What In The World Is An 8 Minute Ripple?

Several years a few buddies and I were sitting around over beer and chewing the fat. One of my friends asked me what I planned to do to promote my book. Other than speaking occasionally and hoping that somehow the book sale Gods would shine down on me I hadn't really give it much thought. The more we chatted the more I realized that despite these guys being my friends and readers of the book, most of them were struggling with the practical application of how to Ripple.

As I am prone to do I immediately grabbed a pen and a napkin and started mapping out the various impactful ways Rippling could be applied to their social and business connection efforts. The more I drew the more the conversation and beer flowed. As the night wore on what I realized was the book was useful for those who could read it and immediately understand the application of it...but for some, including my now inebriated friends, it was clear a physical example of the power of social connection might be needed.

The idea of Rippling as an event was born.

To be clear my initial goal was to illustrate to people that connections come in all shapes and sizes and often through people we would least expect. I desperately wanted the 8 Minute Ripple to be viewed as a distinct departure from the "traditional 'so what do you do' networking" events which had been the bain of my existence up to that point. I wanted to give people a real life example of the power of social connection and how much more successful it is when you don't allow prejudgement or some pressing business agenda to cloud the view of people you encounter.

The event was simple...no business cards. No quippy 30 second spiels about what you do. No sales pitches. No posturing. No telling people where you live, what car you drive, where you went to school, what degrees you hold, etc. Nothing that denotes anything of "status."

Why? Simple! When we don't bring those things up the pressure is totally off. Our prejudgment tendencies stay in the barn. Our competitive dander stays down and most people open up their eyes and ears and really get to experience others for who they are...not what they are. The Ripple truly humanizes the process of connecting.

It's been several years now since that first event. Clearly we've made some changes along the way to enhance the experience for our participants but the approach and the goal still remains: demonstrate there is a better way to build your personal and professional network and it can be done in a fun and pressure free environment with individuals you absolutely want to meet and get to know. It worked for my beer buddies and I suspect if will work for you and yours as well!

Here's hoping if you you might come check out a future Ripple!

We have an event occurring on June 25th 6:30-8:30 in Austin. Come out and see what all the fuss is about. More details are available on my website at www.ripplecentral.com And if you know anyone in career transition, definitely encourage them to come to this Ripple as the approach to connecting can and will teach them how to open doors to that next job opportunity!

Ripple On!!!

Shortcut The Connection

So if you are a regular reader of my BLOG you know that I often post different Ripple Connection Questions that we use throughout my public and private 8 Minute Ripple events. These connection questions are designed to help people engage and connect quicker and with a more positive result than what one might expect. I personally believe the questions, when used appropriately, help shortcut the connection and relationship building process and open up a world of current and future dialogue jumping off points.

Let's face it in today's society we aren't very good at communicating. Sure we meet people, we talk to them, we exchange pleasantries but at the end of the day how much do we really learn or know about them? For most people, especially in at a networking or social event, the depth of knowledge that they learn from the people they meet rarely goes beyond what the other person does for a living or who they work for. I call that surface information and surface information nets very little relevant or substantive insight. Plus let's face it....it's often boring and uninteresting information when you come right down to it.

So why do it?

Well, for most people it's the only way we know. It's our default strategy to ask someone what they do or where they work just to have something, anything to say. We push and we prod about surface subjects and wonder why we aren't making the kinds of connections we really want or need in our lives or careers.

People cross you path in life for a reason. It's up to you to figure out why. Ripple Connection Questions or heck, just any insightful question, that helps you cut through the surface layer of someone to learn something, anything meaningful has to be better. Doesn't it? Don't answer that question because you already deep down inside know the answer.

There is an old saying that people do business with people they know, like and trust. Well whether you are pushing a sales quota, building a business or looking for your next job, that saying has meaning for us all. The kinds of connections we make are dependent on our ability to make them the most that they can and are intended to be. I would submit that in order to do that, you have to gain some better insight into the people you are meeting and make your interactions relevant.

Very little or dare I say it....no relevance comes from surface connections. So quit making them.

Dig deeper.

Ask better, more insightful questions.

Don't let opportunities pass you by.

Don't make that one interaction your only interaction. Call them following an event - ask them to lunch or out for coffee. Do something to keep the momentum going and keep exploring, learning and connecting.

Enjoy the process of connecting and people will enjoy connecting with you.

Ripple On!!!

"Ripple Rocks"

So last week I spoke at The Contingent Workforce Summit presented by Staffing Industry Analysts in Dallas, Texas. To say the conference was a success for me would be an understatement. I have literally been overwhelmed by the positive response to my keynote remarks and the 8 Minute Ripple which I facilitated as part of my overall program.

I was excited to bring my unique approach of discovering, creating and building connections to this audience which was filled with some of the nation's leading companies. I just knew that given the opportunity to show what the Ripple could do, it would get the attention of some of the powerful people who were in attendance. Boy was I right!

From the time I left the stage following my session to walking out of the hotel the following day, I had so many people come up to me and literally thank me for exposing them to a new way of connection. Being thanked after a big presentation like that is a huge validation for any speaker that their presentation has hit a cord. But maybe even more cool was hearing how eager people were to share their individual stories of connection and engagement and how "they Rippled." It humbled me and filled me with an amazing sense of pride.

It was clear that many of them had never seen nor felt the kind of experience the Ripple offers. I loved hearing everyone's comments and unique takes on how surprised they were to see just how powerful this form of connection could be. It was even more exciting to hear how many of them recognized just how impactful the Ripple might be if they brought it to their own companies, trainings and conferences.

"It was so amazing to see how easy you made it to connect with complete strangers," said one executive immediately following my session. Yes, I know the Ripple is a powerful way to meet new people but it still never gets old to hear a new Rippler say it!

So yesterday my phone rang. It was a executive from a leading investment firm who had attended my session. He said, I just have to tell you, "Your Ripple concept so rocks!" It seems that several of the people he had met at the conference have already turned into amazing connections for him and he simply wanted to say thank you and to let me know he was still Rippling a week later.

All I can say to that is.....

Ripple On!!!

Have To Let It Go To Let It Grow

So last night Liberty Harper-Simonsen (nope, we're not related) presented The 8 Minute Ripple to the Women's Franchise Network out in Los Angeles on my behalf. This was big for me as up until now, I have been the only one to host and coordinate a 'Ripple.' However, I had a conflict in my schedule and could not travel to Los Angeles to present to this important group of women so I asked Liberty to go in my place.

From the early returns it was a success!

I would be lying to you if I didn't share with you that I was a little nervous. Not that Liberty wouldn't do a fantastic job but that the same passion and intent behind why I created the concept in the first place would somehow not be the same without me. Well that was just plain wrong.

Liberty knows why this concept works. She understands why it is sooooo applicable for people in the all types of businesses, including franchises. She got it the first time she heard me talk about it. She really got it when she saw me do a 'Ripple' for the first time and knew how much this process would have helped her former Franchisees.

She drank the Kool-Aide and in the process taught me a lesson.

In order for me to get where my concept needs to go, I have to trust in myself and let go. I have to be willing to let the concept grow and expand and develop outside of Steve Harper. I literally have to let it go to let it grow.

I don't know if Liberty actually thought that she was teaching me this lesson but over the past twenty-four hours, it was a lesson I actually learned. I am just glad I was paying attention.

Thanks Liberty for believing in my dream and adding a little piece of your "star power" to the Ripple!!!

New 8 Minute Ripple Video

Mitch Lobrovich with Channel You Productions has created another fantastic video for me that really helps explain the power of what The 8 Minute Ripple can do and all the various ways it can be used. Whether it be for a corporate team or workgroup function, executive board retreat or organizational gathering, conference or convention, or simply to aide in the recruiting process to help a company find and discover the talent they most want to be interviewing, The 8 Minute Ripple philosophy is incredibly adaptable and amazingly powerful.

I invite you to check out this new video by clicking here!

If you want to learn more about what the Ripple can do for you, your organization or your next conference, let's chat! Or if you know of an organization or upcoming event that could use a little Ripple added to their agenda or workplace environment, I would be happy to share the wealth and pay you a referral fee for any Ripples that I may book. Email me at steve@ripplecentral.com

Thanks to each of you for your continued support and interest in all things Ripple. The connections and relationships I have made through The 8 Minute Ripple, the book, this BLOG and my speaking appearances and trainings mean the absolute world to me!

Ripple On!!!

Steve Harper

The Breakfast Fairy Challenge - Part Two

Just had to share this great email that I just received from my dad. What amazing timing as it was obvious he not yet seen my BLOG post from yesterday when he decided to take on the challenge and play the role of Breakfast Fairy.

Pretty damn cool!

Just in case your interested...here's a pic of my folks with Josh peeking over Grandma's shoulder.

Hi Steve,

Yesterday morning Mom and I went to Le Chantilly for our favorite Bow Tie pastry and coffee after getting an X-ray for her follow-up appointment with the doctor. Le Chantilly is an informal place -- sometimes they wait on you at the table, often times you have to go to the bakery cases to get any attention. Either way, they just get what you ask for, bring it to the table, and you may not see that person again. No check. So, I was waiting at the register to be noticed by anyone of a group of employees chatting while preparing food or simply chatting, These waits can sometimes be quite long, and this was no exception, And older fellow walked up to join the "wait ritual". He kept looking back to see if his wife was coming as we chatted about the slow service.

His wife obviously had difficulty walking ,,, shuffle steps, much like Mom's were a few year back. I told him that I admired them for getting out and about. We had a minute or two to chat further before an employee finally showed up at the register. I told her what we had ordered, and said I wanted to pay for this couple; meal as well. He was a bit flustered and argued a bit -- he said it was the first time in his 88 years anyone had ever done that.

I shared the "Breakfast Fairy" story and one or two others that had given me the incentive to "pay forward" rather than pay back. I told him Alzheimer's and our determination to stay active was the common thread between the stories. It was no surprise when he told me his wife had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's about four years ago. He said he had been career military, and he thought of her disease as his "last battle". Neat couple that we will look for again.

What could have been a story about poor customer service turned in to a great "pay forward" opportunity -- what a surprise to then read you blog last night.

Love ya ... Dad

Why Won't They Just Connect?

I posted on our 8 Minute Ripple Community BLOG yesterday some suggestions for our fellow Ripplers to come down (obviously if they are already in Austin) and check out the SXSW scene. It is an ideal opportunity to make some new connections, meet some great people and just hang with a very diverse and unique crowd. A perfect environment to just practice Rippling!

Feel free to check out the BLOG post from our 8 Minute Ripple BLOG by clicking here.

So officially day two of my official SXSW experience ended with my meeting some amazing new people and learning a lot thanks in part to my willingness to Ripple. As I sat in one of the ballrooms yesterday morning waiting for a session to start I had an ample opportunity to watch and observe all the people and the mojo of the room. I continue to be amazed by just how disconnected people tend to be. People opened their laptops and were busily instant messaging or sending email or on the cell phone or tapped into their Ipods. They were doing anything and everything to be a party of one in a sea of hundreds.

I wanted to jump up on stage and yell from the top of my lungs, "Look around you! There are amazing people right next to you and no one is talking! Hang up your phones, shut off your laptops and just start talking!" Those few people I did see make an attempt were not talking about anything remotely engaging!

Never in my life did I want to teach the masses the power of Rippling! Those few unique connections that I observed were the typical "So what do you do?" blah, blah, blah followed by the mind-numbing polite chit chat that inevitably leads to the gloss over eyes and walking coma.

Can you say painful?

I made it my point to step outside my box and do a fair amount of connecting. I met some great people whom I never would have met if I hadn't opened my mouth. I met some cool people who live right here in Austin, some people who traveled from overseas to just come to SXSW and about a five or six people from both coasts. I made it a point to really connect and not let anyone take the path of least resistance, or sucker's choice, by defaulting to talk simply about business. And you know what? By starting a conversation by just asking "So what's the coolest thing you have seen so far at SXSW?" the connections and the Ripples began to really stack up!

I cherish this gift of attending this event. Despite having the opportunity to speak at SXSW and to do a book signing or two, I am just thrilled with the opportunity to surround myself with some interesting people from all over the world and to make some new friends.

Why anyone would squander the opportunity to connect in such a wonderful environment is beyond me. No matter what, I am going to make the most of these next few days and hope to find a whole new audience for the power of the Ripple!

Ripple On My Friends!!!

Steve