The Most Valuable Thing on the Table Isn’t Always Money

I believe people should be paid for their work. Let me start there.

But I also believe the money changing hands is not always the most valuable thing being exchanged.

A good business relationship can lead to referrals, introductions, visibility, new ideas and opportunities nobody could have predicted at the beginning.

Lately, though, it feels like many business interactions begin and end with: What can you pay me right now?

No curiosity. No conversation. No interest in what might be possible if both people brought something meaningful to the relationship.

Maybe that comes from being disappointed by people who made promises they didn’t keep. Maybe it’s exhaustion. Maybe it’s simply easier to collect the money and keep moving.

I understand all of that.

But I still believe relationships matter.

Some of my best opportunities didn’t begin with a contract. They began with a conversation. Someone saw how I worked, trusted my character or remembered how I made them feel. The business came later.

Recently, I had an interaction with a business owner that made me question whether relational business is becoming a thing of the past. The experience was strange, frustrating and surprisingly revealing.

I tell the full story in the latest episode of Sisternomics. After you listen, I want to know what you think:

Is business primarily about completing the transaction, or are we still willing to build relationships that could become something more?