Better Network Building and Discussion with Chris Guillebeau

Chris Guillebeau brought together around 30 members of his small army of remarkable people in DC at Busboys & Poets last week for a meetup.

Chris has the rare ability to make meaning for us world-changers while evading the guru trap by weaving strong ties among his readership.

Speaking of a small army, Seth Godin often talks about his new rule of 10 in new marketing – nowadays, all you need is 10 people to get something good going around your cause or project.

Chris built this in DC and introduced us to each other.  I met several remarkable people, like Jeff, Thursday, Vik,  Sheila, and Chase- only to name a few.

What’s cool is that they are all in the DC area and we actually got to know each other in person over quesadillas and beers at my favorite restaurant in DC.

Most of the people I met work in the nonprofit sector, which is not surprising given our city.  They work on various causes from the environment to equal access that are important and they are passionate about.

What I learned about Meetups  and the New Network Building in DC

1. Blogger community area meetups are a great way to meet remarkable people outside your normal circle. Start reading a blog that interests you and attend a speaking event where the blogger will be speaking to meet not just the blogger but others in their community.
2. Meetups and events are not always about the blogger or organizers. Chris graciously gave me a 10 minute interview but he mostly talked to everyone at his meetup in groups for only a few minutes and didn’t even get to speak with some people, although he tried.  Most of the time I talked to other people who wanted to meet Chris, building not just his network but also our own.  There were some amazing people there I was lucky to get to know.
3. Connect on Twitter after the event. It’s a great way to keep in touch with the new people you meet.

I do learning & networking events for a living, so the above 3 items are quite new and worth mentioning.

Discussion with Chris

Below is my just under 9-minute discussion with Chris at the restaurant where he entertains my questions about how his work started in international development in Western Africa and spread from there.

Chris volunteered with Mercy Ships on the coast of West Africa for 4 years, went to grad school in international studies, and started The Art of Non-Conformity during grad school, which has now grown into a meaningful writing career with his upcoming book of the same title, due out next year.

If you work in international development or nonprofits, he is a good person to know.

Stuff we talk about:

• What he did leading up to The Art of Non-Conformity
• Convergence – how his writing brings together the various experiences he’s had in his life so far
• He also discusses with me a need for nonprofits to work more closely together and how we could join Dan Pallotta in his call for a Change the World Conference