If I could put any five people in front of you who could transform your life, who would they be? This isn’t one of those exercises where you’re supposed to answer “Mother Teresa” or “Gandhi.” I’m talking about actual people close to your orbit who could help you personally or professionally. If you don’t know the answer, you’re not alone.
It turns out that inertia is a powerful force in its own ability to ensure we don’t accomplish much over time without intentionality. The antidote to this lethargic construct is active planning and constant shaking of the tree. Like anything worth accomplishing, it’s hard. I found myself feeling nauseous as I started writing this article. I used to carry around an index card with an ever-rotating list of people I wanted to meet. It was always five names. The trouble about writing the list down and sharing it with others was that I kept accomplishing these micro goals that then forced me to think of another name to replace it with. After I reached a place of perceived comfort, I stopped updating my list. I regret that decision deeply.
Here’s my current “Hot List”:
- Richard Branson — I want to learn more about the Tao of starting and incubating subsidiaries.
- Jesse Itzler — I want him to speak at the 2025 Virginia Council of CEOs retreat at Kingsmill.
- Zean Nielsen — I want to probe for pain points in the general aviation industry so I can start a services business.
- Bill Nash — We briefly met, but I think he would be a great Livewire client.
- Doug Pertz — He lives in Richmond and I suspect needs Livewire’s services.
Some of these names are more for personal exploration and mentoring. Some are just straight-up potential client material. It doesn’t really matter what your Hot List names mean to you, the point is they made it to the list and now the very existence of these names in written form will now afflict you. You’ll start talking about your list with colleagues, family, and friends. They’ll buy into what you’re doing and try to help you. Think about the “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” theory that posits that all of us are no more than six introductions away from meeting him.
More FTW from Henry Clifford: Internal Referrals For the Win
If you decide to make your Hot List and lean into the energy around it, I bet that you’ll meet one of your candidates within 90 days. Then what? You have to think of someone else to join the list. Scale this out a bit and imagine how many new relationships you’ll make in the next few years as opposed to what you’ve been doing.
You’re probably asking yourself, “Self, why doesn’t everyone have a Hot List?” My theory is that most of us (97% to be exact) don’t have the stamina to commit to efforts like written goals over multiple years.
Imagine creating your own Hot List and then asking your employees to do the same. Let’s say you have three people on your sales team. That’s now 15 new introductions being canvassed each week. Each salesperson has their own networks that reach hundreds or thousands of people. What are the odds one of them can help a fellow team member out? Quite high if you believe in math.
Are you in for creating a Hot List and trying it out for 90 days? I am. Let’s do this!
Stay frosty, and see you in the field.
