HUDDLE TIME
Folklore and Facts
Understanding the role of relationships in business.
Genuine networking is not swapping business cards; rather, it's the active process of building and managing productive relationships. Networking is a controversial subject. Just the term itself elicits strong feelings, positive and negative. Some people swear by the practice of networking; others swear at it. But no matter how you feel about networking, a growing body of research reveals that success in business depends on technical competence and the ability to build strong relationships and networks of relationships.
It's not enough to excel at the technical part of your job. You also have to excel at the art and science of networking. There are myths and folklore about networking that are common barriers to learning how to network well. The folklore arises from misperceptions about the role and importance of relationships in business.
Consider some of the most common folklore and facts:
FOLKLORE: Tough-minded business people don't consider networking and relationship-building to be important because the impact of these "soft skills" can't be scientifically proven.
FACT: The benefits of networking can be scientifically measured. Dozens of scientific studies reveal that those who network well are more effective, paid better, promoted faster, healthier, happier—and even live longer.
Consider just a few of these additional facts:
- Managers with large, well-diversified networks get promoted faster and at younger ages.
- People who find jobs through personal contacts find better, more satisfying, better paying jobs.
- People with strong social support networks are less likely to become ill.
- Leaders who take charge of new situations are much more likely to be successful if they build solid working relationships.
- Strong customer relationships save money. It's much cheaper to keep an old customer than to get a new one.
- Supplier partnerships yield lower costs and better quality products and service.
FOLKLORE: Success in business depends primarily on technical skills, training, and abilities. If you're good enough technically, you don't need to learn how to network well.
FACT: Many people think technical expertise is enough, but a vast amount of research shows that it's not. The most successful business leaders are the best relationship builders, but they're not necessarily the best technically. Research shows that those who ignore or neglect their relationship-building responsibilities "top out" early in their careers. The main cause of failure for managers who take charge of a new situation is neglecting to build strong personal relationships. As you advance in your career, relationship-building becomes a larger and more significant part of your responsibilities. Those who benefit the most from networking build large, well-diversified networks that include a wide range of internal and external relationships.
FOLKLORE: Networking is somewhat unethical, even "sleazy."
FACT: Networking and relationships can be misused and abused. Con artists, for example, cultivate trust (or what might be called pseudo-trust) in order to defraud, trick, and swindle. But those who misuse and abuse relationships are always found out. Genuine relationships are based on real trust, mutual understanding, and mutual benefits.
Genuine networking is the process of developing such relationships. It's the only road to long-run success. Concepts like networking come with so much negative baggage that many people simply reject the idea of managing relationships. These negative associations are much more than unfortunate—they threaten your ability to be successful in today's business world. Those who succeed in business and life are those who are better, faster, and smarter at building relationships.
FOLKLORE: Networking and relationship-building skills can't be learned. Some people are just naturally good at it. They just happen to be "people oriented."
FACT: Relationship-building and networking skills can be learned by anyone. What you need is new information about the importance and power of relationships and concrete advice on how to put this information into practice.
Adapted by Graham Southwell, BNI-NZ, from an original article by Dr. Wayne Baker on www.humaxnetworks.com. Used with permission.
HUDDLE TIME
When Was the Last Time You Upgraded Your Business?
By Michael Angier
It seems that we constantly have to upgrade our computer software and equipment. We only use our programs and computers a few months before it makes sense to replace them. It's not that they're completely obsolete; it's just that there's usually something much better and often for only a bit more cost.
Do we treat our business models that way? Not very often. If we're lucky enough to find a business model that works, we usually keep on using it—to our detriment—with little modification.
Why should our business be any different than the tools and equipment we use? It's critical that we make regular changes that will keep pace with our customers, our competitors, and the market.
Business is changing more rapidly than ever before. What worked last year may not work any longer. Entire industries are emerging and fading in less than a decade. To be competitive, we must be able to change with everything else that's changing around us.
Tweaking and improving what we already have may be sufficient. But often we need to make more radical changes. Our business model must sometimes be scrapped and replaced with another.
Obstacles
1. It's easier to keep doing what we're doing. We're all creatures of habit and we have a tendency to dig holes deeper instead of digging new holes. This keeps us focused on what we're doing but not necessarily what we're attempting to accomplish.
2. We think making a change labels what we were doing as wrong. Our stakeholders expect consistency. They don't like change any more than we do; most business leaders are reluctant to let go of the old way and embrace the new, because they fear being judged as having been doing it wrong.
3. The staff doesn't like change. The owner or manager who is willing to lead and affect change often has a tough role because of a “we've-always-done-it-this-way” mentality. This resistance is a serious challenge.
4. Customers don't ALWAYS know what's best. Listening to our customers and attempting to fulfill their needs is a valuable practice. Certainly we need to help our clients solve problems and overcome challenges, but we can't DEPEND on our customers for this. If we do, we'll miss many opportunities to lead the market with products and services that our customers didn't even know they wanted.
Solutions
1. Embrace change as a good thing and not just something to be tolerated. As long as we make what we were doing wrong, we thwart our ability to make good decisions. When we lock onto the old, we have little ability to welcome the new. Even a trapeze artist has to let go of one trapeze in order to catch the next one. Develop the attitude that we're making an improvement instead of not doing what we did before.
2. Nurture a culture of creativity and innovation. A world-class business leader knows that they must create an environment for creativity. They know they need to always reward thinking outside of the box. The safety to question anything and everything is paramount.
3. Conduct What's Not World Class meetings. On a regular basis, small groups and large should be convened to challenge what's being done, what's not being done and how it's done. Every aspect of the business must be looked at with a fresh eye and an open mind. What needs to be scrapped? What needs to be added? What no longer serves our customer? Where are we looking good and where are we looking bad? Establish priorities and take action.
4. Make a habit of holding these meetings and you'll start to see real progress. You'll find that the process will continue even after the formal meeting ends.
5. Recognize that your biggest expense is the money you DON'T make. Every business leaves money on the table. It's our job to discover ways in which we can maximize all of our revenue. There's always a way to do this. Pretend your company is being bought by another corporation—what are some things they might do to uncover hidden revenues?
6. Step back and away from your business and your industry. Critical to creating a world class business is to constantly gain new perspectives on what you do and how you do it. Abraham Lincoln once said, "If I had three hours to chop down trees, I'd spend two hours sharpening my blade." That's what getting away to conferences, symposiums, classes and master mind meetings can do for you—sharpen your upgrade blade.
7. Read, study, listen, explore. Take every chance to expose yourself to new ideas and be reminded of things you already know. And don't make it exclusive to your industry. If you're clear on your mission and your purpose as well as the major problems you're striving to solve, you'll get ideas from anywhere and everywhere. Read something unrelated to your work. Study something dramatically different from what you normally do. See for yourself how your perspective will improve.
We need to keep what works and change what doesn't. We need to stay fresh and have a better perspective and yet remain consistent with the things that support our mission.
Being a business leader requires one to constantly balance the unchanging principles with strategies that need to be tweaked and updated. Constant and never-ending improvement is the watchword of business in the 21st century.
I urge you to look for what systems, models, departments, processes—and yes, even people—need upgrading.
© Michael Angier. SuccessNet.org and WorldClassBusiness.com help you and your business grow. Get their free report 10 Pillars of a World Class Business by sending an email to wcb@SuccessNet.org No-cost subscriptions, memberships, eCourses, eBooks and SuccessMark Cards are available at http://SuccessNet.org and http://WorldClassBusiness.com InfoPlease@SuccessNet.org
HUDDLE TIME
Unemployment Saga
By Sam Schwartz, Executive Director, BNI Northern Virginia
You wake up in a sweat one morning and you realize that your source of income has been taken away from you. You start wondering how to pay the bills and put food on the table. If you are like I am and have experienced that, you never want to have this feeling again.
As a BNI Executive Director, I realized that I could do something about it. The idea came to me from one of my members, who found himself in this situation. His question was, "Can you help?"
After a little research, I learned that about 90 percent of people who found employment did so through personal introductions and networking. As an organization that has the motto "Givers Gain," it was clear to me what I should do: help those individuals who found themselves in this predicament by offering them the opportunity to network with the best networkers in the world—my BNI members. After getting approval from Dr. Ivan Misner to run an experimental program in my region, BNINOVA offered two seats in every chapter for unemployment categories, or "people in transition," as we like to call it. The membership committee handles their applications like a regular member, checking backgrounds and making sure that each is a good fit for the chapter and that the chapter is a good fit for them.
We already have numerous success stories, where individuals have found employment within a few weeks of their joining BNINOVA. The commentary that came from all those who participated in the program was appreciation for the opportunity to meet on a weekly basis with up-beat, positive and supportive members of their chapter. That, alone, gave them the strength and support they needed to continue the quest of finding employment.
As a benefit to the chapter, the joy of helping an individual in need bonded chapter members. It took the focus away from the "little stuff" and put all the "chapter politics" in real-life perspective. Below are some comments from participants in the program.
"Our chapter has found this newly created category to be a very viable one for all involved. We have been able to help two individuals with their respective job searches and benefited from referrals they have passed, as well. I would be more than happy to endorse this program to any chapters that are considering it, as it truly exemplifies the 'Givers Gain' principle."
Bob McCoy, President
Alexandria the Great Chapter
"I am one of the greatest fans of your 'In Transition' membership initiative. We in the McLean Business Forum have hosted a number of such persons."
Bob Marik
The Litchfield Group
HUDDLE TIME
Job Seeker Success Story
Juli Monroe
Dr. Ivan Misner asked me to share my BNI job seeker success story. I was laid off from my former employer in October of last year, but I didn't seriously start looking for a job until January of this year. My outplacement service taught me that networking was the way to get a new job. I knew nothing about networking, but I was willing to give anything a try. I signed up for a brown bag lunch seminar on PDAs as a tentative first step in networking.
Dave Boyd of the McLean Business Forum was the facilitator of the seminar.
When I mentioned that I was looking for a job he suggested I try BNI. So I looked for a chapter and joined the Kingstowne Chapter. After two meetings as a member, one of my fellow members said I was just the kind of person his company was looking for. I went in for an interview. I liked the company and decided making a career change from project management to sales didn't sound like a bad deal. I started with Windows Plus in March, have since found a new BNI chapter to join, and am loving my new career.
I really like the idea of BNI and am working hard to become a good member. I realize it will take some time for BNI to really take off for me, but I believe in taking the long view, so I'm working at building relationships, confident that it will pay off in the future. Thank you, BNI!
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