“A man walks into a bar…”

I only know Mohan Yogendran because of a chance encounter seventeen years ago.

When people ask for advice on networking, I say stay curious and keep your eyes and ears open. Because I bet you’ll meet more interesting people through day to day encounters than conventional business networking.

One night in 2007 I was out for drinks in London with a friend. At the end of the evening as we headed to the tube, we fancied one more drink. On a whim I took us on a detour to a bar I knew. Inside we discovered a great soul band playing. It was a wonderful atmosphere, people were dancing, the venue was full of life! The keyboard player was Mohan. On leaving, I grabbed one of their promo cards.

The next year I remembered the band when I was planning my 40th birthday. I emailed the bandleader, Mohan, and I booked them for my party. They played a fantastic set.

Mohan’s day job was in recruitment. Sometime after the party we met up to chat business. We met at his office in Farringdon where he introduced me to one of his business partners who, it turned out, is the son of my Dad’s best friend from junior school!

Mohan and I have stayed in touch. He’s currently founder of Talent Circles, an international executive recruitment firm.

On his website, Mohan says that: ‘Talent comes from all places and in all colours, sizes and shapes.’ I feel exactly the same about all the connections I’ve made during my three-decade career. Last week we met for an overdue catch-up at one of my favourite venues, Caravan at the Bloomberg building. We swapped stories on work, jazz and LIFE at large. I’m so glad I took that detour to a bar seventeen years ago!