Remember "connecting the dots" when you were a kid? Starting with a page full of random points, you ran a line from dot to dot (following the numbers, of course) and got a picture of a flower, animal, or your favorite cartoon character. The "hidden" picture had revealed itself and you had a piece of art to hang on the refrigerator. Good networkers approach professional relationship-building in the same way. They find ways to make connections to create something that wasn't there before. One of the most fulfilling parts of networking is making connections between two people who could benefit from knowing each other. When you look … [Read more...]
Never Eat Alone – Keith Ferrazzi
This article was originally published on January 24th, 2011. This was one of the first books on networking that I ever read and it still holds a special place for me. It was the first book that I read that married the strategies with the tactics of professional relationship building. I still highly recommend it. It was good to reread Keith Ferrazzi's Never Eat Alone 5 years after I first came across it. As I dove into it again, I realized how much of Keith's philosophy and tools I have incorporated into my own networking over the past few years. In some ways, it felt like I was going back to the source material, the original ideas, that … [Read more...]
Monday Morning Mash-Up – Creating Doesn’t Have to be Fancy
Last week I finished post-production on the audiobook version of Networking in the 21st Century. I recorded and edited it on my own with a laptop, a microphone, and a corner of the living room turned into a mini sound booth. It will be released in a few weeks, and I'm pleased with how it turned out. It doesn't have all of the polish of a recording done in an expensive studio, but it comes pretty close. The process took me back to recording DIY demos with my old band. We'd take whomever's basement we could find that had absent (or relaxed) neighbors, throw in some mics and a 4-track recorder, and go to town. If only we had the … [Read more...]
The “Punk Rock” Guide to Networking
I learned all of my best networking strategies from punks. No, really. Back in the late 90’s and early years of the 2000s, I played drums in a ska band in Chicago. You don’t have to know what ska is for the purposes of this story. But you do have to know that due to a weird historical hiccup in the 70’s, the ska and punk music scenes were inextricably linked. So while my band had a horn section and suits, most of the shows that we played included at least a few other bands that sported lots of guitar distortion, combat boots, and mosh pits. I’m often asked where I developed my networking chops. Was it at business school, running … [Read more...]
How to Network for Success in the Second Half of Your Career
Too often, the advice we hear about networking is tailored for meeting new people at networking events and having the perfect "elevator pitch". Sure, that's important, but what if you already have a robust network that you've developed over a successful career? What steps should you take if you want to leverage that network to continue to grow and re-imagine your career? Done right, successful networking for career veterans looks very different than it does for those just entering the workforce. Instead of focusing on building new connections en masse, they need to look at ways to uncover the power of existing relationships and … [Read more...]
The 5 Real Reasons Your Network Sucks
There's a good chance that your network sucks. I don't know you personally, and I haven't gone through your contact list, but I'd be willing to bet that you're not getting a lot out of your networking. Most people don't. I'm sure that you might have gotten a job offer here or there, or maybe the occasional prospect referral. That's fantastic. Done right, though, networking should provide a steady source of opportunities and information. There could many reasons that your network isn't getting you what it could. The first step in fixing the problem is knowing what the problem is. Here are five reasons your network may suck: 1. It's … [Read more...]
Networking in the 21st Century is Here!
I'm so excited to say that you can now get Networking in the 21st Century: Why Your Network Sucks and What to Do About It on Amazon! It's available in both digital and paperback formats. Click here to get it on Amazon! If any of my work has helped you in the past, here’s an easy way to return the favor. Every single mention or purchase of the book on the launch day helps this new book find its way in the world. How to help TODAY: Buy the book on launch day :) on Kindle and paperback Post on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn with the link Email your friends and family who might find it valuable Post an Amazon.com review when you … [Read more...]
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