Goal Setting 101

They say that the first thing you should do when you set a goal is to tell somebody!  “We’ll if I tell them, they might hold me accountable!”

Exactly!

Networking is one of those things that is always at the bottom of the list.  It often comes at inopportune times when we have things we’d rather be doing.  Often, activities are in the evening when we’d rather be home with our families.  Nothing worth while can be achieved without some sacrifice, however, there are things we can do to keep us focused.

1. Define your targets – start small.  Assign values to various activities like proactively contacting an acquaintance or renewing a friendship.  Start with three categories like emailing, meeting and networking and build from there.  Create several categories for yourself that you can “score.”

2. Set a goal – write it down.  Now that you have a point system and some totals, figure out a good target for a week.  Don’t shoot for the moon. You are trying to develop a habit.  They say it takes 21 days to form a habit.

3. Tell somebody – anybody.  Find someone who will encourage you and give you a swift kick when needed.  When we know we will be held to an account, the effort is always greater.

This simple method will enable you begin and succeed at Networking for Life.  Every week is a restart.  If you fall down, start over next week.  You are not in a sprint, this is a marathon.  The great thing about creating target activities is that if work is particularly tough one week, you can send out emails and check LinkedIn while watching the Late Show!  Start, develop a habit and then perfect your skill.  What you receive will be far greater than what you give.

The 10 Things to Nurture Networking!

I don’t know why 10 – perhaps it is 12 or 7, but over the next several months, I’ll try to explore 10 areas where you can sharpen the sword and improve your networking ability.  It is always convicting when I review topics like this because as I’m writing, I’m failing.  The key is to wake up tomorrow and try again.

1. Be an encourager – what did you notice about somebody that you can use to send them a note of encouragement.

2. Follow-up – when you get an introduction or lead, follow-up with the person who made that introduction.

3. Interesting read – ideas rule.  When you find something that you know is relevant to others, pass it on.

4. Connections – are you connecting different individuals in your network to one another?  You never know who needs somebody you know.

5. Give thanks – never let a favor go un rewarded, even if it is just a short note.

6. Important dates – remember the important dates in people’s lives.

7. Travel tips – everyone enjoys a travel tip, a cool hotel or a great restaurant.

8. Christmas in July – why stay in touch only during the winter holidays?

9. Messages – answer them promptly! 

10. Quick notes – paper is not dead yet!  Write a short note.

This is a quick list that we will explore together.  If you are serious about networking then you need to be serious about having a plan to stay in touch and nurture your network.  Nurture marketing is a term that has been used to describe the process of staying in touch without selling.  I’d like to say this top 10 will help you in Nurture Networking.  Good luck!

Top Jobs in 2010 Survey

At the end of the day, we are all looking for work!  If we are employed, we are looking for an opportunity to sell or deliver our goods and services.  If we are unemployed, we are looking for a paycheck.  I've heard people say that money is not the most important thing in the world.  That was probably spoken by the guy with a job.  Money might not be the most important thing in the world, but when you need it, it is right up there with oxygen!

Every year Careercast.com puts out a survey that evaluates the top 200 jobs in the U.S.  If you are engaged in changing careers, looking for a job or are just entering college deciding your major, a technical proficiency is a must.  The author of the study, Andrew Strieber, summarizes the top job for 2010.

“Moving down the list, math and science-related professions continue to rule, with Software Engineer ranking as the second-best job for 2010. Involving the design and maintenance of software and hardware systems, the job rates well across all categories, finishing 5th for work environment and inside the top 30 for stress, income and physical demands.  But what truly helps Software Engineer stand out from other career choices is its hiring outlook.  With low unemployment compared to the national average and projected job growth of nearly 45% through 2016, Software Engineer currently has the best hiring outlook of any available job in 2010.”

They use a very sophisticated analytical process that looks at the following dimensions:

Environment – combination of physical and emotional factors.

Income – a derivative of mid-level salary range and long term salary potential through 2016.

Hiring Outlook – a combination of three factors to determine the outlook for future jobs – employment growth, income growth and unemployment.

Physical Demands – evaluation of how physically demanding a particular job is.

Stress – includes 23 different dimensions of tasks or conditions that evoke emotional stress.

We have been talking about the great value of a degree in MIS or Computer Science for years.  If you are looking for a great career, the best place to start is acquiring technical skills, but that’s a blog for another day.

For now, check out the survey from the links below.

Careercast.com Jobs Survey

Wall Street Journal Jobs Ranking

What is the Value of Social Capital?

We’ve all heard about physical capital, it is on your balance sheet.  Human capital is found in they way your people are organized and deployed.  Intellectual capital is found in the ideas born through innovation and deployed in new ways.  But what about social capital?

Networking for Life was founded on the principles of developing and harvesting value in a network.  The challenge is unleashing the value of that network in terms of social capital.  We’d all agree that our networks have extrinsic and intrinsic value and that often, the best result is not an economic one.  Still, we need to protect those networks because they have created value for us personally.  Thus, social capital.

When I give you a lead or introduce you to somebody in my network, part of me goes with you.  The most valuable part – my reputation.  But how did that reputation become valuable?  I would contend that the value of your social capital is directly proportional to work you have done for others.  The “schmooze” will only get you so far but the value you have created for others is the basis for your social capital.

The “moment of value” occurs when two individuals or organizations exchange something of value between them.  A notion of trust is exchanged.  When I spend a life time in a market – following through on what I say I’m going to do –  I create value in my personal brand.  That brand is translates into social capital.  Social capital is monetized when those relationships create value for others.  And, as we we’ve talked before, if you create value for others, your social capital increases!

The concept of social capital is why integrity and servant leadership are so important in Networking for Life.  You’ve heard it said “it takes a life time to develop a reputation, and only seconds to destroy it.” It’s true.  Be the one who is consistently increasing his or her social capital.  You won’t regret it.

Sometimes You Just Have to Show Up!

I know you are busy.  I know there is not enough time in the day.  I know it is often hard.  But what about your dreams?  Are they big enough?

When I talk to business development individuals and active networkers, the theme is consistent – “80% of what I do is a waste of time.”  In other words, the activity cannot always be tied to a specific accomplishment.  We’ve all heard of the 80/20 rule, but imagine if you only attended the “right” events or chased the “right” deals.  Would your success rate go up?  Of course it would.  Is that possible?  Of course not.

While we can get better through experience in picking the “best” activities, we never know.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had something on my calendar before or after work and I get that ugh! feeling.  Then, the voices start. “You can miss this time, it won’t hurt anything.”

My experience is that when that voice starts talking, I start walking because in my life, every time I show up, something good happens.  I’m looking for it.  It may be an idea.  It may be a contact I’ve been wanting to meet.  It may be an old friend that I haven’t seen in a while.  It may be somebody who needs my help.

On my campus visits I try to stay around afterwards and meet students one on one for as long as they line up and for as long as I can stand.  I’m amazed at how many tell me “I came along because my friend brought me but I really got a lot out of your talk.”  

As teachers and speakers, we are in the seed sowing business.  Somebody else will have to water the ground and tend the crop.  Make no mistake, seed planting happens every time two gather to exchange ideas.  The largest trees and the greatest crops, all start with a seed.  Sometimes you just have to show up to get them!