Are You Waiting for an Accident?
by Lynne Waymon, co-author of Strategic Connections: The New Face of Networking in a Collaborative World (AMACOM, January, 2015)
It’s true. You just might accidentally bump into the very person you need to know. And I suppose it’s possible that you’ll run across somebody who has a good idea about the best way to accomplish whatever it is you’re working on. Maybe . . . Could be . . . I hope . . . Sit tight and wait . . .
But why not make things happen? Why not be a magnet for the very ideas and people you need to meet? Google designed its new company headquarters to encourage “casual collisions” in the hope that people will come together in new ways and have informal conversations that spark innovative ideas. But you don’t have to wait for your company to install comfortable sofas or strategically-placed coffee stations.
Here are 3 ways to find the best resources and attract good ideas:
- Give up hope. Stop hoping you’ll bump into the right person or happen onto a good idea. Hope is not a networking strategy. Making a list of what and who you’re looking for. Nancy knew that she was looking for CPAs to hire. John wanted information to help him and his wife adopt an infant from South America. Once a need is on your list, valuable answers are only a conversation or two away.
- Carlo’s boss asked him to evaluate several different delivery systems for some on line training the company was rolling out. He’d already established a deep and wide network of people whom he trusted – and who trusted him – inside and outside the company. A few phone calls and lunch conversations later, he was well on the way to supplying field-tested input that would guide his boss’s decision.
- Give up talking. Get rid of
- “How are you?”
- “Not bad. How are you?”
- “Same old thing. Been working really hard. . . “
- “Me too. . . “
- “Great weather we’re having”
- “Yeah, but rain’s coming tomorrow.”
Marina, who was writing a business case for expanding her company’s Diversity Groups, asked John, a friend in a different company, “What kind of metrics have you found are best for measuring the outcomes of your Diversity Programs?” That conversation led to many others and the two eventually teamed up to present a session on that topic at a national convention.
David was excited to be part of the team that was planning the design of the new training rooms at his company. At the monthly luncheon of his peers, he posed this question to the whole table: “What have been the best and worst features of all the training rooms you’ve ever used?” Good questions energize conversations and build relationships. Remember, you will be known by the questions you ask.
Give up everything. Are you focusing on constantly finding new networking opportunities and meeting new people? Do you drop in on lots of different association events – swooping in for a quick conversation here or there, but never stopping long enough to become known and respected?
Instead, settle in someplace. Get active in the local chapter of our professional association, become a “fixture,” and find ways to show your character and competence. When AriAnna committed her time and expertise to the chapter, she noticed that, over time, she’d created a cadre of colleagues who introduced her to new ideas and state-of-the-art strategies. Her company benefitted from her BringBack – the best practices she introduced to get her own job done and help her colleagues. AriAnna proved that the time and money she spent away from the office were more than worth it – not only to her team, but to the whole enterprise.
So don’t wait for serendipity to surprise you. Instead, be intentional. Make networking an art . . . not an accident.
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