Today’s guest went from high school English teacher to Broadway producer in under two years. How? Relationships. He is a social catalyst who believes in the power of making meaningful connections for others.

His success led him to develop a methodology that he teaches through his company Small Pond Enterprises which specializes in relationship design for founders, authors, and speakers interested in playing a bigger game. He works with thought leaders to curate, extend, and leverage their existing networks.

He cemented his reputation as a connector by founding ConnectorCon, a conference for a powerful community of thoughtful connectors who recognize the power of living in a world of abundance rather than scarcity — and he co-hosts the Access to Anyone podcast.

Please join me in welcoming Michael Roderick.

In this episode we explore:

• how being a teacher taught him the art of truly understanding what another person is going through, and how important it is to offer empathy before focusing on your own wants and needs.
• his mnemonic device for adding value to other people’s lives: RISE-UP.
• his thoughts on diversity: “there are no diversity problems in interests.” If you connect with people around shared interests you can broaden the diversity of your network.
• how he separates his work environment from his home environment by not ever bringing his work stuff into his non-work areas of his house.
• his process for being a superconnector: how he uses a spreadsheet and analyzes conversations to help connect people who will bring value to each others lives.
• his views on connections, and how people often keep draining people in their lives for fear of hurting someone’s feelings. However, “we have complete control over who we have in our lives,” and when we let go of the ones who don’t fit, we make room for others who do.

Listen, subscribe and read show notes at www.OnTheSchmooze.com – episode 73