Continued From Page 8Here, in no particular order, is a collection of ideas for speed networking that you may want to try:
- Never eat alone. Keith Ferrazi's bestseller of the same name is a brilliant guide to networking, and while the book goes much deeper, the title itself reminds us of an important lesson. Instead of munching a bagel at your desk or scarfing down a sandwich at the deli counter, turn breakfasts and lunches into opportunities to exchange news and ideas with a colleague, client, customer, or source. There's something about "breaking bread" with people that helps to generate an instant bond of fellowship and empathy, which makes mealtimes a perfect opportunity to get to know someone.
- Get wired. E-mail, instant messaging, blogging, podcasting -- all are powerful tools for adding value to what used to be downtime (commuting, jogging, waiting for your flight, the doctor's waiting room, you name it) and for time-shifting communications into those precious five- and ten-minute segments when motive and opportunity come together.
- Respond right away. When you get a message, phone call, e-mail, or letter from someone in your network, respond immediately, while the impulse is strongest, the message clearest, and the relevance highest. Don't stack the "to-dos" in a pile on the corner of your desk, expecting to find an opportunity to devote plenty of time to a "proper" reply. Instead, dash off a quick, topof-
the-head answer now, which contains 90 percent of what needs to be said. That's more valuable -- and will be more appreciated -- than a 100 percent answer two weeks from now.
- Follow the crowds. Take advantage of company gatherings, industry conventions, seminars and workshops, and other special events where many of the key people in your network will meet. Attend the parties, speeches, and presentations, and you'll be able to gather information and share news with 15 to 20 important people in less time than it would take to share one dinner with two of them. Always get in the path of the crowd. If they are headed to a seating area, have your conversations near the entry point. Near the end of the party, have your conversations near the door and say a proper goodbye.
- Create your own groups. Wish you had an opportunity to mingle with your counterparts in other departments or other companies more often? Invite a dozen key people to join you for lunch every month. Call it "The Second Thursday Club" and hold it at a great, noisy, crowded restaurant where the service is fast and the conversations are always lively. If that works, launch a few other such groups -- maybe one for people from a range of related industries, another for alumni of the same college or high school, still another for people who share nothing except a passion for creative business ideas. Gather the right people and you'll soon find that others are begging for an opportunity to join the club.
- Get your rest. Paradoxically, taking time out to refresh and recuperate is crucial to keeping your efficiency high. When you're exhausted, your mind starts blinking, ideas fade and vanish, and your response rate slows to a crawl. Learn your own body chemistry and develop a routine that helps you keep it in top form. This may mean a 20-minute nap between afternoon meetings, an hour of yoga twice a week, or a three-day weekend at the shore every two months. Whatever it takes to recharge your batteries, do it religiously lest you fall prey to burnout.
Don't wait until your schedule becomes overwhelming before you consider how you can implement speed networking into your life and your work. Time is precious, and it is limited. Remember that you must collapse time in order to expand your network.
Bosses: Stars, Comets, and the Power of the NetworkHaving a well-lit network will help you power up a great boss's star (which casts a powerful light on you in the process), or survive the kind of boss who passes through your part of the cosmos like a comet. (You know the kind: full of hot gases and very impressive at first glance, but quickly flaming out into smoke and cinders.)
If you're lucky enough to have a star-like boss, you can connect him or her into your network and share the power of what you have built. If things really go well, your network and that of your boss may combine and increase their values exponentially.
If your boss is more of a comet -- someone who doesn't understand you or care about your success -- your network may be even more critical. The boss may not like you, but if the other nodes in your network recognize your value as a contributor, your boss will have a hard time letting you go or holding you back without damaging his own place in the network.
When times are tough, the power of your network becomes most apparent.
Excerpted from 'Ignited: Managers Light Up Your Company and Career' by Vince Thompson. Copyright© 2007 by Vince Thompson. Excerpted by permission of Financial Times Press, an imprint of Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
