In business, and in life, we often celebrate skill, strategy, and ambition as the keys to success. They matter, of course. Skill sharpens your craft. Strategy helps you see the board and plan your moves. Ambition pushes you to take the first step. These open doors.
But here’s the truth… it’s relationships that keep those doors open.
Trust. Listening. Genuine connection. These aren’t “soft skills” or nice-to-haves… especially now in the world of overused and overpromised AI. They’re the foundation. Without them, even the most impressive strategies eventually crumble. With them, opportunities expand, teams thrive, and loyalty compounds. The ROI of relationships is rarely captured in a spreadsheet. It’s not just about winning clients, closing deals, or climbing ladders. It’s about growth, personal and professional. It’s about perspective… learning to see through someone else’s eyes.
And that’s not easy. It requires us to pause our own agenda, quiet the voice in our head that’s busy preparing a response, and step fully into another person’s world. To listen not just to words, but to tone, body language, and what’s left unsaid. To ask ourselves: What are they feeling? What pressures or hopes are shaping their choices? What truth do they need me to hear, even if it’s uncomfortable?
When we practice this kind of perspective-taking, and extend it to learning on our own, walls come down. Misunderstandings turn into understanding, and transactions become trust. We stop seeing people as obstacles or assets and start seeing them as whole human beings with stories, struggles, and dreams of their own. That shift changes everything. It reshapes how we negotiate, how we lead, how we show up for our colleagues, our partners, and our families. And ultimately, it reshapes us.
When you invest in relationships, you’re not just building a network, you’re building a life of meaning, impact, and connection… one that extends from simple relationships into communities. And unlike transactions, relationships grow richer over time, and networks may give you reach, but relationships and communities give you power. The power of trust, of loyalty, of influence that compounds far beyond what any single transaction could deliver.
So yes, polish your skills, and craft your strategy, but never forget the true currency that sustains it all… RELATIONSHIPS! Because… Relationships are like muscle tissue, the more you engage them, the stronger and more valuable they become. AND that’s how you build and grow RETURN ON RELATIONSHIP. #RonR
