The X-Factor: Networking The Gen-X Way

By Maria Elena Duron
Multi-Cultural Networking Editor

If you ask someone to define the word “network”, you might get different answers depending on who you’re asking. In 2004, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) held a conference about Generational Learning Styles and in their Generation Gap Game, this question was asked. If you were talking to a Traditionalist, he/she might say that a network is something that a fisherman does. A Baby Boomer, on the other hand, might think that you are referring to a TV station. A Gen X-er would probably tell you that a network is the act of establishing a circle of business contacts. And finally, a Millenial is likely to tell you that a network is a work or home-based interface system which allows multiple users at different computers to link in order to share data. And that’s just one word with four different meanings for four different generations. Today, with the existence of so many social networking sites, I can only help but wonder whether Generation X had something to do with this kind of networking.

So, how does a Gen X-er build a network? I tried to make a research on this by reading books, browsing the web, the works. But I was not able to find a single article defining how Gen X-ers build relationships. However, if given a closer look, their characteristics and values define how they do this thing called networking.

Gen X: The Original Internet Babies. If you think that the Millenials are the real internet kids, think again. The first users of the internet are actually the members of Generation X. The X-ers were among the first to communicate with friends and colleagues via email. In a study conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, it was found that about 87% of Gen X-ers use the internet for various activities like communicating via email and instant messenger, purchasing things, job hunting, as well as getting news.

The Latch-key Kids Who Didn’t Want To Become Like Their Parents. This generation was also known as the “latch-key” generation since most of their Baby Boomer parents were busy at work. The latch-key kids are now parents and didn’t want their own children to experience the same treatment they received from their parents. As a result, most Gen X parents are very hands on when it comes to their own kids: attending PTAs, recitals, field trips, and other school activities. Through these events, they are able to build network with the teachers and their co-parents.

X-ers like to have some fun at work. The members of generation X love social events. That’s why when there are parties and other company events; you can expect that they will be there to join the fun. Aside from the fact that these events help boost their morale and cultivate team spirit, it is also an opportunity for them to mingle with their colleagues, bosses, as well as clients. Aside from social events, they also work more smoothly with peers than with their bosses. Thus, there are more and more X-ers who volunteer as mentor among their peers.

Gen X wants work-life balance. As opposed to the myth that Gen X-ers are slackers, these people actually think that their career is important. But when it comes to family, X-ers are likely to prioritize their family over work. "Members of Generation X appear to place a much higher priority on personal and family-related goals than on their career goals, "says Dr. Paulette Gerkovich, Chair of the Catalyst Award Committee from Boston College and an expert on glass ceiling issues. In her study about Generation X and their work-life values, it was found that, "84% of the respondents stated that it was extremely important to them to have a loving family, 72% indicated that it was extremely important to have a relationship with a significant other, while 79% responded that it was extremely important to enjoy life." Aside from their families, Gen X-ers tend to have very strong peer relationships. This may be due to the fact that they were once latch-key kids and that there was a spike in the number of divorced parents, friends became increasingly important so it’s no wonder they value their personal relationships over their careers.

Great network, so what? Building relationships doesn’t just stop there. The members of Generation X actually use their network for so many reasons. It may be as simple as finding a great tutor for their kids or getting a new job. This generation proved that a network isn’t just about a computer network, or a fish net, or a TV station; more importantly a network is also about relationships. Just like what a Gen X friend would always say, “At the end of the day, all that matters are your relationships.” Good point.

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Posted to THE NATIONAL NETWORKER. To subscribe for your free newletter, go to www.TheNationalNetworker.com. For the complete National Networker Relationship Capital Toolkit and a free RSS feed, go to: http://thenationalnetworkerweblog.blogspot.com.
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The X-Factor: Networking The Gen-X Way

Network Checkup, Parts 3 & 4

Power Thought of the Week with Patricia Parham, Ph.D.

Create a Void

Oftentimes, we keep people in our networks, not because they’ve been helpful or because we like them; but to fill a potential need. When we go to them for exchange, however, the result is less than satisfactory. Create a void by releasing these persons from your network. It will create space for the right person to fill. After all, networks are not just about people, but the right people with the right energy at the right time.

Is the Net Wide enough?

Analyze your network against the goals you have set. Does the net include contacts in all areas of your business? Could some areas use a second or third level contact? Supplement your business goals with network goals. The holidays are a great time to meet new people in casual settings. Be sure to know who you’re looking for before you attend and affirm your intention of finding them when you arrive.

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Network Checkup, Parts 3 & 4

From The Mouths of Clients...

A View from the Top with Joyce Grillo

Since this is my first article as a featured columnist to the National Networker what better way to begin than by first telling you how “networking” helped me meet Adam J. Kovitz, CEO, Founder and Publisher of The National Networker.

My client Frank Kovacs (www.thebreakfastclubnj.com) was telling me about how he started an online service to help people find better job opportunities through the power of networking. He was preaching to the choir. It was music to my ears since this was one client I would not have to coach on how to build relationships. I went on to tell him that I was interested in doing more public speaking and writing on the topics of leadership and development and that he should keep me in mind when meeting new people and hearing of possible opportunities for me.

I didn’t anticipate an immediate response and was pleasantly surprised when right then and there he told me about Adam and The National Networker and insisted that I should meet him. Not being shy, I immediately called Adam and left him a message mentioning my client’s name and nothing more than my client thought he and I should meet. Being the consummate relationship builder, Adam returned my call and over a period a few weeks we have had a number of conversations about my work as a leadership consultant and executive coach.

I was in total agreement with his philosophy that Relationship Capital and Financial Capital should be looked at in the same way. Fast-forward to this moment writing my inaugural article and the rest is history. Thanks to Adam for giving me this opportunity and thanks to my client for referring me to Adam. And, more importantly, thanks to the power of Relationship Capital. I’m looking forward to a long and fruitful relationship as a contributing editor to The National Networker. Stay tuned…

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From The Mouths of Clients...

A Sure-Fire Way to Fail

Mastering the Membership Maze with Glen Gould

Most often in this article we discuss success strategies for membership in your local chamber of commerce. Today we'll learn "how to" by examining what not to do!

It's just sad. As an insider at the chamber of commerce I have the opportunity to help people move their business forward. I have a front row seat as well meaning members provide new comers with leads and referrals. And I get to see first hand when people actually get business as a result of their networking efforts. So what could be so sad?

Far too often I watch excited new members come to an event for the first time and do the one thing that will assure their failure in networking (and life). They fail to follow up.

It would seem quite simple. You pay good money for access to an organization. You then further invest with your time by attending events. You become known, liked, and trusted. You receive a lead or referral. And then you fail to follow up? What's going on here?

While I have found no hard evidence to reference, I believe more than eighty-percent of the referrals that are given are never contacted. Frankly I suspect it is quite a bit more than eighty-percent. The fact is that at least eight out of ten of the leads and referrals I share never get a follow up phone call.

Regardless of the lead or referral, you should follow up on all leads or referrals within twenty-four hours. That means that if you can't fit follow up into your schedule, perhaps you shouldn't attend an event that will result in leads and referrals.

We have all heard that we only have one chance to make a good first impression. While this holds true for a one on one meeting, it is amplified when you are a part of a group. Your failure to follow up will spread throughout the group faster and your chances will diminish quickly. You'll soon be thought of as unreliable. That is a reputation we should all endeavor to avoid.

There is some good news however. If you follow up and let people know you appreciate their referrals and leads, you will get more. And getting more means you'll be getting more business. So if you've neglected your referrals and leads, begin giving each one your full attention and you'll build a reputation of being reliable. That's a reputation we all need.

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A Sure-Fire Way to Fail

It’s Called Networking for a Reason

Networking Success with Dr. Ivan Misner
Ivan's section is sponsored by qAlias.com

It’s not “net-SIT” or “net-EAT”—it’s “network.” Successful networking is about learning how to “work” the networking process—not just letting it happen.

In many ways, success at networking is the perfect example of the uncommon application of common knowledge. Most people understand that networking is important to their success—they just lack a step-by-step process to get the results they want. Almost no one really incorporates a comprehensive methodology that will build a business through networking. Thus, the need to network is “common knowledge,” and the development of the methodology required to be successful at it is the “uncommon application.”

The word networking has become so overused that some business professionals can no longer define it. Many people think that networking is attending social or business after-hour events, shaking a few hands, collecting a few cards, and, of course, giving away a few cards of their own. Sadly, they actually believe that’s all there is to networking. To be fair, we could say they’re engaging in social networking. That’s never to be confused, however, with business networking.

I’ve found that businesspeople tend to fall into one of two groups when it comes to their views of networking. For many, the current mind-set is that networking is a passive business strategy, not a proactive marketing tool. This attitude results in a scattered, often ineffective networking approach that consequently wastes the business owner’s time and money. Not surprisingly, when people feel they’ve been wasting their time and money on something, they’re understandably not going to continue that activity.

On the other hand, some entrepreneurs do consider networking a proactive marketing tool for their business. How can you tell? They make it a significant part of their marketing and business plans. They have networking goals. They may even have a budget line item for networking. Most important, they practice it and live it every day.

If you share the first mind-set—the passive one—you’re hoping that just showing up at meetings is enough. And therein lies the problem. You need to integrate networking into the way you do business on a weekly basis. This approach truly brings networking into your business as a proactive marketing tool. For examples of straightforward ways to do this, pick up a book that I co-authored with Michelle R. Donovan entitled The 29% Solution. In it, you will find 52 weekly strategies to quickly incorporate networking into your life.

Building these strategies into your life helps you maintain your focus on networking while you work to identify new revenue streams for your business. Before you know it, you’ll be driven by the intention to get new business, and you’ll have the networking tools to satisfy that drive, because—let’s face it—if you have no new business, soon you will have no business at all.

Called the “Father of Modern Networking” by CNN, Dr. Ivan Misner is a New York Times bestselling author. He is the Founder and Chairman of BNI (www.bni.com), the world’s largest business networking organization. His latest book, The 29% Solution can be viewed at www.29PercentSolution.com. Dr. Misner is also the Senior Partner for the Referral Institute, an international referral training company (www.referralinstitute.com). He can be reached at misner@bni.com.

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It’s Called Networking for a Reason

Going Beyond Networking In-Style

From the desk of Ron Sukenick

Before starting out on a journey, it helps to think about how our destination point. You and I, remember, are going into the Beyond Networking zone, beyond traditional networking, that is, and on to Connection, and then further on, to Relationship. And we don't want to just get there - we want to relish the trip itself, every step of the way.

When I was studying under Dr. Robert Rohm to become a Certified Human Behavior Consultant™, one of the very first things I learned was the Four Main Personality Styles. Of course, the whole purpose of studying these is to be able to really understand what another person is saying, and what motivates that person. No, we're not talking about some parlor game that helps you "guess" what others' styles are, but a way to better connect with all kinds of people. Connection, remember, constitutes the first big leg on our journey to Relationship.

Dr. Rohm uses a model of human behavior called the DISC. You may have heard of the DISC, because so many big corporations use the DISC profile in working with their employees and maximizing the productivity of business teams. The DISC is based on four basic behavior patterns that people tend to use. (By no means is Dr. Rohm implying that each of us always follows one type, because we all use all four styles in different settings and different situations.) What almost all of us have, though is a "fall-back" style of behavior, a way of being that feels most natural and comfortable, a style h we tend to use first, and which we use without thinking about it!

Discovering our own style and learning to recognize others' styles can give us an extremely valuable tool in building connections that work. The DISC has proven to be a very powerful tool for beginning this self-discovery. For today, I'll just mention the four, and then we'll go much deeper into each type later on.

D stands for Dominant, I for Inspiring, S for Supportive, and C for Cautious.

If you're fresh from many years of old-style networking, I imagine that every fiber of your businessperson self is screaming with impatience (if you're still reading this blog). After all, there's business to tend to and deals to close. Who has time for self-discovery? You need results!! Here's what I have to say to you if that's the way you're thinking:

Hold those horses! Remember what we don't want - to keep up this frantic pace of working at networking. We want networking to work for us! To do that, we need to reach beyond networking and go inward a bit. We need to understand what really makes business people "tick", and what makes us tick in "style"!


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Going Beyond Networking In-Style

TNNW, November, 2008, Week 2: "New Writers at TNNW"

By Adam J. Kovitz
CEO, Founder & Publisher

I've always considered November to be one of those transition months, bridging the gap between Autumn and Winter. We start off with the sugar-high of Halloween (and the subsequent crash that follows), turning our clocks backwards and then moving towards the Holiday Season (anyone else seeing ads on TV and hearing carols yet?) as we approach Thanksgiving (one of the major holidays in the U.S. that truly unifies the country as it knows no religion or ethnicity). By the end, everyone is thinking about getting together with the family by the fireplace and "hunkering down" for the winter as the days get shorter.

Well it's transition time for us at TNNW as well. This week we introduce two new writers as we transition our humble publication into something more. More information to follow on that...

In the meantime as the weather gets colder and the nights get longer, we are proud to bring back the warmth and the sunshine of America's Southeast with our newest Bureau Chief, Larry Block. When he's not bringing you the best in networking from the Carolinas, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida, Larry serves as the President of Mobile Marketing Technologies, a firm dedicated to wireless marketing out of the greater Atlanta-metro area. WELCOME LARRY!!!

We are also proud to bring back Douglas Castle this month. Douglas was gracious enough to fill in for me on my featured column last month - the first time in nearly four years that I took a month off. Douglas, aside from being a good friend serves as the Product and Program Development Director for TNNW, helping us to develop new features for you, our readers. Douglas is also a prolific writer, and as such, has agreed to become TNNW's new Political Editor. WELCOME BACK DOUGLAS!!!

Still more to come this month...stay tuned!

As always, I look forward to Networking with you...

- Adam
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TNNW, November, 2008, Week 2: "New Writers at TNNW"