Читать книгу Business Networking Simplified - Les Garnas - Страница 17

You have to make connections—not just contacts. It means getting to know your networking partners at a level deeper than just superficial awareness. It means being sensitive enough to be able to walk in their shoes, caring about things that concern them, wanting to help them achieve and celebrate successes, understanding their needs, playing into their strengths, recognizing their weaknesses, and finding ways to help complement their goals. Think of the kind of connection you have with your close friends and family—you keep in close and constant touch with them and find ways to reciprocate favors.

I am not suggesting that your networking relationships will, or should, develop to the same degree of intimacy. But this is the model when it comes to cultivating your networking partners. The reason for this high degree of thoughtfulness centers on the idea that if you are not actively thinking and looking for ways to connect your networking partners with others, you will miss opportunities to do so. And sometimes significant ones will be missed, which begins to undermine the whole concept of what networking is about—continually helping one another to advance the other’s goals and objectives for mutual benefit. This level of commitment to your networking partners may sound daunting to you. Let me give you a practical example of how I apply it—to demonstrate that, over time, helping others and yourself becomes a part of how you conduct your activities, both business and personal.

Here’s my example: I read two business-centric newspapers daily, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. (Your general newspaper of choice could be the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, or something else.) All these newspapers and many others are readily available on line, through e-book, i-book and smart-phone subscriptions. If daily skimming of the business sections is too daunting, the same publications usually have “week in review” sections in the Sunday editions. The point is to stay abreast of national and international news of interest to business so you stay informed and stimulated to new thinking. In my view, reading the newspaper just to read the newspaper is a wasted effort when it takes only a few more brain cells to practice sharpening your business skills for your own networking agenda and for helping others with theirs.

In my own case, as I review the daily business news and see an article of interest, I use the article as a thought stimulator. I challenge myself by saying: “How can I use this information to advance my own business agenda?” (Translation: Does it suggest a new product/market direction for my company? An unrealized business opportunity worth exploring? A potential competitive threat I/we should be mindful of following? An emerging market/consumer attitude or behavior worth tracking for future business opportunity?) At the same time, I am also reading to be on the lookout for business opportunities for my networking partners. Knowing each of my networking partners’ business and personal interests, I review articles with their agenda in mind. In the many years I have read newspapers and journals in this way, it never fails that I find at least three to five articles a week worth acting on. With practice, then, I read beyond just looking for information; I’m looking for insight. Not a bad habit for all of us to cultivate.

Obviously, you can’t have the same depth of relationship with every networker you meet. So as you consciously expand your circle of business and social acquaintances, be discerning in choosing people with whom you’d like to develop a lasting networking partnership. Also, networking is about style. I’ve given you some insight about my style. It might feel comfortable to you, and it might not. The bottom line is that you can be successful once you understand your own style and choose to apply it. So let’s explore different styles so you can take what you’ve read so far and apply it comfortably.