Last night I drank Sangria in a woman-owned Tibetan restaurant while speaking Portuguese with a couple originally from the Azores. This morning I discovered a bagel shop owned by a Jewish Venezuelan immigrant whose staff included his son and two workers from Pakistan and the Dominican Republic, respectively. Roberto invited me behind the counter to proudly show off the massive oven cooking up maybe 100 bagels. It was cool. I then spent most of the afternoon hanging out in a small corner shop with a group of Jamaicans and Guyanese listening to a stack of 33s and 45s of old school reggae.

And throughout this day, not a deal was struck, not a contract signed, not a grand venture planned. I note this here on LinkedIn only because I am convinced these type of modest yet meaningful encounters can occupy a similar place within professional exchanges; ones that fuel business relationships and ‘networking.’ Or, as the early 20th-century Louisiana labor radical Covington Hall so dreamed, it helps us strive for the Republic of the Imagination.

To be sure, we are often constrained by our geographies, by our sector, by our “tribe.” And there is a very concerning and increasingly destructive culture of anonymity and grievance at play. Businesses are routinely attacked and reputations are recklessly damaged in a most cavalier and unaccountable manner. I’m convinced this comes from a complicated mix of entitlement, envy, and fear. But broadly it comes from isolation.

By comparison, when we take the time to listen, when we are truly attentive to a person or a given community’s unique history and culture, and when we hold an honest, open and respectful discussion with an unfamiliar face, we are networking and engaging in the most socially productive way possible, regardless of the material results.

If we do just that, we can be better professionals, better colleagues, and better global neighbors, wherever we might choose to stay or go.

At minimum, let’s be more curious in 2024.