Whether it is with potential clients or existing customers, with investors and financial partners or suppliers and vendors, with colleagues and peers or industry leaders and mentors, connections are crucial for every business. Growth and revenue generation depend on connections.

There are a number of ways to make these connections. You may have overcome the awkwardness of networking breakfasts and lunches. You may have honed your golf game to the point where you can win, lose or draw as required. Or you may have mastered making the most of LinkedIn’s 900-plus million members worldwide and 60-plus million registered companies.

But there are deeper levels of connection I believe are more important and consequential in running a successful business.

1. Our connection with ourselves

Competition is good, but looking after number one doesn’t always make you a winner. Unfortunately, our education and cultural mindset has mitigated against understanding this.

Antonio Damasio’s book “Descartes’ Error” demonstrated, through the neuroscience of people who had lost part of their brains in accidents, that the decision-making centre was actually in the limbic part of the brain, which is where our emotions stem from, rather than the cerebral cortex. My point here is that many of us have lost ourselves through an over-emphasis on scientific rationalism.

Reconnecting with ourselves can make us a more holistic person and a better leader because a business leader who is in touch with their creative and intuitive sides, as well as their emotions, holds a significant advantage over one who is solely focused on the mechanics of business.

Creativity allows leaders to think outside the box, develop innovative solutions, and differentiate their companies in a competitive market. Intuition helps in making swift, confident decisions when data alone may not provide a clear answer. Emotional intelligence fosters strong relationships, enhances communication, and builds a culture of trust and collaboration within an organisation.

Leaders who understand and acknowledge their own emotions, as well as those of their employees, are better equipped to inspire, motivate, and resolve conflicts effectively.

A rigid, purely analytical approach may lead to short-term success, but a leader who embraces creativity, intuition, and emotional awareness is more likely to cultivate long-term resilience, adaptability, and a thriving company culture.

There isn’t a single way for people to reconnect with themselves, but I find it useful to set aside at least half an hour each morning to be quiet. I use this time to meditate or to read something reflective and to do some breathwork.  I find walks and time in the gym useful – but you may find something like yoga suits you best. Discovering what works for you is part of your reconnection journey.

It may feel “natural” to step into productivity mode the moment you step into a work environment but try not to spend every minute of every day in work mode. One habit introduced into workdays in my business is to stop and pause and connect with ourselves at the start of meetings.  Someone leads a short period of breathwork or silence, before we check-in with each other.

2. Our connection with others

Of course, we interact with people every day, but I am advocating a deeper connection with others – our families, those we work with, those in our local community and even people in parts of the world that we have never met. Our cultural background doesn’t set us up to find this easy.

But understanding others is essential for business leaders. It is an ability that fosters trust, strengthens relationships, and creates a work environment where employees feel valued and understood. A leader who prioritises empathy can better address the concerns of their workforce, leading to higher morale, increased productivity, and lower turnover rates.

Beyond the internal organisation, businesses do not operate in isolation; they are deeply connected to the communities they serve and the larger economy.

Leaders who recognise this interconnectedness understand that their decisions have ripple effects, influencing not just their company’s bottom line but also the well-being of employees, customers, suppliers, and society as a whole. A business that invests in its people and community builds long-term loyalty and resilience, positioning itself as a force for positive change.

Ignoring these connections in favour of short-term gains can lead to ethical compromises, reputational damage, and a loss of public trust. Empathy allows leaders to see beyond numbers and transactions, helping them create sustainable, purpose-driven businesses that contribute to both economic success and social progress.

After the pre-meeting period of silence I mentioned earlier, we check in with each other with an enquiry such as, “Sum up how you are feeling today with three words.”  I believe that meetings are better when it is clear there are real humans in the room.

3. Our connection with nature

Albert Einstein said, “Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.”  When wrestling with a business or personal issue, I have often found the answer within nature.

Last summer, my wife was very keen to see some seals while we were on holiday in Shetland. We went from beach to beach and found none. But later in the day, we ended up on a deserted stretch of sand and sat quietly together and after ten minutes or so three seals appeared in the sea close to us and started playing around in the waves.

At that time, we were going through a difficult period in one of the businesses and the experience of connecting with nature via the seals’ display gave me the sense that the difficult decisions we were making were the right ones.

These days it can feel like a new crisis is just around each corner, but connecting with nature can teach us much about how to organise our businesses in difficult times.

Nature is the best example of adaptability and agility – a great demonstration of mutually beneficial symbiotic relationships that we need within our businesses and organisations.  Go into nature and learn from it.

My coach, Giles Hutchins, is permanently based in his woodlands in Sussex and does all his coaching sessions outside in the woods.  I have learned more there than in any sessions in more sterile indoor environments.

Paul Hargreaves is a speaker, author, CEO and B Corp Ambassador and CEO of Cotswold Fayre, a large speciality food and drink wholesale business supplying over 2,000 retail sites in the UK.