A tense and awkward situation today:
I was walking on a large, wide, empty road. Down the road, I saw a guy walking toward me.
I recognized him. I see him every time I go to the gym. I’ve never spoken to him, but I bet he recognized me, too.
So we were walking toward each other. There were no other people around, and no other distractions.
He saw me coming nearer.
I saw him coming nearer.
Would we say hello, even though we’d never spoken before?
Or would we ignore each other, even though we’d spent hours in close proximity?
At about 10 yards to impact, the guy dropped his gaze and started studying the pavement. I kept my eyes in the middle of his chest — a safe place in case he decided to look up at the last minute, but also not accusatory.
He didn’t look up. I kept quietly staring at the middle of his chest, without making any sudden movement. We passed by each other, as David Ogilvy says, like ships in the night.
Thank God. A near miss.
This brought to mind a post written by Brian Kurtz. You might know Brian as the former VP at direct response giant Boardroom.
Back in the 80s and 90s and 00s, Brian was the guy who hired all those copywriting legends like Gary Bencinvenga and Parris Lampropoulos and Jim Rutz. And today, Brian is still a very successful and well-connected guy in the direct response industry.
Anyways, Brian once shared an idea he called 100-0. 100-0 means you put in the extra effort to build and keep up your relationships. And you don’t grumble about it. Because it will be worth it.
It’s something I clearly need to work on, because it doesn’t come natural. I’m passing on Brian’s idea to you because maybe you are the same.
You can draw your own conclusions. But if, like me and like my nameless gym buddy, you keep waiting for others to make the first move… perhaps try 100-0 and see what it can do for you. In your private and your business life.
And maybe you’d like to start a modest relationship with me today.
Just by email. At least for now. In case you’re interested, here’s where to start.