So I’ve been working in this tech co-working space called General Assembly for about two months now. Although the interior is quite nice, I’d have to say the best part about being in the space is the individuals that comprise the community. You’re surrounded by young innovators working on awesome projects across industries. It’s incredible to think about what’s possible if one were to bond all these people together for one project.
In a space like this it would be very easy to spend entire days at a time just chatting with people from different companies. However, if we all did this nothing would ever get done. Its no surprise then to see people heads down most of the day working on their projects. This kind of productivity is great, but it can make it rather intimidating to know everyone. After all, if someone is heads down working it might not be the best time to strike up a conversation about life with them. So what then, wait for the water cooler? In a space with a hundred people it would likely take a year to get to know everyone.
An interesting more direct approach is to provide a friendly offering that doesn’t seem intrusive, while at the same time provides value. A perfect example of this is to make cookies and go around offering them to everyone in the space. Who doesn’t love cookies? Its almost impossible not to strike up a conversation with someone offering you sweets. Whether they take them or not, each person now knows your name, a little bit about you, and is considers you a friendly person. This initial contact is a great platform to then begin building more intimate relationships. Get baking follks!
