To User System
Most people would absolutely stay away from so-called users. They seem to be in our everyday lives and have the perfect knack for being in the right place at the right time to seize the opportunity. I think it’s safe to say that opportunity is about perspective, meaning that two people can be in the same place and receive the exact same information word for word and only one of them may recognize and capitalize on the opportunity. In chapter four we talked about the middleman. This chapter is from the perspective of the other guy.
Get comfortable getting used may sound weird or hokey but believe it or not some people structure their lives around that philosophy. I’m the type of person that encourages others to utilize my connections. First, let us get it clear, connections are delicate and should be handle as so but not tucked away so far that no one is ever able to use them or you just forget the value of them.
Do you know someone who seems to be able to get their hands on almost anything that you need? That’s because they get it. They understand the art of getting used. They embrace the fact that they have a lot of connections for a variety of situations but being the person that people go to to find unique or low-cost services or merchandise has another benefit. When your the person that people go to buy things, 9 times out of 10 you are also the person to go to sell things.
Having the outlets and connections to buy and sell privately is the reason the guy who gets it and the middleman relationship work so well. The one thing that makes anybody resourceful is having the right resources.
What that means is that the middleman is resourceful because his connection is and so on. Notice before I said the right resources, Let’s talk about that. It’s a terrible misconception that people that know a lot of people are well connected. Having a bunch of contacts in your phone doesn’t mean that all of them bring value. Growing up and becoming an adult we naturally interact with other people and eventually build relationships. Some people we encounter may be around for all our lives and others maybe just passing by but throughout time we build up a contact list that’s with most of us forever.
Hopefully, everybody in your life will bring value to it in one form or the other, and if not you might want to take a good look at your circle. People use people all the time and it’s ok as long as it’s not mismanaged or abused. Do you have anyone in your life that you only can talk to about certain things? If so, you are mentally using that person’s ability to sincerely listen to your issues and maybe determine a resolution, not to mention the time you are using. The shoe could be on the other foot. You may be the person that someone calls for something that may be minor to you but a necessity for them.
The caveat is measuring what and who you are using. For example, let’s say you work at a hospital and a friend of yours work at the burger joint down the street from your job. You go to your friend’s job for lunch and they put an apple pie in your bag along with your free order. A week or so later you see your friend at your job to see their doctor and after the visit is over they’re saying hey, can you hook me up on this bill?
Being mindful of how you use your connections and how you allow people to use yours is more important than I can emphasize because ultimately that will determine your reputation in business.
No one wants to vouch for an unreliable person. Building up your name takes time but a single indecent could tarnish it forever. You probably heard stories about someone getting a friend or family member a job just for them to come to work late every day or not show up at all. This is a prime example of being mindful of who you allow to use your connections.
A more recent and emerging industry that’s based around the user system is the Share Economy. This system allows private owners to rent their car, boat, plane, home, etc… to anyone they please. This could be another example of free enterprise like we discussed in chapter 5. Now the share economy isn’t completely new. Record labels and production companies will rent luxury cars and homes from wealthy people as props in music videos and movies.
Luxury cars, homes and boats are one thing but sharing the old close in your closet? As hokey as this may sound it is a booming marketing for online closet stores. Websites like eBay allowed the public to open up shop with their own store on Ebays platform and sell almost whatever you want to. Today you can go and grab a pair of old busted Air Jordans from a private seller on for some ridiculous price. The point is that people use each other every day. If it’s talking someone down on an asking price or bringing someone in on your deal to use their connections, someones getting used, It’s your job to learn how to do it right.
