Having cautioned against over-reliance on interpersonal relationships as a means of advancing organizational interests through dispute negotiation, I would like to consider such relationships in a wholly different context, specifically that of networking.
It is sometimes said networking is one skill that cannot be taught at school, but Harvard, Yale, Oxford and Cambridge have been teaching their students how to do it for generations.
It is perhaps the major reason why so many of their graduates have enjoyed a degree of professional and other success far beyond what would be likely to result from mere wealth and good education alone.
In my opinion, the goal of networking is to build mutually supportive lasting relationships, to share ideas and further mutual career advancement.
The concept of networking often conjures up in the mind the thought of clandestine meetings in smoky back rooms, expensive three-martini business lunches at private big city clubs and membership in exclusive golf, ski and social clubs.
Unfortunately, the truth is far more mundane. Opportunities abound for every individual to make use of the contacts they already possess, through associations, playing in organized sports, church and any other form of meeting people on a regular basis to discuss specific topics of common interest.
Networking opens the doors and creates opportunities that can lead to a chain reaction of benefits. No one can achieve much in a vacuum. Mutual assistance can go a long way to strengthening both the individual who makes the network connection and the organization. It creates opportunities, offers the strength of numbers and the chance of broader exposure.
Networking is a vital and integral part of organizational success. A person may work at his or her business from nine to five, but to build that business they must work at networking after those “regular” hours.
A few hours a month of intelligent, selective networking can have a substantial and often almost immediate effect on business growth. Networking is fundamentally about building rapport and this is a critical aspect of all human relations management. It is part of the salesmanship of successful people.
As with all aspects of building your business, networking must be approached in a systematic way in order to exact the best possible results.
One effective first step for a manager in networking is to draw up a list of each of the people that are in their specific industry to network with.
Another technique that facilitates networking is to map out a plan for making contacts, looking on their calendars to show all events that have a networking potential. Construct Canada has always been a good event for networking.
A premium should be placed on working those events that have the best networking potential. Out of the 200 people who attend a conference, it should be possible to speak to at least 50 over a conference that lasts one full day. The benefit of such a meeting becomes immediately clear when you consider how long it would take to make 50 sales calls or to identify even 25 possible customers in any other environment.
Consideration should always be given to charitable, social and cultural events as well as those that relate directly to the business of your organization.
When preparing for a meeting, careful thought should be given to the question of how the organization can help the kind of people who are likely to attend the meeting.
People are most interested in life in meeting those who can help them and who exhibits a willingness to do so. Know what problems the organization can solve.
Networking only works if you take the time to maintain contact with the people that you meet. It is not realistic to expect to be able to tap the assistance of people that one has already lost track.
Stephen Bauld is a government procurement expert and can be reached at swbauld@purchasingci.com. Some of his columns may contain excerpts from The Municipal Procurement Handbook published by Butterworths.
Recent Comments