From My Inbox: Who's Calling?
Random thoughts (typically related to networking) along with 💩 curated from my inbox.
Happy Thanksgiving! stated the enthusiastic text...sent, according to my phone, from someone not in my contacts.
What to do? Other than blaming Mercury in retrograde, I surmised I had 4 options:
📲 Ignore it as a benign oops! misdirected text and hope the intended recipient has a Happy Thanksgiving! and that the sender doesn't think ill of the intended recipient for ignoring their Happy Thanksgiving! sentiment.
📲 Delete + block the number before it spirals into a plea for help from a stranded relative who needed thousands of dollars along with my bank account number in order to unlock untold riches left to me by a prince in a country I've never stepped foot in.
📲 Find out who the mystery sender is by conducting an exhaustive examination of other contact lists, emails, etc. and if the search is fruitless, delete the text with "Hey, I tried" resignation.
📲 Actually responding to the text and asking "who is this?".
I chose option 4, sending a "Why thank you (and who am I thanking as apologies, my address book is not cooperating)".
Doing nothing might be the easiest choice. But easing into the uncomfortable admission of not knowing and opening yourself up to discovering "who is this?" on the other side of a text, offers the potential of having a real, human connection.
The networking bottomline: when in doubt default to the very human, connection-building attributes of politeness, transparency and humor.
Watch:
Wake Up: Ten stories on being alive
Conquer:
Approach the unknowns from a place of strength with Imperia's Master Uncertainty Masterclass for female founders.
Ask:
Wondering how the book publishing process works? Join Emmy Award-winning journalist and co-author of The Joy of Connections (Penguin Random House/Rodale), Allison Gilbert on December 11 for Ask the Agent with with her literary agent, United Talent Agency's Peter Steinberg.
Pre-Order:
Anjali is back and ready to prove there’s nothing she can’t do, in this third book in the Always Anjali series by actor, author and activist, my friend, the fabulous Sheetal Sheth.