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by Rick Baker
On Jun 3, 2010
For business, I define networking as: meeting new people and re-meeting people in a business or social context.
People will succeed at networking when they understand themselves, recognize other people have their own interests, and spend the time and expend the effort to do the necessary work.
Understanding Oneself: generally, we have a pretty good idea of what we like and we dislike. Do we like crowds? Some do, some do not. Are we proficient with computers? Some are some are not. Could we walk up to a complete stranger, introduce ourselves, and walk away 5 minutes later with a pretty good idea about whether or not we could ever do business with that stranger? Some could, some could not. Could we go to our LinkedIn account, do some quick searching, press some keys, and within 5 minutes find a probable client for one of our friends, who had asked for a quick favour? Some could, some could not. The main things are to understand our strengths and understand our weaknesses. It will be a shame to not fix certain weaknesses. It will be a shame to not take full advantage of all strengths.
Other People Have Their Own Interests: that statement surprises none of us…or, at least, very few of us. Many people are preoccupied with what’s in it for me? in a huge way. None of those people are good networkers. That bears repeating: people who are preoccupied with what’s in it for me? can not be good at networking. Networking is a two-person process. While there may be many people on a chat line or gathered in a group at an event, networking boils down to a one-on-one interpersonal process. Both people must connect with one another. Networking is a process of growing positive feelings between two people and finding the extent of the common ground shared by those two people. A person consumed by what’s in it for me? has no room for common ground and that sort of personality quickly pushes away most folks.
Spend the Time and Expend the Effort to do the Necessary Work: networking is a process that can not be rushed. Rushing the process will result in failure. Networking is about doing work to connect with people who you believe you could do business with at some point in the future. The future could be 10 seconds after your 30-second commercial ends – however, for most of us that is highly unlikely. That’s one of the reasons I am not that keen on 30-second commercials. There is a fascinating fine line between being efficient at networking and being just another what’s in it for me? person. To be efficient at networking we must be able to meet many people, quickly initiate interchanges with them, quickly impress them in a positive way [even if just a little], quickly understand whether they positively impress us, quickly understand whether or not we could do business with them at some point in the future, and quickly terminate all the interchanges without undoing the good stuff that was accomplished. As mentioned, there’s a fascinating fine line between that work and the work done by all those unsuccessful what’s in it for me? people. The key is being truly interested in the other person.
Links to other blogs about networking:
More about networking in future blogs…
by Rick Baker
On Jun 1, 2010
Lately, I have been spending quite a bit of time talking with quite a few people about networking.
The people I meet have disparate views about networking.
Some folks tweet dozens of times a day, follow other folks on Twitter and Facebook, and tell me ‘getting your name out there’ is what it is all about. Other folks tell me they attend local business-social events and don’t find this networking to be productive.
For business, I define networking as: meeting new people and re-meeting people in a business or social context.
3 points for networking success:
- understanding yourself…that’s the best starting point
- networking is a people-process…it takes 2 and it takes time
- to obtain value from networking be prepared…you must work at it
Q: Are Facebook and LinkedIn and Twitter networking?
A: Yes, under the above definition, networking does not have to be face-to-face it can be face-to Facebook, etc. In other words social networking is a type of networking. Face-to-face networking is another type of networking. And, for most business people both types are networking can provide value.
Q: How do selling and business networking differ?
A: A successful selling process happens when one party feels persuaded to purchase something from another party. A successful business networking process happens when two people understand enough about one another to assess whether or not there is a probability for them to do business together at some future time. Networking is distinct from selling/buying. It is a good precursor to selling/buying…networking paves the path to selling/buying.
Links to other blogs about networking:
More about networking in future blogs…
by Rick Baker
On May 27, 2010
Lately, I have been spending quite a bit of time talking with quite a few people about networking.
The people I meet have disparate views about networking.
At one extreme, some think every person they meet is a potential client. They spend a great deal of time explaining [to almost anyone and everyone they meet] what they do and why that’s so important, etc. At the other extreme, some cringe at the thought of attending another cocktail party. As the years pass they get deeper and deeper into their shells, isolating themselves. In between the extremes, the majority of people go about doing what they describe as ‘networking’ without setting plans or guidelines or assessing the results of their activity.
In addition, many people are now saying, “What used to work does not work any more”.
Many have asked for simple answers…”How can I improve my networking?”
Obviously, everyone is different. What works for some folks will not work for others. One person’s comfort zone will not necessarily be the same as the next person’s comfort zone.
So, the first Networking step is spending some time thinking about oneself:
- What are my interpersonal strengths?
- What are my interpersonal weaknesses?
- Have I educated myself and learned enough about 21st Century networking?
- What do the results of my past-actions tell me about my networking skills?
- On a scale of 1-to-10, how do I rate my networking talent?
For business:
Networking is meeting new people and re-meeting people in a business or social context.
That’s the way I define networking.
More on networking in future blogs…
by Rick Baker
On Apr 6, 2010
A Prescription for Business Prosperity
Fellow Business Leaders,
Imagine your doctor has a finger on the pulse of your business. Your doctor says the vital signs are good enough...but…they could be better. The doctor says your business would benefit from an injection of profit-generating sales.
Now, imagine your doctor hands you a prescription that reads'
"YOUR PEOPLE MUST EXPAND THEIR NETWORKING SKILLS"
Where would you go to fill that prescription?
Your Chamber of Commerce has a suggestion that makes a lot of sense. You should go to the new University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy, Tuesday, April 13th, at 5:00 p.m.
That's when the Chamber introduces its new networking event: Chamber Connections, sponsored by Rogers.
The first Rogers Chamber Connections event has an HST theme coupled with an awesome venue so the event provides 3 opportunities of value to business leaders and their people:
1. An opportunity to begin to take networking to a higher, profit-generating plane. That applies whether or not you want to lead your employees by example or have other successful 'Connectors', including Directors of your Chamber Board, help your people hone and expand their networking skills.
2. An opportunity to learn about HST. Jane Adams of KPMG will be providing a concise explanation and Jane and other experts will answer your questions so your company handles HST implementation as simply and smoothly as possible.
3. An opportunity to tour our community's new School of Pharmacy...a fine example of vibrant innovation.
More details are provided in the attached event flyer.
As a Director of The Greater Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber of Commerce, I'm honoured to have the privilege of sending this note to you, introducing the inauguration of Rogers Chamber Connections.
The leaders of your Chamber and the founding committee for this event look forward to serving you at Rogers Chamber Connections.
Yours truly,
W.F.C. (Rick) Baker
CEO
Spirited Investors Corporation
by Rick Baker
On Mar 9, 2010
There has been much talk about networking recently.
For example, I have the privilege of working with one of The Greater Kitchener Waterloo Chamber of Commerce’s networking committees…the recently announced Chamber Connections. The Greater KW Chamber is working to refresh and enhance its events, formerly held as BA5. The first new event will be held in April. Here’s a link to the Chamber’s website. www.greaterkwchamber.com
Recently, I listened to the audio-book ‘Greater Than Yourself’, written by Steven Farber www.stevefarber.com In the book Farber recommends we help other business folks achieve their potential. He uses the name Greater Than Yourself [GTY] to describe his philosophy. He provides a simple set of guidelines on how to go about doing GTY, which can perhaps be summed up as philanthropize for life. At least, that’s how one of the characters in the book described it.
Farber used a story-telling style to convey his Greater Than Yourself message. The writing style reminded me of the Og Mandino classic ‘The Greatest Miracle in the World ’and our friend Dave Chilton's major best seller ‘The Wealthy Barber’. The author or a very-similar character plays the lead role in the book and he learns as the reader learns.
To my thought about networking…
This thought hit me: the Greater Than Yourself philosophy is networking at its best extreme.
To truly network, we must expand ourselves and we must give to others. We must have a sincere interest in helping other folks achieve their goals. We must give without keeping track of favours owed.
More on networking in future blogs…
by Rick Baker
On Dec 24, 2009
This is blog #2 in an 8-blog series about Powerful Answers to 7 important business questions. The series is intended to be an introduction to strategic intuition and strategic planning.
Preamble: Perhaps you have life-goals, including a life-goal for the business-work part of your life? If you do then that makes it easier to answer Question 1. If you do not have a life-goal for business and would appreciate a simple tool designed to help people write one out then let me know. I created a tool called My Business© about 10 years ago. I can email a copy of it to you.
Question 1: What will your business look like when you are finished building it?
'The Manufacturing Innovation Network (MIN) is the central place for local manufacturers in the Waterloo Region to:
- Build Awareness - raise awareness of products and services manufactured in the region both on a local and global scale.
- Network - improve collaboration and knowledge sharing between companies and industry professionals in an effort to create shared best practices, standard protocols and new innovations. Members can join peer groups, create professional profiles and access experts in blogs and online discussion forums.
- Trade - a centralized e-marketplace for buying, selling and promoting goods and services online, such as classified ads, job board and a comprehensive company directory.'
Postamble: Question 1 is around business Vision and Mission. Waterloo MIN expresses its raison d'être in a clear, straightforward statement. Clear, straightforward statements are powerful. Written statements are powerful.
Trivia: according to William Duggan, the word strategy did not enter the English language until 1810. The word tactics had been in English dictionaries almost 200 years before the word strategy arrived.
Footnotes: Statements of Vision apply to organizations and also to people. Napoleon Hill [ www.naphill.org] called this definite purpose and chief aim in life. My observations indicate - if a person has a personal Vision then it is easier for that person to create a Vision for his/her organization. So, I created a 'tool' many years ago, to help people set and write out their thoughts about what they want to accomplish during their business careers. I called the tool My Business©. Heres a link to that tool - My Business©.
The next blog will consider Question 2:
What HUMAN strengths will you use to build your business?
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