Archer or Magnet?

How do you go from being an “archer” in which you aim and shoot for relevant contacts to being a “magnet” in which relevant contacts come to you?  These tips can be used from a company perspective, in a volunteer or professional society, or in surrounding yourself with the right friends.

First, it is important to understand that the even though the goal is to attract quality contributors, it might take quantity efforts to reach this goal. You need to aim for more people than you initially thought you had to.  Since you can only expect a 5-10% acceptance rate, you need to factor that into your initial outreach.

Be willing to listen and take a new approach.  We are often stuck in our own mindset and thus we already think we know whom we need to get in touch with. This is potentially dangerous as it can limit the reach of open invitations and hinder engagement with potential team members that we never thought would be able to contribute to the endeavor.

Diversity is a key reason for engaging in open outreach.

From experience, it is easier if you already have a framework and some solid areas that are "shovel ready".  It is so much easier to create a positive buzz on initiatives if they are solid and ready. 


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