I’m in the process of having lunch with 500 strangers in five years – which is why some people are surprised to hear I maintain contact with the people I meet.

“How do you keep in touch with so many people?” is a common question.

“A combination of emails, texts, phone calls, social media interactions and follow-up meetings,” I reply.

“Why do you keep in touch with everyone you meet? I then get asked.

I like to answer this question with another question: “Why bother meeting all these wonderful people if you’re not going to maintain the relationship?”

One person I’ve really enjoyed keeping in touch with is Brendan Rogers, who was the seventh person I met, in September 2019.

Brendan is smart, generous and has a great sense of humour. He’s a leadership and team performance coach, and, earlier this year, he started a fantastic podcast, The Culture of Things, which talks about culture, leadership and teamwork across business and sport.

I was honoured to be a guest on episode 37, where Brendan interviewed me about my #500lunches journey. Even better, I visited Brendan’s home studio to do the interview, which meant we got to catch up and have another lunch. 

These are the opportunities that come your way when you meet great people and maintain the relationship.

Click here to listen to the episode.