The View from the Office. 

I met up with Paul Traub, a former bankruptcy lawyer and now consultant and entrepreneur, at the Peregrine Hotel in downtown Omaha for breakfast. I had the yogurt and berry parfait; Paul had the avocado toast. 

We were both in town to see Warren Buffett at the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting. 

Usually, I use these columns to tell a story about someone’s career.

And trust me, Paul’s career is distinguished. He was at the forefront of combining consulting and legal services. He has stories about negotiating a deal with Donald Trump in 2003.

This time, however, I want to do something different. And that’s because Paul is at heart a connector. 

So I want to tell the story behind the story of how we connected.

I think it explains a lot about modern networking, as well as how and why people end up attending events like Buffett’s “Woodstock of Capitalism.” 

Here’s the timeline: 

➡️Last November Paul’s son Eric Traub cold emailed me via LinkedIn for career advice. We had lunch. We talked about his experience producing a podcast. 

➡️Three weeks ago, Randall Moore offered me a free ticket to the Berkshire meeting. Incredibly generous! We connected because Randall reached out to me after reading my posts on LinkedIn.

➡️Last Thursday, Eric saw a LinkedIn post I wrote saying I would be in Omaha. He texted to say I should meet up with his dad Paul.

➡️On Friday, Paul and I had breakfast. Paul was traveling with 3i, an investment group which invests in private credit and other private investment vehicles. 3i also organizes trips and dinners for members. The Omaha trip was arranged by Cassie Lewis and Victor Perez Abreu.

➡️I told Paul that by coincidence I had met 3i CEO Teddy Gold last year. We were introduced by newsletter writer Eric Rosen, who I first met on LinkedIn.

➡️Saturday afternoon, Paul met up with Opening Bell Daily newsletter writer Phil Rosen, another guy I had met because I saw him writing online and I sent him a DM. Phil knew Eric Traub, having been on his podcast. Small world!

➡️That evening, Paul and Cassie invited Phil and I to dinner with 3i. 

I apologize for the blizzard of name dropping. But I want to make a point. 

All of these relationships started online and proceeded to develop in real life. Many would never have happened in a pre-digital world. 

People who don’t use social media actively might be surprised to realize how often it’s used to build deep relationships IRL.

It’s also a good illustration of how social media has changed business networking in a fundamental way. 

We’ve moved from an era where you approach a specific person in a targeted transactional way to one where you connect with a broad range of people online.

Paul embodies this new approach, which is also defined by giving before receiving. 

“How can I be of help to you?” was how Paul started our conversation. 

We had a fantastic talk about business and life informed by decades of life experience. 

Most of the people I meet for coffee are youngish founders. Paul is one of the few people older than me.

The meeting reminded me that life is long and relationships are everything.

Also that it is wise to accept the random invitation because it can lead not only to serendipitous connections but a fantastic dinner in Omaha. 

You can connect with Paul via LinkedIn or DM me for a warm intro.