Why should we take the time to be better networkers?

So Why Should You Network? 

The other week I was lucky enough to be sent to Wheeling, West Virginia to join the National Recreation and Park Associations' Revenue Development and Management School. It was generally accepted by the group that at least a portion of the week long seminar was intended for networking and getting to know other successful professionals in the Parks and Recreation industry.

This of course made me think about whether or not the people that paid for us to be there (tax payers) would appreciate that we were there (at least in part) to hang out and get to know one another, often times over food and libations.

In my previous blog post I discussed that fact that networking is a skill. That means that it can be learned and taught to others. It means that you should take a risk on an individual who has little to no networking skill when hiring. I also believe in the notion that networking is a necessary skill in today's business world.

The longer I sat through these education sessions the more that I became convinced that all of this is true.

As a manager (and I don't think it matters whether we talk about public, private or non-profit sector) having the basic networking knowledge and skill sets is incredibly important. A few different situations that came to mind as I learned about generating revenue and reducing costs in the parks and recreation world include:

• Getting recommendations when you are looking for new employees to hire.
• Researching an area or subject with which you are unfamiliar with for a project.
• Getting information about a potential employer before you go on an interview.
• Collecting information about a potential client.
• Obtaining reviews and recommendations when hiring a contractor or consultant.
• Finding colleagues who have already partnered with another agency, service provider or vendor.
• Review results and feedback on a contractor or program provider before you hire them.

Aside from all of these reasons though I heard again and again from my peers how important it was to be able to adapt to the seemingly constant stream of changes in local government.

In other words you need to be able to think on your feet and move quickly when threats or opportunities arise. You need to be able to connect the dots between people, ideas and social situations. You need to be able to make the world a better place. And yes networking does that.

And that is the most important reason to network. By making the right and best hire, by putting the best contractor to work for you, by introducing the next great manufacturer to the next great marketer you might make the world a little better. You will gain credibility by making appropriate introductions. Colleagues will entrust you with information if they know you will use it to aide them. People will naturally gravitate towards you if they know you have a strong network that can support them as well.

If nothing else remember this, networking at its heart is not about you, your rise to the top or the number of LinkedIn connections you obtain. It's all about putting the right people together at the right time. So take a step back, review the how's and now start working on your why's of networking.

What do the LinkedIn buzzwords say about us?

What do our LinkedIn buzzwords really mean?

The day we learned about ourselves from a social network

Today was the annual day that job hunting and the unhappily employed scour their online profiles, resumes and social media posts for overused and seemingly cliched adjectives used to describe themselves; Linked In has revealed the most commonly used words in user profiles for 2012.

"Responsible" was the most often used descriptor and "driven" has somehow replaced motivated in our lexicon.

I am sure that lots of folks have already recognized that "creative" and "effective" will probably always rise to the top of any annual list when describing professionals. Just as I am going to guess that in the next two years the word strategic will more than likely fall off the list; eventually the pendulum is going to swing the other way. We are all craving safety via laws and policies after the failure of the auto industry, the banking system and most recently the budgeting abilities of our federal government. But the increase of regulation and NSA eavesdropping will lead to an eventual desire to cut the apron strings...see the Roaring 20's for more on pendulum swinging.

The thing that surprises me the most though is that "patient" is the most commonly used word in the USA. I am not shocked that we perceive patience as an important virtue at this moment in time. If you want to deepen and develop relationships with stakeholders and customers, if you are trying to make an impact in your community, if you are responsible for healthy product development you need to be possess patience to be successful in the long term. Putting the word in my Linked In description or my resume doesn't jump out at me though as a no-brainer.

Most employers want to know what objectives you will be carrying out, when you are going to do them and they want you to do it before your competitors do. We can fast forward though television commercials. We scroll through Twitter feeds in moments and see all of the day's headlines. Our complete financial information fits on the four inch screen of our smart phones. I am not saying that I support the culture of ever increasing progress but often times folks just don't allow for plateaus and pauses. The world just has a lot of demands and competition is fierce everywhere.

So what do we think about the pressure?

When you walk into some one's office and they are staring out the window while chewing on their pen cap do you think they are working hard? It's quite possible that they are taking the time to make an incredible important decision for their professional company or department. But usually our response to a scene like this is, "get to work. There isn't time to sit around and stare out windows." Being patient can often be mistaken for lack of initiative. We live in an instant gratification world. Patience does not always jive with online shopping and next day delivery.

Most futurists and economists agree that our future workforce will be based on the information and knowledge sectors. In a recent article on Bloomberg.com, a senior consultant was quoted as saying,

"“There’s an assumption that you can do it in one to two years but we have not tested this out to see if the mangers can actually do it,” Roi said. “They have to mature, they have to develop business judgment, integrity, competence, leadership in a very short period of time.”


It takes time to allow people to learn, to make mistakes, to figure things out for themselves. Quite often this process leads to ownership and feelings of investment. While I am surprised to see patience as a commonly perceived attribute in the world of Linked In I am happy to see us embrace a slower world and one where taking the time to build relationships, businesses and quality results is accepted.

For more information on patience and slowness, check out the following links:

http://www.ted.com/talks/carl_honore_praises_slowness.html

http://www.slowmovement.com/

http://www.slowfoodusa.org/

How to network...using social media or not!

How to network...using social media or not!

In the next few blog posts I will do my best to de-mystify the process of networking, define networking, define what it is not, discuss the role of social media and give some tried and true tips and hints at working a room like a professional. 

Let's get started...

So what is networking?

Networking is all about relationship development, creating bonds between you and someone else that will lead to success and improvement for both of you down the road.

Networking is simply an information exchange between you and another person. It involves establishing relationships with people who can help you advance your career in many ways.

Business networking is leveraging your business and personal connections to bring you a regular supply of new business. The concept sounds simple, doesn't it? Don't let that fool you, though. Because it involves relationship building, it can be a deceptively complex process.

Networking is an exchange of information, contacts, referrals and goodwill. Networking leads to new relationships, new opportunities and greater accomplishments.

At its essence networking is about learning. It is about finding a way for you and another person to be mutually beneficial to each other. Because at the end of the day (whether it be a business or a personal day) the only people that what to network with, hang out with you and learn from you are those that you can help become better humans.

Remember, networking happens all of the time. It can be at the lunch table, in line at the store, at a business after hours, at the gym or during your kids basketball game. 

What networking is not?

It is not a transaction. It is not making a sale. It is not about what you can get from someone.

Networking is not a transactional process. 

“It’s the difference between prostitution and a romantic relationship,” as my friend Ursula likes to say. (Follow her at http://www.saquiresearch.com/blog/). In other words if we do it in terms of selling it’s a one night stand.

The goal of good networking is to find and develop relationships with people that you can help and can help you.

So that's it?

Yup, that really is the beginning. Networking is a way to make the world a better place. You can do it everywhere and at anytime. Do not think that it is a sales process or a way to "get something" from someone. The most successful and respected networkers are those that find ways to help colleagues succeed and improve. They help others find connections and a way to improve their process.

So get out there and see if you can identify some times during your day that you could turn into networking opportunities. Begin to take stock of your connections and think of them in terms of how you can help them.

Good luck!

I have been thinking a lot about networking lately...what is the point? Why do it? How do I go about doing it? What are the benefits of taking the risk of meeting new people in a new place? Why is this something that I don't want to do?

And then I heard a friend say the other day that:

your net worth is equal to your network.

And the more I think of it he is right.

I have also been told that:

you are the average of the people that you associate with.

Each of these are probably fairly accurate statements of how important it is to have a good, solid network of the type of people that are going to help you achieve your goals, both business and personal.

Because again, what's the point of networking? Is it because we just want to hang out with folks? Well that's just being with your friends. Is it because we are naturally social creatures? That's just human nature. Or is it because we want something? We want that sale, that referral, that connection that is going to land us the next great job or gig.

Networking is how we decide which people we can collaborate with, share ideas with and make an impact with. There are always going to be people in our communities that we never really associate with even though we run into them all the time. Then there are those that become colleagues, become our collaborators, people we share our ideas with first. Most of these people come into our lives because of networking. These are the core members of our business contacts. It's critical to cultivate those friendships and relationships. It's even more important that we help them develop their networks.

It would probably be a good idea for us to know how to do it well!