This just blows me away.  I’ve been working with two people off and on for more than a year.  In the last week it turns out I’m only one or two steps from knowing these folks through other connections.  

Last week I went to a meeting with a colleague who is transitioning out of a role.  I saw her complete, hyphenated, name on the screen.  At the same time she mentioned that she grew up in Kitchener.   I asked if she knew a family in Kitchener that had the same name as her maiden name (wow, that sounds archaic).  It turns out she not only knew them but that she was part of that family.  I told her I used to occassionally have lunch with Paul from that family.  She informed me that the Paul in question is her dad!  What makes it even more interesting is that Paul had given me a piece of advice when my wife was expecting our first daughter.  He said that when our children are born we are given an imaginary piece of rope that keeps us connected to our kids.  We don’t know how long this rope is but everytime we get upset with our kids we lose a little bit of the rope.  He made that point that it’s important that we pick our battles with our children wisely as we don’t know how much rope we have left before our children choose to disconnect from us.  That advice has stuck with me these past 10 years.  

That meeting was last Thursday.  Today is Wednesday and in conversing with an associate in Toronto who is an avid rock climber I mentioned my friend’s son is also a rock climber.  He asked me the simple question, “what is his name?”  I told him and he says, “oh, I used to climb with him at the Grotto in Guelph back in the lat 90s.’   Will is in Toronto, my friend is in Cambridge and his son is in BC.  That’s a lot of distance to cover in just two connections. 

I was amazed at how little ‘distance’ there is between these connections.   Do you have any similar stories?