May/June 2006
Art of NetworkingThe Choice Is Yours
Why you must choose a leadership style to succeed.
After 23 years of research with over 700 CEOs and their companies, I discovered a simple fact. That is, there is one recurring choice, like no other, that alters the face of a business forever.
Very few people are aware that this choice exists and even fewer make it consciously. Yet, the course of a leader's business is inextricably set to reap the rewards and/or challenges based on making this one choice.
Consider this question firstTwo old friends, both business owners, sit down at a local coffee shop to talk about their businesses. One is a Beekeeper who oversees honey hives placed at the perimeter of a cherry orchard outside of town. The other is a Watchmaker who makes and repairs fine watches and has a shop just north of the town square. Both owners are ready to retire and have put their businesses up for sale.
If you had to buy one of the businesses, given that all things regarding customer base, revenue and profit are equal, which one would you chose?
Would you buy a business of precision and control?
The Watchmaker engineers his company's growth with control and precision. Every piece from one of his precision manufactured watches is delicately machined to within 100ths of an inch. The watchmaker "controls" every detail of the assembly of his precision watches and engineers the running of his business in a similar manner.
Both the handmade watch and the handmade watch business are dependable precision machines able to deliver results based on the predetermined set of conditions reflected in their design. If the watch were to be accidentally dropped on a concrete floor it would likely break into numerous pieces and stop working. That is, until someone or some outside force came along to repair it. What would happen to the watch business if it were to break in some fashion?
By its nature, the watch business will deliver results given that the underlying conditions do not change. Unfortunately, it does not adapt well to conditions foreign to its design. Its nature will resist any portion of the business working independently or in a team. It will rarely think independently to innovate new ways of meeting the ever changing challenges of its environment.
OR
Would you buy a business of constant change and chaos?
The Beekeeper operates in a world of constant change and chaos. He "facilitates" rather than "controls" the health of 125,000 bees living and working out of 55 white 3-foot-high "wooden hives." The Beekeeper can only foster an environment that supports the bees to produce honey. He cannot in any way guarantee an outcome.
Upon closer inspection, the apparent mass chaos swirling in and around the hives reveals the fact that every bee is an independent agent relentlessly pursuing its own mission, within the natural order of the hive. Each bee supports the daily business of making honey and protecting the health of the hive.
The hive is an intelligent, self-organizing, adaptive organism. It is able to innovate solutions to the challenges encountered during the natural course of events in nature. If it were dropped on the ground and broke into numerous pieces, the hive as a group of bees would very likely relocate its home base and start anew on the business of making honey.
What is the number one challenge of most growing enterprises?
If you answered managing people, then you answered correctly. Imagine encountering a company with low morale, low profits, lack of staff engagement, high turnover and rampant gossip. Who would likely be running it, a Watchmaker or a Beekeeper?
If you guessed Watchmaker, research proves in nine out of ten cases you would be right. Why?
Watchmakers see their business as a machine to control.
The overarching purpose of watchmaker management is to avoid chaos at all cost and firmly control the enterprise and everything in it. Rarely is the company's greatest asset, its people, accessed fully to the benefit of the enterprise.
Beekeepers see their business as a living thing to guide
Beekeepers have learned to facilitate their company's performance rather than control it. They understand and work with complexity and intermittent chaos. They are also more likely to allow for a little messiness in an effort to let the intelligence of the team or "hive" find the solutions instead of finding the solution themselves.
The one choice
Considering that most CEOs are a blend of both the Watchmaker and the Beekeeper, the choice to be "one more than the other" still clearly defines the viability and performance of an enterprise.
We all have a choice: engineer our company's growth or facilitate it? So what's it going to be, Watchmaker or Beekeeper?
This article is taken from the ground breaking book "Navigating the Growth Curve" by James Fischer, co-founder of Origin Institute.
His research and work with over 700 small enterprises (1-350+ employees) establishes Fischer as a cutting edge thought leader in the field of small business growth and management. This fast paced book could change your life and the future of your business. It reveals powerful new methods that will help you create, manage and sustain the growth of your small business. If you are really serious about surviving and growing a healthy business go to http://www.origininstitute.com/books.aspx to learn more.
Small World, Isn't It?
Use your six degrees of separation to make purposeful connections.
"It's such a small world, isn't it?" You've heard the phrase dozens of times and probably have even used it yourself. But have you ever considered how understanding this "small world" can help us achieve business and professional goals?Social scientists have found that most people in the world can be connected to one another by six degrees of separation. All of the people who we know—our work colleagues, old high school buddies, and social friends—make up our first degree of separation. In turn, all the people they know become our second degree of separation. And so on, until we reach six degrees and can connect with just about anyone on the planet.
That's good in theory. But how do you put the theory into practice and make these "small world" moments translate into real social capital? How can these relationships get you in the door of your target customers?
It takes being proactive. Here's one simple approach to maximize your small world interactions:
Step 1: Stay in the moment. Always be present when you're meeting people, and pay attention to what might be going on in their world.
Step 2: Always mention the names of people, places, events and occurrences. This gives the other person the opportunity to make a small world connection.
Step 3: Ask connecting questions.
"Do you know Susie Jones over at XYZ company?"
"You seem to be in a great mood. Do you mind if I ask why?"
"Have you ever been to Kauai?"
When you ask the questions, you'll be surprised how quickly you can make the connection. Of course, this approach is only as good your ability to "take the moment and dance with it."
Small World Theory in Action
Here's a true story that clearly illustrates the "small world theory."
I was attending the Home and Patio show one year at the Indiana Fairgrounds when I noticed a young lady sitting at a table signing autographs. The signs around the table identified her as Bryn Chapman, the current Ms. Indiana.
I stopped, said hello, and after 4 minutes (of which I spoke for one minute and listened to her for the other three minutes), I said, "Bryn, it was a pleasure meeting you. Thanks for your time. Good luck in all you do."
Move ahead six weeks. I was facilitating training for a private company. The participants' instructions were to tell us who they were, what they do, and the thing they are most proud of.
One gentleman stood up and said, "My name is Dan Chapman. I'm the marketing director for U-Build It Corporation. I'm most proud of my little girl who is currently Ms. Indiana."
At that very moment, I could have merely thanked Dan and gone on to the next person. As you would imagine, that's not what I did. Instead, I said, "Dan, I think I met your daughter!"
Of course, this got his attention (which is the first step in the connection process). I continued, "I was at the fairgrounds the other day and met a young lady who said she was the current Ms. Indiana. She's a music major at Indiana University, came in 10th in the Ms. America contest, and was signing autographs for many young aspiring Ms. Indianas at the fair. Her name was Bryn Chapman."
He replied, "It's such a small world, isn't it?"
I responded, "Actually, it's not, unless you and I know what to do with the information. And, the fact is that we do."
Unfortunately, many people who have a prime opportunity to take advantage of this "small world" phenomenon don't know what to do with the knowledge. But, by taking simple steps to seize the moment and recall previous information at the point of interaction, we can create the connection that helps make our encounters more memorable.
Making the most from your interactions comes down to having a strategy in place. The next time someone says, "It's such a small world, isn't it?" you'll know how to capitalize on that connectivity to grow your community of business allies.
The above excerpt was taken from the book - "The Power Is in the Connection" which can be purchased at www.RelationshipStrategiesInstitute.com.
Ron Sukenick started in Business Network International back in 1988 and is considered one of the longest running members of BNI in the world.
Ron is the Chief Relationship Officer and founder of the Relationship Strategies Institute, a training and relationship development company that provides innovative, effective and relevant programs and systems for corporations, organizations, and associations. To learn more about the value of Relationship Development, visit their Web site at www.RelationshipStrategiesInstitute.com or e-mail him at RS@RelationshipStrategiesInstitute.com.
