Five Part Series: "The Truth About Building Relationships” Part One: Understanding the Foundation

Andy Andrews | September 3rd, 2021

Five Part Series: "The Truth About Building Relationships” | Part One: Understanding the Foundation

  • Setting our GPS towards understanding how American business has arrived at a place that we can soon take fair but full advantage in the lack of ‘their’ strategy
  • This series is dedicated to the reality of building relationships. What is known about it, how it’s done today and how our knowledge of how they are built is incomplete. 
  • Learn how to build strong and effective relationships with co-workers, customers, friends and family, even strangers
  • When and where the concept of modern business relationships has its roots
  • Explore the facts as to why these methods will dramatically increase results


The greatest obstacle in dramatically increasing results isn’t in what we don’t know, its what we know for sure.  We can’t believe everything we think. 


When and where was the concept of building lasting relationships initially recognized.  As Vancouver, Rockefeller, Carnegie and Ford began to fade from view in the first part of the 1900’s, the individual influence they wielded also diminished. 


Bigger success was found in those businesses that built a brand.  Coca-Cola and Disney were part of these brand builders. Based on how the customers saw themselves buying the brand and believing in the brand more than the product. However, brand-based relationships are not enough to ensure customer loyalty. 

  • 89% of the companies listed in Forbes 500 in 1955 are gone.  90% of the most profitable business at that time are gone or not recognized anymore. Only 45 of those still exist.
  • Airbnb, Netflix, Amazon are using technology to build relationships.  Said to change the way we build relationships in America.  Intimate close customer relationships are no longer nice to have they are required to meet customer expectations.  


OWM is not about being able to do business, our intent is to breeze past great to the distinction known as best.  

  • Best demands that we ignore intention to processes and standards that are “required to meet customers’ expectations”.  
  • Satisfied customers are the lowest bar to hit and stay in business.  
  • To be awarded long term customer we need to create raving fans.  
  • Current accepted belief is that long term relationships can be achieved through technology.  
    • Personalized emails and texts are just personal, not building loyalty, not intimate
    • So why do they still do it?  Because they believe this is what the standard is. 
    • No one has ever taken them beyond the level of standards.  
    • Many don’t even understand why building relationships is important. 3.6 billion times, someone has searched “Why is it important to build relationships” they need to learn more about how to do it then why they should do it.  
    • The ability to produce results by one practiced skill can be lost in one generation.  EX: Navigation by stars – always a few who remember how to harness these skills and some may even know why.  But if its not taught, it becomes lost and forgotten 

The Art of Effective Conversation. 

  • This skill has been downgraded over the decades, but we going to revive it.  
  • We will powerfully employ in a way the competition doesn’t even know a game is going on. 

Parenting was a full-time pursuit in the 50’s.  Fast food was visited occasionally.  Kids were always around, doing something, and usually talking.  They spent their time with the adults. This was ok because they didn’t know any other way.  When guests were over for dinner, kids could be at the table, but had to remain quiet and listen, not be disruptive. Kids were hearing things they hadn’t ever heard before.  Adults use to interact with anyone that walked by their front porch, and the kids were there to see and hear it all. Those conversations were about everything, whether they agreed or not on the matter.As kids we watched our parents interact with everyone, friends, acquaintances, and strangers.  We grew up being schooled in meeting new people and having effective conversations. Started to change around Gen X, porches went away and fenced in back yards were added.  Kids went to the play room or movie room, were in headphones or otherwise occupied. They are no longer listening to lengthy effective conversations. Now they are sending texts, emails, emojis, calendar invites, social media posts instead of face-to-face conversations. 

Yes, the most productive way to build relationships is technology, but its only a tool.  

Next time we will dig into the power of conversations and how they can get started.