Jonathan Sermon, the 272nd person I’ve met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, believes life is a team game.

His life – both professionally and personally – centres around meeting new people, building relationships and acting as a connector.

Partly, this is because Jon is an extrovert and loves people. But it’s also because he recognises we achieve more success and happiness when we work together.

On the professional front, Jon is the partnership & alliances manager at Your Empire. His job is to grow and nurture the company’s referral network, which means he’s constantly meeting and communicating with people.

On the personal front, Jon runs a networking group called BIO, which, as the name suggests, is By Invitation Only. This is a group where interesting people build relationships, share ideas and help each other out.

Jon is also the co-host of Lifestyle Pirates, a podcast that gives him (and his co-host) an excuse to converse with fascinating, inspirational people.

Jon very much walks his talk. During our wonderful lunch, he went out of his way to ask how he could help me grow my business. He also promised to introduce me to a couple of people he felt I could form a win-win relationship with – one where I help them and they help me.

Life is a team game for Jon, and I’m grateful to now be part of his team.