Many Groups = Many Opportunities for Engagement

I was having breakfast with a bank executive recently who had served as a minister and president of a large local chamber of commerce. While he was having breakfast with me, he was talking to several others at various nearby tables. He wasn't being rude — he was just very popular. He has been a fixture in Indianapolis for many years and seems to know everyone in town. I was amazed at how many diverse people knew him.

When I walked back to the car and drove away from the visit, I thought about how many groups we belong to without realizing it.

The first logical group is our immediate family and extended family. Next comes a long list of possibilities:

• Professional associations (peers in field)
• Jobs current and former co-workers and employees
• Service clubs members (Rotary, Kiwanis, etc.)
• Fellow alumni from schools attended
• Church members past and present
• Parent contacts
• Children-related contacts
• People we've dated
• Sports teammates and, in my case, players coached
• Activities engaged in over the years
• Hobbies we love and participate in such as music, cruising and art
• Awards we've received
• Clubs we belong to
• Fraternity or sorority links
• Veterans of military
• Places we visit with others
• Places we frequent
• Friends where we live or have lived
• Neighbors who play cards
• Fellow workers or fellow retired workers
• Online friends and contacts such as Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.
• Single or married groups
• Charities we support
• Places we volunteer
• Geographical contacts
• Patient friends with whom we share ailments
• Fellow authors, speakers and consultants

The list goes on and on. The purpose of this exercise is for you to realize how many diverse contacts you actually have in this world. All of us have many friends, professional colleagues and associates. We all interact with them differently based on the group function and personality.