Jonathan Rosen is Founder of Collaberex, a heart-centered peer advisory and professional development community.

In this episode of Let's Talk Limbic Sparks, Jonathan reveals why it's worth the effort for businesses to act with a relational mindset. We talk about how being nice, kind and empathetic is a competitive advantage, and why relationships matter no matter what size business you call on.

Jonathan shares details about how he's evolved Collaberex over the years from being a transactionally-focused networking group, to being relationship-focused to help members achieve both emotional and transactional benefits. He points to leaning into his mission and values, combined with ongoing member feedback on they type of experience they want most, to guide how Collaberex has evolved to be a very different kind of business community.

Key Takeaways and Soundbites:

“We should all be leaders versus followers and see what kind of impact we can make on other people. I'm also a big proponent of nice guys finishing first. So I think being nice, kindness and empathy should be, and is, people's competitive advantage.”

“What can I do to make my groups be more personal, and more impactful and more productive? The obvious answer, which came to me was, lean more into your mission of relationship-building, and make everything that you do during those meetings have to do with building those meaningful, impactful relationships. Do things to create stimulating conversations between the members that are personal and authentic.”

“Business is all about relationships. It doesn't matter if you’re calling on the biggest company in the world, you're calling on an individual.”

“It's the responsibility of any business owner to constantly try to improve, make your product remarkable, and to try and express what you do in a better way, each and every day.”

“It comes down to having either a relational or transactional mindset.”

“We're always looking for that population of people that know that relationships matter. There there are so many people out there that know it intuitively, but they haven't related to their business success.”

“People gravitate towards being transactional versus relational, I think because being more thoughtful about things, digging deeper, and trying to determine what's what's in the head of your customers, is hard work. It's easier to look on the surface.”

“I also think it's fear. If they, if they're vulnerable with their target market, and they look at being emotional as vulnerable, then their market may reject them. So, they think it's a soft skill, skill, that it's too touchy feely, but it's really a hard skill. It's harder work. It's more introspection. And sometimes I also think they're insecure, always looking over their shoulder seeing what their competition is doing.”

“You have to engage people, really in an authentic, vulnerable, sometimes emotional conversations.”

Here are some fun facts about Jonathan…

Jonathan Rosen is Founder / CEO of Collaberex, a peer advisory and professional development community. This organization was founded to further this mission to create the most meaningful, impactful, personal relationships between others because he believes individual and business growth is enhanced through authentic, lasting relationships.

Jonathan has more than 35 years experience in strategic planning, operations management, organizational restructuring and start-up formation. Having held positions as CEO, COO and Founder of several small to mid-market businesses in the NY Metro area, Jonathan is in a unique position to understand the challenges associated with small businesses. Additionally, his law degree and BBA and Masters in Finance, all from The George Washington University, add perspective and expertise to his knowledge base. Jonathan is committed to developing trust and consensus to achieve the goals and results desired by his clients.

Jonathan is Sparking Brand Desire with Emotional Insight.

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