There’s something funny about being in a room with people you’ve “known” for 10+ years… and suddenly discovering one of them’s a published author.

Another? Turns out he’s a musician. That was my experience in Vietnam a few weeks ago at the Atlas and Alfa network event. It hit me just how little we really know someone when all we do is talk business. Because real relationships? They’re not built in the boardroom. They’re built in the late nights, the early coffees, the delayed flights. The chats about football, family, life… That’s where trust is created.  And trust is everything in business.  You can’t shortcut it or automate it. You certainly can’t get it from a 20-minute Zoom once a year…

Last week I talked about the long game, and this is a perfect example of that. It’s taken time. There were no quick wins. But now we’ve built relationships that go beyond a rate or a shipment. People know what we do and how we do it. They know who will pick up the phone when they ring. They know who we are, what we stand for and that we’re not just another faceless freight forwarder.  That’s how business used to be done. And it still works.

At Millennium, freight might be what we do…but building relationships is how we do it. Funny what you find out when you spend time together. I had no idea I was buddies with a published author and a professional musician, and I bet there’s things they didn’t know about me either?  Like how much I love the Villa… ok, they probably did know that. But they might not know that I’m not just a freight forwarder, I’m a business coach too? Or that I’m a secret history buff? That’s why putting the real, face to face time in matters. You go to a deeper level of connection. 

So here’s something to give a little thought to… How well do you know the people you do business with? Do you put the time into building real relationships or are you just in it for the quick gains?