded individuals who share your passion for bringing people together, whether in your personal life or your professional endeavors. The live seminar and breakout rooms are designed to be interactive and hands-on, focusing on active participation and gaining practical experience that you can put into practice right away.
Our panel comprises industry experts and thought leaders: Kevin Monroe, Dr. Vaneeta Sandhu, and Jessie Jacob, each bringing extensive experience in fostering gratitude, emotional fitness, and community engagement.
Kevin Monroe, a seasoned expert with over 45 years of experience, is globally recognized for his work in creating cultures of gratitude and human connection. His sustainable gratitude practices can enrich both personal and professional lives.
Dr. Vaneeta Sandhu, Head of Emotional Fitness and Operations at Coa, brings over a decade of experience to the table, specializing in principles of behavior change and prioritizing mental health through emotional fitness.
Jessie Jacob, the Senior Community Engagement Manager at Culture Amp, transforms ordinary networking events into opportunities for reimagining and improving our professional lives.
Covve is dedicated not only to providing tools for healthier networking habits but also to sharing the wisdom and best practices of experts to enrich your journey in building meaningful relationships. Join us and unlock the power of healthy workplace connections together.Discover new relationship building insights and join us on the 17th of October.
The Jeff Bullas Show, hosted by digital marketing expert Jeff Bullas, serves as a platform for exploring the experiences and insights of thought leaders, industry experts, innovators, and entrepreneurs. In a recent episode, Jeff interviews Yiannis Gavrielides, co-founder of Covve.
Their conversation reveals the profound significance of personal and professional relationships and how they form the bedrock of success. The two explore Yiannis’ career path, navigating Covve from its inception to its evolution today, and the recurring theme and pertinence of relationships in success.
A Peek at Yiannis Gavrielides and His Career Journey
Yiannis Gavrielides embodies a passion for connecting with people, taking up the duty of the pitmaster and enjoying good food, and is an avid theater enthusiast. Hailing from Cyprus, a close-knit community, he understood from an early age the value of forging connections and nurturing relationships.
It was customary among his peers to pursue higher education abroad, leading him to London, where he embarked on a journey of studying chemical engineering. He places emphasis on his direction in being practical and analytical, in which his degree also served the purpose of opening doors to career opportunities.
His career began in management consulting at a large firm in London, where he realized the importance of building relationships to better understand the people he worked with, and how to offer more precise value to his clients. He later pivoted to strategy consulting, in which his duties were more removed from interacting with people. That is when he realized that what truly fuels his professional passion is the human element: the art of engaging with people, building trust, and fostering genuine connections.
The Birth of Covve
Yiannis’ professional journey took an unexpected turn when he relocated to Athens in 2009 in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis. His once rapidly ascending career trajectory began to plateau. It was during this period of reflection and uncertainty that he reconnected with a childhood friend, setting in motion a series of entrepreneurial ventures spanning theater, F&B, and technology.
Through these diverse experiences, one common thread began to emerge – the profound impact of relationships.
Yiannis realized that the trust among peers, colleagues, and friends he had meticulously cultivated throughout his career had been the cornerstone of his achievements. Relationships, both personal and professional, are the lifeblood of entrepreneurship. However, what struck him was the conspicuous absence of relationship-building as a core skill in the corporate world. Networking, often viewed with skepticism, lacked the emphasis it deserved.
Driven by this insight, Yiannis embarked on a mission, along with Covve co-founder Alexandros Protogerellis, to create a platform that would facilitate the development of healthy relationship-building habits. Thus, Covve was conceived.
What is Covve?
Covve is not merely another run-of-the-mill networking platform; it helps people focus on each individual relationship, giving meaning to each interaction and connection. At its essence, it leverages cutting-edge technology to assist users in managing their relationships, both personal and professional, allowing for extensive personalization.
Its arsenal includes a business card scanner, a digital business card, and what is essentially a personal assistant for your networking efforts. Covve empowers users to make personalized notes about their contacts, categorize them based on interests and hobbies, and curate a network of individuals that truly resonate with their goals and passions.
How AI is Harnessed to Enhance Relationships
Adding to Covve’s features is the seamless integration of artificial intelligence (AI) to create Covve’s Assistant. Users can simplify emails with our AI-powered assistant instructing it in natural language to take notes on a recent conversation, save a new contact, add a reminder to reach out and so much more. This creates an intuitive, seamless interface, allowing users to save time and better manage their network with minimum effort.
With Covve’s AI assistant, users can personalize emails based on previous interactions and instructions with natural language to keep the conversation going, removing uncertainty and hesitation in communication.
For example, users can email their AI assistant using natural language to save a new contact and all of their relevant details into the app, summarize emails, and add them to the notes field in Covve. This allows for more efficient record-keeping on interactions and increases users’ time to continue cultivating relationships.
The Profound Importance of Relationships
Yiannis’ journey and the creation of Covve underscore the immense value of relationships in both personal and professional spheres. In entrepreneurship, success often hinges on the strength of our relationships. Building trust, nurturing connections, and sustaining robust networks are prerequisites for achieving one’s aspirations.
When asked for his advice for young entrepreneurs, Yiannis stated that they should be “proactive in building relationships. As Professor Robin Dunbar notes we can sustain 150 actively engaged relationships, they should not be random, but they should be purposefully nurtured.”
Covve’s evolution from a nascent idea to a versatile platform catering to personal and professional relationships reflects the universal need for effective relationship management. Users span diverse backgrounds, yet they share a common objective – recognizing the value of relationships and seeking an efficient system for cultivating them.
Your network should serve as a wellspring of strength and support. Covve transcends being a mere app; it is a steadfast companion on the journey of personal and professional growth through the power of relationships.
Managing relationships in today’s fast-paced and multifaceted world can prove to be challenging, without the right tools. Just as organizations use customer relationship management (CRM) tools to cultivate their relationships with clients and partners, individuals are using personal contact relationship management (pCRM) tools to cultivate their networks.
Remembering dates that are important to people in professional and personal circles, following up, and organizing contact lists can be overwhelming. The core function of pCRM tools is to help users navigate relationships by organizing interactions through scheduling and automating reminders, and much more. Specialized tools such as Covve are preferred by people who prioritize their network and relationships, both personal and professional, as they also help in nurturing significant networking habits.
Solid networking habits can lead to landing new jobs, gaining referrals, and gaining key industry insights, all of which could be missed opportunities without the right system. According to Zippia research, 70% of professionals attained their current roles thanks to their networking efforts.
To add clarity on the value of relationship building and networks, business development expert Mo Bunnell believes that “a great deal might make your year, but a great relationship can make your entire career,” emphasizing that opportunities are boundless through a well-cultivated network.
Considering the value of a well-cultivated network, it is critical to employ the right tools. There are several ways to approach a personal CRM system. Some elect to build their own personal CRM through spreadsheets or tools, leveraging simple yet limited platforms such as Outlook or Excel. An alternative is using a specially designed platform that is constantly evolving and can elevate relationship management within both personal and private networks.
Free Personal CRM Alternatives
Options for free CRM software for personal use vary. From Microsoft’s Excel and Google Sheets, and Outlook, to tools like Airtable and open-source CRMs, and utilizing existing features embedded in a smartphone, there is a plethora of choices to select from.
Google Sheets and Excel as CRMs for Personal Use
For the simplest and most straightforward contact management needs, professionals use Excel or Google Sheets as a free CRM for personal use. Professionals who struggle to find a fitting pCRM look to build their own, typically using spreadsheets.
As a data visualization and analysis tool, spreadsheets are great at storing and organizing data sets, but they do not give users the extra nudge they sometimes need to stay in touch with contacts, and overall lacks various automated features found in bespoke personal CRM tools.
It is arguably a great tool for storing contacts, their interests, and a few key elements about each individual contact, depending on a user’s ability to stay organized. One of the youngest Managing Directors at Blackrock, Khe Hy, shares his process for setting up his own pCRM on Excel to help users get a better grasp on managing their contacts.
Airtable and Outlook as Free Personal CRMs
More sophisticated options such as Airtable may be a good fit for professionals looking to keep a more in-depth view of their network. Akin to Excel, Airtable makes use of grids and tables with cells. It enables users to more clearly organize their relations to contacts, such as where they met, what their role is, how they connected, what their interests are, and more. Users can integrate Excel tables and systems such as those of Zapier to automate information updates.
The challenge with tools like Airtable are that they can be very tedious in finding and filling in the information a user wants to include, as well as in tinkering with the various fields included in tables. These processes, with bespoke CRMs for personal use, are automated, easier, and faster, allowing users to focus on the real sauce – relationships. Rick Klau, Chief Technology Officer at California Department of Technology offers a detailed step-by-step guide on how to set up a personal CRM using Airtable.
Taking contact management tools and organization a step further, Microsoft Outlook serves as a strong free personal CRM alternative. It offers features such as reminders on tasks, labeling contacts for better contact management, and emails and calendars are merged for easier meetings management.
However, it requires people to be habitual about setting reminders, taking notes on every interaction, and being proactive about setting meetings and calls. For a detailed walkthrough on utilizing Outlook as a CRM, Randy Dean, author of bestselling book titled Taming the Email Beast, guides viewers on best practices, tips and tricks.
Open-source CRM Alternative
For those more technologically inclined, there are also open-source CRMs for personal use. These however, require at least a basic understanding of coding and programming. The reward is essentially an extensively customizable personal CRM tailored to an individual’s needs and preferences.
Open-source CRMs can help in storing and maintaining a record of contacts, notes on interactions, however they entail ample manual input, as opposed to specially designed personal CRMs for personal use which seamlessly integrate and sync with address books and calendars.
The various ways to build a free personal CRM through tools such as Excel, Airtable, open-source CRMs, and Outlook, are all alternatives that require extensive effort, which can often be tedious. These free alternatives to personal CRMs offer features that help store and organize contacts. However, they do not have key features that alleviate people from elements of relationship building that are important, yet small, such as remembering particular dates to reach out to contacts and news that are relevant to their interests.
How Covve Packs-a-Punch
Personal CRMs come with various, versatile tools at users’ finger tips. These bespoke tools are focused solely on helping users build relationships, making them uniquely advantageous for the purposes of networking. They can integrate seamlessly with address books to import contacts, they offer contact organization features such as tags, note-taking features, and more importantly, gentle nudges to follow-up and connect.
As a personal CRM, Covve does not focus on sales funnels, but instead, it excels at helping users build relationships. The artificial intelligence (AI) assistant can help identify topics of interest for individual contacts, helping make the follow-up or the long awaited invitation to reconnect less awkward and more engaging. Covve’s note-taking feature has in fact helped various professionals across sectors manage their relationship building efforts in a more streamlined and effective way.
Renowned career strategist and business coach to alumni from Ivy League schools and executives at Fortune 100 companies, Doug Lester discusses how Covve was the right fit for him. He found that spreadsheets are too messy, and traditional CRMs are not focused enough on actually building relationships.
He explicitly expresses appreciation for Covve’s note-taking feature, which helps him record critical information about his contacts individually, making every interaction with them meaningful. “So, where do I keep my notes? Definitely not in post-its scattered around my office or in some paper or digital notebook, never to be seen again. I use an app called Covve… I’ve been using Covve for a few years now, and it’s been the place that I capture the bits of personal information that help me make networking a friendlier, more human activity.”
Whether you are just starting your career, or an accomplished professional, your network will always be an integral part of life. Your relationships deserve, and require, the time and effort to cultivate them in a way that helps both you and your contacts. To achieve that, you need the right tool that fits you.
If you are keen on building your own personal CRM for free we hope that this article answers your questions on how exactly you can do that. If you are seeking for more bespoke, sophisticated options, Covve is here to help you demystify networking and create value for, and from your network.
Start your free trial with Covve today. Alternatively, we would be thrilled if you shared your tips and tricks in building your own personal CRM through free personal CRM tools.
In the third episode of their insightful partnership, Mo Bunnell, the renowned business growth expert, delves into the crucial aspect of follow-up. This episode builds upon the learnings from previous installments, emphasizing the significance of implementing systematic approaches to maintain and nurture professional relationships.
Before delving into the art of follow-up, Covve’s partnership with Mo Bunnell recalls the valuable lessons from earlier episodes. These lessons taught us how to connect both virtually and physically, setting the stage for the next phase of relationship-building mastery.
The Science of Connectedness
The first part of the discussion delves into the science behind building lasting connections. It is all about creating a sense of connection by simply being likable. A concept that holds true since 1876, known as the “mere exposure effect,” suggests that exposure to something or someone over time increases our liking for them. This phenomenon forms the foundation for building relationships.
Connections Wane Quickly
Collaborating with researcher Marissa King, viewers learn of an eye-opening statistic: 80% of the feeling of connectedness between two individuals fades away after just three months since their last interaction. This underscores the importance of systematic follow-ups in maintaining relationships, as the saying goes, “out of sight, out of mind.”
Creating a System for Effective Follow-Ups
In this video, viewers explore three key factors to enhance their follow-up strategy:
Prioritized Contact List: Begin by documenting a list of your most important relationships. Who are the key contacts you want to stay in touch with, and how frequently should you engage with them? Our minds are notoriously inefficient at managing these processes, so consider using tools like Covve to keep track of and prioritize your contacts effectively.
Asset List: Develop an asset list that highlights your shared interests, be it board games, barbecuing, gardening, whisky, sports, or any other topics, hobbies, or passions. Use this list to create and share valuable content such as articles, videos, books, or blog posts that resonate with your contacts.
Time Management: Schedule dedicated time in your calendar for reconnecting and staying top of mind with your contacts. Be proactive in your outreach efforts and stick to your scheduled system.
Simplicity is Key
Bringing the three factors together, it is critical to remember to keep your communication simple. In an age where most people read emails and messages on their phones, concise and clear messages are more likely to receive prompt replies. Challenge yourself to convey your message effectively with brevity.
Mo Bunnell’s insights, coupled with Covve’s expertise, provide a roadmap for effective relationship-building in the modern business landscape. Remember, relationships are the cornerstone of success, and by implementing systematic approaches and staying top of mind, you can harness the power of connections to drive business growth.
For more valuable insights, visit winningtherelationshipadvantage.com and continue your journey toward building stronger, more profitable relationships in your professional life. Keep an eye on Covve’s insights to never miss the best relationship-building practices, tools, tips, and guides.
Developing a professional network of trusted contacts who you can reach out to for help with a job search or career guidance is a great milestone to achieve. The next relationship-building skill to learn and gain confidence in is maintaining relationships and keeping yourself top of mind.
In this relationship-building masterclass, career strategist and executive coach Doug Lester shares insights into how to recontact and reconnect with people in your professional network. He shares that many of the business professionals he has worked with have asked, “What do you say when you’re reaching out a second, or even a third time, but you don’t have a specific ask?”
Leveraging his background as an executive recruiter and his current role as a career mentor, Doug introduces a simple yet effective technique for seamless re-engagement — using a pretense.
The Power of a Pretense
If you’re searching for a job and want to reengage a contact, coming up with an opening line can be difficult. What can you say that won’t seem mercenary or too self-centered?
As a recruiter, Doug needed to recontact people in his network all the time. He learned to note meaningful details about his networking contacts’ work and lives. He would then open his outreach by sharing relevant news, industry insights, or even personal anecdotes tailored to his contacts’ interests. Doug clarifies that, “In the end, what you end up sharing, it isn’t overly important. But what is important is that something other than your job search or career advancement prompted the outreach.”
It helps keep you from seeming pushy, needy, or even desperate. While the person you are reaching out to may be aware of the pretext for your outreach, the important piece of the initial interaction in reconnecting is showing an interest in them personally. Doug highlights that this method can be made even easier when using a personal contact relationship management (pCRM) tool.
Harnessing Personal CRMs for Enhanced Networking
Implementing pCRM tools in relationship-building strategies can help create a path for more meaningful and impactful relationships. In his masterclass, Doug highlights Covve’s personalized CRM feature that empowers users to curate a custom news feed for each contact. This dynamic resource serves as a wellspring of relevant content, helping to nurture relationships through meaningful conversation starters.
While Covve’s AI-driven text generation streamlines message creation, Doug underscores the importance of personalization. The AI feature in Covve assists in helping users find news related to a specific contact’s interests and structure initial message drafts.
This helps make finding just the right pretense for each contact that much easier, making every reengagement less stressful and more personal. Still, Doug encourages further personalization of message drafts generated through Covve to give them an authentic touch.
Doug shines a light on Covve’s advanced features—including the customizable news feed and AI text generation—which together revolutionize networking cultivation. These tools help alleviate apprehension and make networking a more intuitive and natural part of our lives.
Finding just the right pretense using Covve, its news feed, and AI-generated text, means you will never be at a loss for what to say when you want to stay top of mind and are reconnecting with contacts in your network.
Allowing our horizons in life to grow goes beyond simply showing up at work and completing tasks. We often learn more about our industry, company, and colleagues by interacting with the people at our workplace.
Our offices, physical or virtual, offer us opportunities to forge relationships, expand our networks, and gain a better understanding of ourselves and those around us. Cultivating these relationships and learning from them is about aligning your thoughts and actions with the intent to cultivate relationships.
Yet, in remote work environments, it can be easy to feel detached from a team, almost as if they are superheroes who only appear when they are needed, as opposed to maintaining an important element that makes us feel human, which is connection.
Covve’s workshop on cultivating authentic relationships in a remote work environment, facilitated by Hansen Hunt, emphasized the value of intention. Carrying the intention to cultivate relationships creates pathways to connecting with our colleagues. The four panelists, Gary Ware, Charles Vogel, Kat Vellos, and Jenny Sauer-Klein touched on instances where intention is of utmost importance to building connections in a remote work environment.
One way we can apply intention to connect with colleagues is to focus on discovering commonalities. Gary Ware, founder and CEO of Breakthrough Play discussed that by engaging with colleagues with the aim of finding common interests and passions, we are likely to start building relationships with our colleagues.
He expressed that “if we dig hard enough, we will find that we are more alike than we are different, and that’s something that takes intention.” This is especially true in a remote work setting, where colleagues don’t interact as intuitively and freely at the office.
The four panelists gave an example through an exercise in finding as many commonalities as they could in three minutes, showing the power of intention. They discovered that they shared eight common elements, from which coast they reside in in the US, to their beliefs in pickles. Engaging with colleagues in this way signals to them you are open and willing to learn more about them, creating an environment that makes them feel safe and that they belong.
Creating opportunities for genuine connections requires going beyond watercooler small talk at the office, or the usual exchange of “good mornings” in the virtual team channel. By intentionally setting the stage for intimate conversations, you develop greater trust and rapport with connections.
Jenny shared that whether it’s through small virtual gatherings or dedicating time during meetings for personal check-ins, deliberately carving out space for open dialogue allows for deeper connections to form.
When it comes to cultivating deeper connections, Kat Vellos, one of the four thought leaders and founder of weshouldgettogether.com, expressed that “the thing to remember with the way that we use questions with intention and with purpose is to acknowledge that they are a doorway to connection.” Asking questions shows curiosity, and care. However, it is crucial to bear in mind that when aligned with intention and purpose, questions can create the foundations of a lasting relationship.
Intentionality lies at the core of cultivating authentic connections in a remote work environment. It requires a conscious decision to prioritize vulnerability, empathy, and active participation. By intentionally seeking out commonalities and creating spaces for meaningful conversations, we can transcend the physical barriers of remote work and create a network of genuine relationships.
The character of Patrick Bateman certainly made traditional paper-based business cards hip and a must. Investing in impressive, high-quality paper business cards with contact details engraved in an eye-soothing font is a thing of the past, however. Traditional paper-based cards have long been the go-to in professional settings, but they come with a hidden cost: the toll they take on the environment.
This is where modern digital business cards, or e-cards, come in. Not only do they help solve the impact of traditional cards on the environment, but they offer a modern solution to our modern needs. In fact, they are continuing to rise in demand and popularity, as Market Research Future indicates that the global digital business card market is expected to record an exponential compound annual growth rate of 11% from 2021 through to 2027, reaching $243 million.
One simple yet essential digital feature of today’s world is digitizing a contact’s traditional paper-based business card. Not only are you doing the environment a favor, but you are also enabling yourself to be more organized. No more rummaging through bags and desks to find a contact’s business card. As a first step to digitizing your contacts, you can scan their business cards and instantly integrate them into your address book on any device. Check out Covve’s business card scanner app to begin modernizing your networking efforts.
Sustainability
One of the most obvious advantages of digital business cards lies in their ability to reduce paper consumption. Traditional cards require a constant supply of paper, leading to the depletion of precious natural resources, including trees.
Some time ago, when we would add traditional business cards to our collection, we would consider that 42% of globally harvested wood is used for paper, contributing to deforestation. By embracing digital alternatives, we can curb the demand for paper and contribute to the preservation of our forests.
In addition to conserving trees and reducing deforestation, digital business cards offer another significant advantage – they are reusable and easily shareable. With just the click of a button, a digital card can be sent to multiple contacts simultaneously. This makes it clear that digital and contactless cards are the best eco-friendly business cards as they reduce waste and offer a longer product lifespan as opposed to paper cards.
Customizable
More importantly, when your role changes or you move to another company, you can simply update your contact details instead of having to print new cards. This means that digital business cards are also cost-effective in the long term. Buy it once, and have it forever.
Gone are the days of printing and distributing stacks of physical cards, resulting in waste generation and strain on landfills. By embracing digital alternatives, we can significantly reduce waste and contribute to a cleaner environment.
Beyond their environmental benefits, digital business cards offer opportunities for creativity and innovation. They allow for interactive features, such as clickable links to websites or social media profiles, videos, and dynamic content. All of your content can be personalized on your digital business card, fitting the theme of an event, or showcasing your brand. You have more control over the information shared, and how it is displayed.
Digital business cards can also be paired with a physical, contactless counterpart. They are typically made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), but can also come in metal and bamboo alternatives, making them the best eco-friendly business cards. What makes them so great is that people with contactless cards do not need to give their cards out. They simply exchange information with a tap of their card on a handheld device.
Covve offers bespoke digital and contactless business card customization that can be adjusted to both professional and personal networking needs and branding. In a 2023 case study on digital business card providers conducted by Capacitor Partners, Covve’s ecard solution is ranked first in design, as well as overall, establishing Covve’s ecard as a leading choice to elevate your networking game.
Accessibility
These features not only enhance networking capabilities but also reduce the need for additional printed materials. Embracing digital business cards is not just a step towards sustainability; it’s a step towards the digital transformation happening worldwide.
You can share your e-card with a QR code shared through virtually any platform, or wow your next meeting participants with a scannable QR code placed in your background. You may also include it in your email signature, ensuring that your contacts are kept up to speed with your details.
The environmental benefits of switching to digital business cards cannot be overstated. They are more sustainable, cost-effective, creative, interactive, accessible, and modern. Digital business cards are a significant step towards adjusting to the digital landscape of business and social life. These factors tie in to why digital and contactless cards make for the best eco-friendly business cards.
