The Power of Networking

Building and maintaining your network is an absolute must today; it could very well mean the difference between landing the job, getting the deal signed with a new client or finding the right house to live in.  The trouble for me is that “networking” is such an enormous concept, it implies many things and could easily be something that you work 4 hours a day. . . . and I don’t want that.

Like everything else networking  can be broken down into a repeatable process with steps:

• Determine your starting point
• Build on existing relationships
• Develop new relationships
• Maintain your network

Determining your starting point is easy.  We all know other people, these people form your existing network and represent your starting point today.  List them out in a notebook, on your computer, your phone, whatever!  Your existing may need to be strengthened, you have to build on existing relationships.  This takes time and the best approach is to do it in small pieces, one person at a time.

With your existing network strengthened it is time to build on it, here is where you need to reach out to new people.  This is where the possibilities are endless.  You can:

• join a business networking group
• attend a church social
• participate in a local chamber of commerce meeting
• connect with someone new on LinkedIn
• join a civic organization
• go to a party
• etc, etc, etc

If you approach events and meeting new people from the perspective of growing your network you’ll come back to the process.  The networking process is very simple and is completely aligned with the organic process of relationship development.

The key to networking is building relationships and like any other relationship this implies a two way street.  This isn’t an exercise in “me, me, me” rather it is about nurturing relationships so that both parties benefit.  To do this you need to be prepared to invest some time.  Establishing rapport with someone and creating a good relationship are two different things.  It is easy to establish rapport quickly but the relationship takes time.

Its not just the extroverted, high energy, super caffeinated crowd that is good at networking.  Anyone can do it.  Recognizing the personality type you have will allow you to create your own networking strategy.  If your not so comfortable starting a discussion by talking about yourself then don’t.  Take the pressure off yourself and ask the other person questions about them.  You can focus on that person learn about them and they understand you are interested and can respond.

A note about the Internet now.  Sites like Facebook and LinkedIn are fantastic ways to strengthen and build your network but the same rules apply.  Even though the Internet is “facilitating” this relationship it is still a two way street.  For me sites like this are good but the real relationship building comes when talk with someone face to face.  Challenge yourself to get out and meet new people and if you can’t do it in person then try the phone.  I usually use social media to connect with people I already know and if I do meeting them “online” then you better believe my goal is catch up with them in person.

I want to come back to the time component of networking.  Keeping the network strong means maintaining and this is something you need to include your normal operations.  Take 10 minutes a day or 30 mins a week to network.  You probably don’t need much more than that.

Exercise – Add one person to your network this week and have fun doing it!  Find one new person who shares a similar interest with you.  Send them an email or call them on the phone today and see if you can meet in person.  Now your network has grown by one!

Podcast: Interview with Liz Lynch

Liz Lynch is author of Smart Networking: Attract a Following In Person and Online (McGraw-Hill, 2008), the first book to show how to seamlessly integrate social media with traditional face-to-face networking to maximize results and minimize effort. She’s a sought-after speaker who brings a practical and insightful perspective to building relationships that has connected with a global audience. Her printed and audio products have sold on six continents, she’s been invited to speak at conferences and organizations around the world, and her writings have been translated into multiple languages.

Liz has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and on CNN, ABC News, Fox Business News, CNBC.com, Forbes.com, and Businessweek.com. She writes for PersonalBrandingBlog.com, one of the top 50 marketing blogs according to Ad Age, and has presented at companies as diverse as Boeing, KPMG, 3M and Google.

Liz is also founder of the Center for Networking Excellence, a company that develops products, programs and seminars to help entrepreneurs and professionals get clients, build their businesses, and accelerate their careers through networking. Her bottom-line approach grew from her experience in corporate America working at some of the top firms in their industries—Goldman Sachs, Disney, Booz Allen & Hamilton, and Time Warner—to hone her strategic, analytical and financial expertise. Liz holds an engineering degree from the University of California, Berkeley and an MBA from Stanford University.

Liz is a classy lady and was fantastic to talk with.  She has wonderful insight and delivers a very timely message.  We look forward to keeping in touch with her!

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Discover the Expert In You

The myth of the expert has been debunked. Gone is the perception that an expert is one of the elite few enlightened beyond the limits of the rest of us mere mortals. That’s not to say we’re all experts as that is certainly not the case, nor should it be (you know what they about too many cooks in the kitchen). Expertise is a kind of power that can be developed and used as a tool to fulfill life’s objectives. Like any other power it as effective and good as the person wielding it. Who has the ability to develop this power?

The answer is easy. . . . anyone.

Is expert power created over-night? It most certainly is not. Does it take time, energy, and resources to develop? It most certainly does. Does the average person have sufficient amounts of time, energy and resources to develop this power? Yes, and if not the effort to gain sufficient levels is relatively easy.

Let’s look at a common definition of the word expert. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines the word as “having, involving, or displaying special skill or knowledge derived from training or experience”. There are four key words from this definition to focus on right now; skill, knowledge, training, and experience. Note that there are no qualitative or quantitative descriptions surrounding these key words (and I challenge you to find any such descriptions in any definition of this word). It is therefore logical that you can be an expert in anything and what it takes to become an expert in terms of training and experience is largely open for interpretation. Clearly, interpretations have been made in lots of different domains. I will use a commercial airline pilot as an example. The pilot is, without a doubt, an expert and there is a very rigid process one has to go through to attain the skills and documented experience to achieve the expert status of a commercial airline pilot. However, this age of the Internet has seen experts pop up in all kinds of different fields from Russian kettle bell training to designing your Facebook profile installing and configuring your home theater system. These folks claim expertise just like the airline pilot does and they come at us from every corner of the media. So, what really makes an expert an expert?

The answer is perception. I will go so far as to say it’s more about perception than anything else. This is not something to take advantage of but it is something to plant firmly in the front of your mind. The actions to be perceived as an expert are clearly definable and should be taken right along side the actions of actually becoming an expert. Once you are perceived as an expert you will harness expert power (relative to other types of power such as formal, referent, etc.)

What does this mean for us? It means that path for you to become an expert is not insurmountable, and is, in fact, very achievable. The first step is to figure out what you’re an expert in already or can be very soon. Create a list of your potential expertise areas categorizing them as skills, knowledge, training and experience. This will help make sure you think about as many different things are possible.

- What specific skills do you have?
- What specific knowledge have you gained throughout your life?
- What special training have you had?
- What kind of experience do you have?

Brainstorm your list, leave it alone for a little while and then come back and go over it again. If you have multiple possibilities you need to prioritize them based on what you like.

Next, we need to discuss how to develop and refine this expertise but that is another topic for later!

What is an ‘Expert’ anyway?

Listeners to the podcast would have heard Phil and I discuss the importance of establishing your expertise in a particular area, preferably a niche.  But does it mean to be a so called ‘expert’?  It’s not as difficult as you might think.

First, let’s establish what the word expert means.

As a noun the word expert is define as:

a person who has special skill or knowledge in some particular field; specialist; authority

Used as an adjective the word expert means:

possessing special skill or knowledge; trained by practice; skillful or skilled

Some synonyms which are often used for the term expert include:

connoisseur, master, experienced, proficient, dexterous

So you can see that there is no requirement that you possess a Ph.D in the subject, there is no limitation to the number of years of experience you must have to qualify.  Too often we place these unnecessary barriers for ourselves when we say, “Oh, nobody would EVER want to hear what I have to say about THAT subject.”  We’ve defeated ourselves before we have even started.

The Importance of Relativity

Here are a few things to keep in mind when establishing your expertise in a particular subject or business area.

1. There is plenty of room for experts of all kinds in any market.  No one has a monopoly on ‘expertise’ in any subject.  True some people know more than others but some who know less may be better at communicating their expertise to an audience.  Which one do you think gets more business?
2. Expertise is often geographically relevant.  It’s great that you are an expert real estate advisor in Chicago but that has nothing to do with someone carving out expertise in Miami, better yet…South Beach…still better is an expert on properties in a specific 10 block grid.  Over time you can be the ‘expert’ of a niche which is virtually unassailable by others trying to enter your small but heavily defensible kingdom.
3. Expertise is always relevant.  Look, I am really good at changing the snow tires on my car.  I have the process down to less than 30 minutes.  Among my neighbors and my family, I am ‘the expert’.  My mother knows more about planting, raising, pruning and tending to roses than almost anyone.  It’s not her business and she does not have a degree in horticulture but it is her passion and her hobby and people from all over come by to ask her advice and to get tips and insight.  In their mind she is an ‘expert’.

Make a list of all the things you are actually good at.  Start off with a general list but but then specify.  Here is an example:

• Baking
  • Baking desserts
    • Cakes
      • Chocolate Cakes
        • German Chocolate Cakes

You may be able to ‘establish your expertise’ on a very specific subject.  But it’s not a big leap for other people who have eaten and enjoyed your German Chocolate Cakes to believe that you can also bake other types of cakes as well.

So, start with what you’ve got and build on it.  We are all experts at at least one thing…

Podcast: Interview with Jay Platt

This week on the podcast Phil and Jake are joined by Mr. Jay Platt of JayPlatt.com.

Jay Platt is a highly accomplished adventure athlete, and nationally recognized speaker, author, and peak performance coach. He is the executive director of the “No Matter What!” Foundation, a non-profit organization whose fundraising ventures support charitable groups including the Lance Armstrong Foundation, Wounded Warrior Project, and others.

Prior to his current position, Jay served his country for fifteen years as a United States Marine. Enlisting in the Marine Corps at age seventeen, he saw tours of duty throughout the world, taking him from Parris Island, SC to the far reaches of Southeast Asia, and various points in between.

In the fall of 1998, Jay’s Marine Corps career was brought to an unexpectedly sudden halt when complications from a unusual cancer syndrome forced his medical retirement. He was initially transferred to the Temporary Disabled Retired List, then later was fully retired as a Gunnery Sergeant.

Refusing to allow the disease that attacked his body and ended his career to beat him, he chose, instead, to use his setback to prove that it’s not what happens to you that matters, but your response to it.

Since his retirement from the Marine Corps, Jay has worked tirelessly to make a difference in the lives of others by raising hundreds of thousands of dollars through various fundraising adventures, and has stacked up some pretty impressive accomplishments in the process.

In 1999, he completed a grueling southbound thru-hike of the more than 2,100 mile Appalachian Trail, becoming one of fewer than 300 people, at the time, ever to have done so.

And in 2005, he swam more than 1 ½ miles from Alcatraz Island to San Francisco (with both his hands and feet bound!) becoming one of only three people in history to complete the difficult swim in such a way.

Jay has been featured in numerous magazines and newspapers, and has been a guest on every major TV network and on dozens of radio shows. His diverse clientele includes the National Institutes of Health, IBM, TAP Pharmaceuticals, and the United States Naval Academy.

Jay is the author of No Matter What! How to be Unstoppable, Despite the Obstacles, Starting Today, A Time to Walk: Life Lessons Learned on the Appalachian Trail, and is a contributing author in both Success is a Journey, and Transformational Leadership.

He currently resides in Lake Park, Georgia where he lives and loves life with his wife, Paz, and their three dogs, Jake, Sadie, and Molly.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.