It Is Always Good to Make a Friend

When children are among friends, they can get up to some truly impressive things.

My mother always told me that a child alone was easier to look after, because they would be afraid to do reckless things, but kids together could get into plenty of mischief.

I agree with her. I have seen it in my own life and in the lives of other kids and adults: when we are with people we can count on, we take risks we would not take alone, and a big part of that has to do with trust.

Trust is a powerful ingredient in human relationships, because it gives us the confidence to go deep into a dangerous journey.

When we are with friends, we tend to take risks more easily, and we find the courage to dare more than we would alone. This matters a great deal for the growth of whatever we are working on.

I played doubles dominoes for a few years, and I learned that building a good friendship is essential for a pair to play together. You cannot talk to your partner during the game, so every interaction has to happen through close observation of your partner's moves, prior knowledge of how the other person plays, and their body language.

On the product teams I have worked with, I saw this countless times. When there was friendship within the team, productivity and the ability to make bold decisions grew, because everyone was more energized, as if they were on an adventure. I think we grow up, but our work can simply be another way of playing.

Friendship as a bridge between departments

My father always told me to treat waiters, doormen, and HR people well, because you never know when you will need them, since they can be key to getting you out of a jam.

Of course we should treat everyone well, but what he wanted to teach me was that when we need someone's help, that help can come faster depending on how much the other person likes us. We might think people at work are obligated to do their tasks, but the truth is that we humans have an emotional side that, when treated well, can motivate us to move a process along faster to help someone we value.

For all of this to happen, a solid organizational culture is also needed, one that encourages a workplace of respect and empathy. And it only works with honesty: if you try to fake what you feel about someone, at some point your mask will slip and your credibility will suffer.

So it is essential that you study empathy and psychology, and that you genuinely like people, because if you are friendly in a real way, everyone will feel it and people will trust you. Of course, this is not always possible, and in those cases I suggest keeping the greatest courtesy you can.

In the corporate world, there are distinct areas that complement each other, and we inevitably have to work with people from other areas. Depending on the friendships you have built with people in those areas, you will be able to get results more efficiently than anyone else.