Today
The Power of People
by Lisa Haneberg
Posted August 30, 2005 10:00 AM
Posted August 30, 2005 10:00 AM
Posted in
I am going to start off this post by admitting that I am a huge introvert and for much of my life, I avoided situations with gatherings of people. Oh, who am I kidding, I still advoid many of these situations. Something is different, though. I now realize the power of networks and the benefits of sharing goals and intentions with others.
Here are two posts that touch on this topic that I find interesting. First up is a post by Steve Pavlina called, You Need People. The entire post is worth reading, but here is a snippet:
"When you’re stuck in a black hole where it’s impossible for you to reach escape velocity, your only hope for escape is to find an even stronger gravitational field to pull you out. People act a lot like like gravitational fields, and when you put enough of them together, all tugging at you in a consistent direction, you’re going to move."
The second post comes from sales expert Lori Richardson in a post called, Social Networking - Virtual and In-Person. Lori shares how she builds her network, personally and virtually with tools like Linkedin.
"The other thing that is quicker to do is keword searches in LinkedIn for people in my industry for collaboration, or potential alliance partners or clients. I'm not sure how other social networking software works - but this is a great tool I wish I had access to years ago as a seller in the corporate marketplace."
I am a member of Linkedin and have all of three links with people - all people who reached out to me. I have not been able to figure it out - the program is not intuitive to me. Others seem to figure it out quite easily, I think I am just slow when it comes to new programs. Although I have not figured out Linkedin, I have done a lot to grow and cultivate my network over the last year.You don't want to begin working on your network when you need something - because that is just selfish. Relationships are about give and take and sharing, so you need to establish and grow relationships now. Be helpful to others and you get the greatest rewards.
How ever you slice it - if you want to make a change in your career, launch a new product or project, or build your skills, you will be more successful when you involve others. Widening your network enriches your prespectives and allows you to uncover and consider more alternatives. Enrolling people in your goals is a sure fire way to create progress and breakthroughs.
Whether you are an introvert, like me, or an extrovert, you might find it fun to explore some of the new virtual network tools. If you are a blogger, you might also consider joining a network called Linkedin Bloggers, a Yahoo! group. Here is a blog for baby boomers (based on a TV program for boomers) and in this post they share an organization dedicated to the 50 or better set.
Here is a post called, Work Your Network, from Keith Ferrazzi, (who wrote the bestselling book about networking and relationships, Never Eat Alone). Keith also offers free weekly tips by email. You can sign up on his blog.
Comments (8)
Have something to say? Share your thoughts.
Posted March 6, 2006 8:05 PM
Don't walk behind me, I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.
Posted September 2, 2005 4:11 PM
Jon: I think many people end up living in a black hole, as you say. Our lives get so hectic and hurried that the only coaching and input we get is our own thoughts. And you are right, it can be easily remedied by reconnecting with those who can help mentor and assist you.
Posted September 2, 2005 2:04 AM
I agree with the intent of this idea because you can get into a black hole with powerful counterforces that keep you locked in a world of postponedment and fantasy goal setting that only put off what you need now. Time moves rapidly and beginning must happen not with panic but with sincere concern for connectedness.
Posted August 31, 2005 1:44 PM
Thanks for your comments. As a follow-up. I have been corresponding via email with Konstantin (who works for Linkedin) and he has been nicely trying to help me figure out how to make the site work for me. It is somewhat frustrating for me, though, because I think he is too close to the product and unable to see how, to the average persion, is not clear. I'm still working on it thought! Hey, Linkedin, why don't you have small group live webinars to explain things in lay terms?
Dave, I wonder if you really became less introverted or you just behaved in a more extroverted way? Personally, I don't want to become less introverted. I like being an introvert. I do acknowledge the value and importance of relationships and endeavor to focus on those in my own introverted way.
Posted August 31, 2005 1:21 PM
I once felt a great deal more introveted than I do today Lisa. The Power of People helped me overcome. Along with two other gentlemen, I formed an online community in 1999. Early on, interaction in this community acted as my training wheels in social discourse. It wasn't until I developed the Power of Curiosity however, that the guiding hand was removed from my bike and my buddies began to call me a closet extrovert. Let me share a quick story.
Our community was different from anything our industry had ever seen. We knew it was news worthy but didn't know how to get the word out. So I borrowed a chapter from the Cluetrain Manifesto. I contacted an editor-in-chief of the second largest trade pub in the biz, with the intention of trying to learn about him, his newspaper and writing. I never offered anything about our site. But because I was after help on writing, he eventually asked whether I had written anything before. I directed him to the site and ended the conversation. He contacted me a day or two later and was incredulous as to why I hadn't pestered him to write about us. We ended up in the next edition, were written about twice more that year and they asked me to write a monthly column for pay, which I did for three years. (This gentleman became a good contact who I did learn from)
I think the Power of Curiosity, genuine curiosity, has the power to really drive worthwhile and meaningful networking.
btw: I also belong to LinkedIn, have about four links and don't have a clue as to how it works. If LinkedIn has the ability to drive away from two degrees of separation, it could be a good thing for those of you who have stuff or services to sell.
Posted August 31, 2005 12:25 AM
I think only accepting invitations from people you know well enough to recommend is going to result in the best user experience. Some people like to network and meet lots of people "just in case," but this isn't really necessary anymore since with just 20-40 connections on LinkedIn (and if you have worked for 10 years, it's hard to NOT have this many people you know well professionally), typically you get access to over 100k contacts who are either direct friends of your connections or friends of friends of theirs. So, they are there just in case. And strong connections can help you much more with intros that weak connections since strong connections can vouch for you and your work.
Getting real value out of LinkedIn starts with doing a search. Just plug in anything into the search bar--if you don't find results in your own network, just click over to the second tab which includes results from the entire network of 3.5 million members.
-Konstantin
www.linkedin.com/p/kguericke
Posted August 30, 2005 3:59 PM
Lisa, Interesting discussion on social networking tools. Every few days I get an "invitation" to join someone's LinkedIn list. I only say yes to those I know well and respect. Those whom I don't know well I don't respond. Perhaps these systems work, but I always assume the worst, as if by accepting an invitation I am accepting all kinds of unwanted solicitation. That hasn't happened yet, so maybe I'm just paranoid. But I would love to better understand how LinkedIn has worked for people.
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