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!
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!
Write it in the Sky; Blogging gets you there
Do you have something you really want to say? Do you have the urge to sit down at your computer and publish your thoughts for others to read/see/hear? Are you an expert waiting to get published? Are you an aspiring author? Do you just plain like to write things down?
There are lots more questions I could ask to keep you thinking about the all the reasons to create a blog. The bottom line is this, there is no better way than blogging for anyone to get published, whatever their reason. If you decided that you want your own blog that is fantastic! Moving forward from here though requires some thought and just a little planning.
Hosted or non-hosted blog?
How much flexibility do you need? If you want to control it all and retain the most flexibility you’ll want to host the blog yourself. With this solution you control the code, the complete look , the functionality and are not limited by things like storage and number of users. If those things don’t matter then let someone else host the blog. As an example consider a blog set up on WordPress.com versus downloading and installing a WordPress instance yourself from WordPress.org.
What Kind of Blog Technology
Now you need to think about which blogging technology to use. WordPress is without a doubt the best choice here!
Installation and Maintenance
If you are going to host the blog yourself and pay for third part hosting you probably have access to a cPanel. This is the best way to install a blog once you have purchased your domain. The blog instance can be installed with only a couple of clicks of the mouse from Fantastico. Don’t forget about keeping up-to-date with the latest version of the blog code. Updating WordPress is very easy from within the administrative area.
Plugins
Plugins and widgets allow you to add functionality and further customize your blog. The ones you install and use will be driven by your purpose for the Blog. There are lots of plugins to choose from and this is good because it means you don’t be a programmer to add functionality. It does mean that you have to know how to configure and optimize them though.
SEO
Again, this something to think about based on the purpose of your blog. You may choose to keep your blog hidden from the search engine spiders. But, if you intend on “getting word out” you are going to have to know what to do here. There are plugin and template customization solutions that can help here along with some good old fashion key word analysis.
Social Media Integration (think Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc.)
Do you need to do this? If so, what gets integrated? Do you need a strategy to figure out which social media outlets are best for you? Are you involved in other groups that can help drive traffic to your site? These are some of the questions you need to consider.
Podcasting
Will you integrate and podcasts and video on your blog? There are some great solutions for podcasting like Blubrry’s PowerPress. Podcasting is such a great way to drive traffic to your blog and further establish your expertise.
There are lots of things to consider when thinking about blogging. There are lots of different reasons for having a blog and those reasons will determine the choices you make in setting up yours. Blogging is the best way to get published and become the expert!
Travel is Good for the Soul
Traveling is one of the true joys in life. It is not the the actual getting there but it is the experience of new places, new people, and new things. It is the new experience that enriches my life.
I have not been what you call a “stationary” person. I don’t lead a nomadic existence by any stretch of the immagination either. I like to move around, and get these new experiences. Having the ability and the resources to travel to new places, and even more importantly to allow my family to enjoy these places is fantastic. The perspective you gain when traveling can really help keep you and the rest of the family grounded in reality.
Language and culture are fantastic things to learn. My kids now speak multiple languages fluently. Obviously, this does not happen with week long trip. To really learn the language and the culture you have spend longer periods of time and I think that is a different kind of traveling. Extended traveling usually requires a good bit of planning, but it is absolutely worth doing.
There is much to be gained from the shorter trip as well. You just need to make it happen. We all have places we would like to see, the ones written down on the “Places to Go Before I . . . . ” list, you know the one. Plan the trip and have fun.
One of the best ways to start a trip is to do a little virtual exploration. Nothing is better for virtual exploration than Google Earth. Make a list of the places you’ve been thinking about and check them out. This makes for great conversation around the family dinner table! Now you need to take the steps necessary to turn the virtual exploration into a real exploration.
We are off to Italy next week to experience some of what the region of Tuscany has to offer. We’re looking for the next place that we’ll relocate to for an extended stay and Italy may be calling my name!
Get out there and experience the world!
Bar B Que the World Over
Food culture (and the variations thereof) is one of the most interesting aspects of travel. I have tasted food from around the globe, much of it good, some of it not so good! Everybody has their culinary points of reference. For example, I grew up on the east coast of the U.S. eating lots of BBQ (North Carolina style!). We are talking minced pork on a good bun with coleslaw on top. That is BBQ. . . . right?
Here is what I have discovered. . . BBQ is, in fact, universal, but the definition has many different interpretations. Friday last week I tested my BBQ point of reference.
I am now in the middle of Norway and was driving through a small town when I saw a big, red sign that said Bar B Que. My mouth started to water as I immediately thought of that bun piled high with minced pork and a huge scoop of slaw.
My wife and I went in, we placed our order, “Two BBQs please” we said and then waited. Great smells wafted through the air, I was so hungry I could barely stand it. After about 5 minutes the guy rounded the corner with our order.
What I got was not what I was expected, there was no bun and there sure wasn’t any slaw! I was holding a what looked like a large pita stuffed with chuncks of meat, lettuce, corn and some kind of sauce (not the BBQ sauce I would expect!). Ok, at this point it was time for the real test. . . yes, it is very good, but certainly not what I would have called BBQ. Another bite, wow, this is good I said out loud! By now I had forgotten what it should look like and I am concentrated on getting more in my mouth. The whole thing was gone in about 5 minutes.
BBQ really means kebab here. The meat is either lamb or chicken and it is cooked with a very nice flavor. The sauce is hot and has a certain “zing” to it. Getting it “to go” means getting it in a large pita. It is not what you would call healthy, rather like fast food, but it sure is good!
As you can see, I sure did enjoy it!