SNAPSHOT: South Dakota

SnapShot is a monthly column offering a collection of travel concepts to destinations and activities worldwide. Expose yourself to travel!

Author - Stefanie Gorder, ctp, ds
TNNW Travel Correspondent

~ South Dakota ~

My travels around our great country have allowed for personal exploration of off the beaten path places and led me to opportunities which enhance the journey through personal discovery. Tie this in with having travel partners all over the nation who assist in independent and group travel plans and it’s a winning combination.

For a state ranking 16th in size amongst the 50, South Dakota averages 10 people per square mile with population around 755,000 and is surrounded by six states (Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota and North Dakota). The only knowledge I had prior to visiting for the first time was that South Dakota is home to the Black Hills and Mt. Rushmore. It’s not often that the business traveler takes time out to explore a region. Usually our time is filled with meetings, seminars, and rushing back to the airport. With South Dakota’s attractions featuring stone carvings with heights to 6 stories high, and surrounding areas of phenomenal beauty such as the chiseled spires, deep canyons and jagged buttes; it is a destination well worth stopping to explore.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial
Located 25 miles southwest of Rapid City, and surrounded by the Black Hills National Forest, Mount Rushmore National Memorial is an inspiring American attraction. From the first glimpse as the winding road brings the four American presidential faces into view, it is a perfect attraction to include for business or pleasure. The 60-foot faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln were sculpted by Gutzon Borglum and 400 workers who began drilling into the 5,725 foot mountain in 1927. Deemed priceless today, the project took 14 years and cost only a mere one million. The mountain was named in 1885 after Charles E. Rushmore, a New York City Attorney who was traveling in the area on business.

I had the opportunity to strike up a conversation with travel industry leaders on the Avenue of Flags which leads to the memorial’s Grandview Terrace and it was difficult to concentrate on the discussion as we drew nearer to our seating for the evening Sculpture Lighting Ceremony. It was as though the air was filled with the grandeur of American pride as I stood before the faces which I had seen before only in pictures. The program is a nightly event during the summer and the Park Service offers a fantastic introduction to the Memorial. The night we attended members of the Armed Forces were encouraged to participate in the flag ceremony. Seeing friends on stage being recognized for their contributions to our county brought tears to my eyes and many in the audience. Imagine an entire amphitheater singing together in celebration of our freedom. It is my favorite attraction in South Dakota since it touched my senses and gave me an incredible feeling of appreciation for the men and women who created such a powerful attraction.


Crazy Horse Memorial
Marketed as the world’s largest mountain carving and located in the Black Hills, the Crazy Horse Memorial sculpting began in 1948. Chief Henry Standing Bear convinced sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski to honor American Indians. Known as the storyteller in stone, Korczak prevailed over decades of financial hardship and racial prejudice he encountered in trying to create an American Indian memorial in the Black Hills. He dedicated the last 36 years of his life to working on the mountain, refusing to take any salary. After his dead in 1982 at the age of 74 his family continues his dream. When finished, Crazy Horse will stand 641 feet long and 563 feet high.


If you can’t travel to the Crazy Horse monument anytime soon, watch the progress from their web cam: http://crazyhorsememorial.org/webcam

Badlands National Park
For extended hiking and camping adventures, the Badlands National Park just might be the perfect South Dakota destination. The southwest region offers a tapestry of colors on the prairies that were created through on-going rains, freezes and thaws that revealed millions of years of sediment in spectacular formats. Early trappers and Native Americans encountered moon-like landscape and “bad land” is the perfect description for travels over the rugged terrain. Badlands National Park is one of the largest protected mixed-grass prairies in the US and covers 244,000 acres with 64,000 acres designated as wilderness. Wildlife such as bighorn sheep, bison and deer are often spotted. For additional information, see http://www.nps.gov/badl.


Corn Palace
Murals of corn and grains cover the World’s Only Corn Palace in Mitchell. During annual harvest time the murals are replaced with fresh corn and a new theme of pictures. Eleven different shades of corn are used in the designs. Established in 1892, the Corn Palace was conceived to showcase the area harvest and prove the fertility of the South Dakota prairie. Today, more than 250,000 visitors go to see a building literally made of corn. Creating the murals each summer is a team of approximately 20 and costs over $130,000. The Corn Palace is a free and interesting attraction which is open during the summer season.


Laura Ingalls Wilder Homestead

Growing up in the 70’s, my sisters and I were always fascinated by the wholesome family tales of Laura Ingalls Wilder and her siblings. A trip to De Smet allows visitors to Laura’s actual homestead which was featured in several of her Little House books including “By the Shore of Silver Lake”, “The Long Winter”, “Little Town on the Prairie”, “These Happy Golden Years” and “The First Four Years”. See the original Ingalls homestead, the house that Pa Ingalls built, take a covered wagon ride and attend an 1880’s school session. Nothing is better than immersing yourself in a different time by taking in pioneering activities! Open during the summer season only.

Take the headaches out of planning … call an expert!
Shebby Lee Tours based in Rapid City specializes in the great American West and feature award-winning historians bringing the legends of the area to life. Want to feel the thunder of pre-historic beasts as they rumble by during the fall Custer State Park buffalo roundup? Or travel with a local expert who really knows how to showcase the destination? Speak to a local and receive the best insight into a destination! For information on a top selling tour in South Dakota, see this link (note- book early as this tour will sell out!):

http://www.travelalliancepartners.com/tap/partner/pages/PkgSLT.aspx?pid=22&sid=7&oid=67

When I first heard South Dakota was the destination for a networking meeting, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Now that I’ve stood in awe before the Presidential statues, heard the eloquent voice of their Governor discuss their rich heritage and giggled with friends over their unique photos in front of a building made of corn, I can honestly say I’m delighted to have visited a few of America’s treasures.


Planning a business meeting or vacation to South Dakota? Contact:

South Dakota Office of Tourism
711 E. Wells Ave / Pierre / SD / 570501
Phone: 605-773-3301 / Fax: 605-773-3256
Web: http://www.travelsd.com/

Rapid City Convention & Visitors Bureau
444 Mt. Rushmore Rd. N. / Rapid City / SD / 57701
Phone: 605-718-8489or 800-487-3223
Web: http://www.visitrapidcity.com/

Need a quality tour operator in South Dakota? Contact:

Shebby Lee Tours, Inc.
PO Box 1032 / Rapid City, SD/ 57709

Phone: 605-343-4852 / Fax: 605-343-7558

Web: http://www.shebbyleetours.com/
http://www.travelalliancepartners.com/tap/partner/pages/PkgSLT.aspx?pid=22&sid=7&oid=67

_____________

Submission: August 2009

Stefanie Gorder, ctp, ds
marketingCents, llc.
Email: Stefanie@marketing-Cents.com
Twitter: @StefanieGorder

SnapShot is a monthly column offering a collection of travel concepts to destinations and activities worldwide. Expose yourself to travel!

For more information, please visit Stefanie's TNNW Bio.

Published by THE NATIONAL NETWORKER Newsletter. All rights reserved. Subscribe Free - Click HERE.
The National Networker Companies

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SNAPSHOT: South Dakota

TNNW Updates! [Must Read] - August, 2009, Week 2

SUPERCHARGED NETWORKING : TURNING CONTACTS INTO BUSINESS.

AUGUST, 2009, Week 2
UPDATE ISSUE 7 (New Format)
Get free subscription to the TNNW Weekly Newsletter: http://twitlik.com/OK


Brand New Stuff:

SrMeetUp! Letter to TNNW Readers
Program Leaders and Advisory Committee Members Needed

SrMeetUp! (http://srmeetup.blogspot.com/), an exciting new membership-based organization, is developing a social community, calendar of entertainment and educational events and business services to offer Baby Boomers from age 55 to 67. They are in the process of creating an innovative comprehensive service for getting Boomers mobilized, gainfully employed, placed as volunteers, or involved in part-time positions. These people, located in the NY, NJ, CT Metro area, come from tremendously varied backgrounds – from physical laborers to professionals to former C- Suite organizational executives. Some of these individuals need to return to work - others just want to keep their skills sharp.

The Boomer population is growing in size and influence. In the current economy, some Boomers have seen their pension and retirement funds evaporate – still others have been displaced, despite their impressive experience and credentials, by a completely unexpected change of direction in a company or in an entire industry.

Elaine Ingis, SrMeetUp!'s Founder, is seeking an experienced and ambitious management recruiter or other HR expert (or perhaps a select committee of proactive, imaginative career engineers) to lead them in creating a bundled program which includes: individual employment counseling; basic skills sharpening; resume and cover letter preparation; employment campaign planning; utilization of social media platforms (such as LinkedIn); recruitment and placement services (full- and part-time); volunteer opportunities which may lead to employment, and others. We’re open to all constructive suggestions and arrangements. This could be a wonderful and ethical opportunity for the right person or persons to develop his/her/their own professional reputation, clientele and earnings.

SrMeetUp! is in its capitalization process, and you can learn a bit more by viewing a brief JV proposal from http://twitlik.com/JVDoc .

Please contact Ms. Elaine Ingis directly at elaine@srmeetup.com with your ideas and inquiries.

Note:
SrMeetUp! is an active Member Company of TNNW (http://www.thenationalnetworker.com/). For your free subscription to the TNNW Newsletter, go to http://twitlik.com/OK.
--------

Not Quite Brand New Stuff (i.e., it was newer last week):

It's August."So what?" you ask, in a skeptical, somewhat disrespectful tone. Better start watching for new stuff every single week in every single thrill-packed Newsletter:

THE NATIONAL NEWSPICKER will be making its arrival. It will have the capability of making you into a current events genius (and give you the appearance of being the smartest guy/ gal in the room) in return for an investment of just 20 minutes per day of your precious time.

THE NEW FORMAT with navigation tools so easy that your pet ferret will be able to use them will be going live. Unlike Internet Explorer 8 (which is a piece of crap) we will actually improve the quality of your media experience, and your ability to MONETIZE your KNOWLEDGE.

THE NEW SPECIAL ITEMS will be featured every week, if nobody gets a chance to edit them out first. If you promise not to tell, I'll give you a hint...





















You're not laughing now.


Immediate Items Which Are No Longer Immediate at all (but which we happen to enjoy discussing):

1. Featured TNNW Columnist Yossi Feigenson (of Real Estate and Other Things of Value) received an invitation from the publishers at the European Wall Street Journal for us to submit a first article from TNNW on the subject of networking, to be released in Europe. After much arm-twisting, Yossi agreed -- being a tough real estate negotiator (although his clients adore him), he felt a need for at least a sporting show of some arm-twisting.

The result is a wonderful article, titled "Business Networking: TEN ESSENTIAL PRINCIPLES". It is a collaborative team effort by Douglas Castle, Yossi Feigenson and Adam J. Kovitz. It is an excellent distillation of some great unconventional wisdom, and it appears in this week's issue of THE NATIONAL NETWORKER Newsletter. If you are an impatient type of person, you can download (and even reprint) this article by clicking on http://twitlik.com/WSJArticle .


2. We at TNNW are absolutely delighted to have made the acquaintance of Dr. Franco Oboni, one of industry's and government's foremost experts on risk evaluation, assessment and mitigation. He is a consultant and lecturer to international and multinational firms, as well as The United Nations on identifying, analyzing and formulating strategies to navigate around virtually every type of business risk -- from terrorism, natural disasters, erosion, government instability, domestic insurrection, logistical safety, toxicity issues, quality control, mechanical failures, human error to the slightly less exotic aspects of shipping, credit and a host of others. He has correspondent offices throughout the world...including some of the most troublesome and dangerous areas.

He and his firm are actively engaged at present in a humanitarian de-mining project in Lao, PDR (one of the most heavily mine-laden countries on the planet, dating back to the Vietnam War). It will indeed be an honor and a privilege to have Dr. Oboni become one of TNNW's Featured Columnists.

Prepare yourselves! Get a bit of background information and professional insight into Dr. Oboni and his firms. Some links follow. I highly recommend looking at them all:

Franco Oboni www.riskope.com

Riskope Risk and Crisis Management Blog (newly-begun) http://foboni.wordpress.com/

www.slideshares.net/foboni

www.youtube.com/foboni

Franco's CDA/ESM slideshow has achieved the "most viewed" ranking for two consecutive days on Slideshare.net. Looks like his favorite subject is becoming very popular.

By the way, have a look at this particular video. I believe that you will find it informative and quite impressive, as well: http://www.slideshare.net/ELPACTOPRODUCCIONES/daqui30anos

We are delighted to have found a new friend in Franco. In addition to his expert writing, we are going to have Adam J. Kovitz use his indisputable charm to have Franco become actively engaged in our INTERNATIONAL AGENT/ DISTRIBUTOR SERVICE very soon.


3. A week ago, I invested a good portion of the afternoon in learning about the art and science of constructing meaningful questionnaires, polls, surveys, market research focus groups and gathering (and profitably utilizing) market intelligence from Mr. Scott R. Gingold, a veteran pollster and industry consultant and the Founding Principal of both Powerfeedback (http://www.powerfeedback.com/) and Confidential Counselor (http://www.confidentialcounsellor.com/).

In addition to getting some fabulous feeds from Scott, who is quite active as an author and as a Twitter contributor, we are in the process of exploring a strategic co-venture whereby we can integrate some of our PUBLIC RELATIONS SERVICES and our TNNW SURVEYS Product with Scott's two organizations. We know how much our readers enjoy finding out about what other people are thinking, so we will be generating more surveys and publishing more results.

More importantly, with the addition of Scott's expertise, we expect to give our Members access to the research and analytical intelligence necessary to grow their businesses and plot any changes in course to stay ahead of the competitive curve.

It was wonderful to meet with you, Scott.


Coming This Month!:

Aside from the results of TNNW Surveys #88 and #89 (which will be published in separate Special Editions) which you can review to refresh your recall of the subject matter at http://TheNationalNetworkerSurveys.blogspot.com, we have a bullet series of goodies headed your way. Incidentally, if you should have ideas for surveys which you would like for us to design, publicize, analyze and use for your branding advantage, go to the Survey Site! As promised, here are the bullet points:

• High-Utility Killer Content



• Sharp New Look and Super-Simplified Navigation and Access



• The World's Best Suite of Member Services*



• Some Brilliant New Writers



• Direct Professional Introductions



• The Ultimate Intelligence Source - THE NATIONAL NEWSPICKER**



• TNNW BUZZWORKS - Our SWAT Team Becomes Available to YOU***

*Imagine These MEMBER SERVICES, Bundled for Optimal Efficiency:

• Complete Public Relations, Publicity and Press Releases;



• Financing! - For Ventures, Acquisitions, Development Projects, Operations, Purchase Orders, International Trade and Growth...Credit Insurance;



• International Agent/ Distributor Service - Go Global Instantly and Inexpensively;



• Targeted Multimedia Advertising for You, Your Organization and Your Services, Publications and Products;



• Custom Surveys and Market Research Packages.

Q: How did you live without this stuff?

**Imagine This One, Amazing, Time-Saving Resource: THE NATIONAL NEWSPICKER. One source of distilled business intelligence from over 25 of the world's most credible and authoritative sources. Twenty minutes of reading. Knowing it all. Being informed. Sounding lethally intelligent. Being more efficient, effective, powerful and valuable. Increase your Relationship Capital (Adam J. Kovitz is the Avatar of Relationship Capital, by the way). Also: We invite our Subscribers and Members to rename this thing. Please.

Q: How did you live without this stuff? (We're asking again!)



***Imagine This Kind of Artillery, Working for You: TNNW BUZZWORKS, giving you visibility, credibility, image, identity and a constant presence across all e-media. Full saturation marketing.


KNOWLEDGE + APPLICATION = POWER.


For more information, please visit TNNW Bio for Douglas Castle.

We will make you glad that you joined us and became a part of our growing, interactive international community. And of course, they'll be plenty of buttons...





With our Commitment of Great Things to Come,

Adam J. Kovitz and Douglas Castle (who is not quite as important as Adam J. Kovitz)




*******
Posted to THE NATIONAL NETWORKER (TNNW). All rights reserved.

To subscribe for your free TNNW Newsletter, go to http://www.thenationalnetworker.com/ For the complete National Networker (TNNW) Relationship Capital Toolkit and a free continuous RSS feed (available either by traditional RSS or by direct email), go to: http://thenationalnetworkerweblog.blogspot.com/

Published by THE NATIONAL NETWORKER Newsletter. All rights reserved. Subscribe Free - Click HERE.
The National Networker Companies

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TNNW Updates! [Must Read] - August, 2009, Week 2

A NOTE FROM THE CHAIRMAN: World War III Breaks Out!!!

Sound the alarms and man the battle stations!

World War III has officially broken out this week and TNNW has the exclusive for you, our subscribers.

Unlike previous World Wars that were fought "conventionally" with groups of opposing countries on either side fighting each other in trenches with tanks, missiles and machine guns, over wide expanses of ocean with large mega-ton battleships blasting one another with their mega-ton guns, this World War is being fought on a radically different field of battle.

This field extends across the whole wide world and through our very homes and places of business. What's worse is that it is deeply infiltrated by terrorist who want to destroy our very way of life!

I'm talking about the recent attacks on Social Media sites like Twitter and Facebook by cyber-terrorists.

Okay...a bit dramatic, I know...but think about how far we have come as a society in just the past few years. When TNNW first started, most networking was still being done in person...face-to-face. LinkedIn was very new, eCademy was very new and both Twitter and Facebook weren't even in digital "in utero".

TNNW was founded on the premise that a networking revolution was coming and a whole new industry was about to be born. Okay...at least we got the revolution part right. The industry thing may just not have materialized, unless you call it media or advertising or Web 2.0, but you have to admit that networking has become a way of life - a culture - woven into our very fabric of society.

Which is why when hackers have worked to bring down two of Social Media's biggest powerhouses, I have to liken it to World War III - fortunately, so far, it's bloodless, and the "fightin'" staff at Twitter and Facebook have seemed to get things (mostly) back to "normal".

And while we return to our own simple ways of micro-blogging our deepest thoughts into 140 characters or less and sharing pictures of ourselves, our families and our pets with our friends, we can only wonder if it's the War or only the battle that's been won. More on World War III as it develops...

Speaking of Twitter, TNNW Author Douglas Castle wrote a wonderful article in last week's issue that bears repeating: Social Meteor Threatens the Earth. He has received many wonderful comments on it and we'd thought we'd share it again.

I have also received some wonderful comments on my own article last week: Ending Slavery in the U.S. and Abroad. I certainly welcome your thoughts as well.

Last week, we also introduced our newest writer Mike McClintock, with History Repeats Itself.

And now for something completely different...

...my wife of over 16 years, Wendy, whose article appears this week (Pan Historia), is one of the city coordinators of the first ever Great Nationwide Kiss-in: Philadelphia. This event is to support equality and is open to all who will be in the Greater Philadelphia area this Saturday, August 15th at Love Park, in Center City, Philadelphia at 2:00pm. Wendy and I will both be there - bring your loved ones and have some fun as we demonstrate a tasteful, yet public display of affection. Hope to see you there!

This week, it's a whole new slew of great articles for your perusal. More to come this month...stay tuned!

As always, I look forward to Networking with you,

Adam

For more about Adam J. Kovitz, please click here.

Hire Adam to speak at your next conference or event by emailing info@thenationalnetworker.com.

Follow Adam on Twitter!

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The National Networker Companies
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A NOTE FROM THE CHAIRMAN: World War III Breaks Out!!!

SENDING SIGNALS: The Ugly Truth About Those Small-Ticket, "Bargain-Hunter" Clients...

Sending Signals with Douglas Castle

Greetings, Noble Readers:

Fact: You'll do more work and incur more liability for a $100.00 transaction or client relationship than you will for a $10,000.00 transaction or client relationship. Here are several of the reasons, several of the strategies to deploy and several new ways to view "selling" your expert services to any client.

1. Clients who are bargain-hunting feel that they are doing you a good turn by "favoring" you with their "important business". They are possessed of an inherent feeling of entitlement at the outset of the relationship.

2. The poorer the client, the pettier the issues. Since their budgets are so severely constrained, they will demand more of you; they will be obsessive about getting their "money's worth".

3. Clients believe (sometimes subconsciously) that you "get what you pay for." Therefore, the less they pay, the less they respect you. No matter what is said, they will perceive you as desperate for courting and accepting their business.

4. The less a client pays, the more you are viewed as a "substitutable utility," or a "tradeable commodity," and the less you are viewed as a professional, an expert or as a success in your field.

5. Quoting Groucho Marx, "I wouldn't belong to any club that would have me as a member." Clients inherently resent consultants and service providers who would reduce their professional stature and dignity to accommodate an undesirable or inherently recalcitrant client.

6. A client who is able to obtain a rate concession from you with any degree of ease (and without a substantial quid pro quo) will continue to follow this precedent with further negotiations and concessions demanded of you.

7. Quote your own rates and remain firm. It is important to set a precedent of inflexibility in all matters which could bear some reflection on your self-worth. Make it a point to cite that your services are not inexpensive.

8. Always hesitate before accepting a prospect as a client, citing your unwillingness to take on an assignment that does not suit you, or to engage with a client with whom you don't know if you'll have adequate time. Be a bit of a snob -- a prima donna. Establish that a) your time is very valuable, and b) that you do not have much time to spare.

9. Make your prospective client "sell" himself or herself to "you." A client should feel as if he or she has won a grand prize when you've agreed to take on a proffered engagement.

10. Never invest a great deal of time in promoting yourself to a client. The longer you spend, the less valuable his or her perception of you, and the less regard for your time.

11. If a client puts you in the interrogation chair, immediately turn the situation around and ask a sensitive or humiliating question of him or her. Do not ever justify yourself or spend excessive time citing your experience or qualifications. I have found that the best way to deal with a client who tries to put you in the "hot seat," is to be quite cold and say, "I would think it most appropriate if you would conduct your own due diligence with respect to my work. When you've satisfied yourself as to my credentials, please telephone me then." If you are truly masterful, you might even say, "there are any number of firms/consultants who, I am certain, would make themselves available for your engagement -- in fact, maybe one of those firms/consultants would be more accommodating to your budget and needs." [This is actually quite insulting if it is said with a slight Thurston Howell III lockjaw accompanied by body language signalling aloofness -- you may wish to modify or tone down this approach. I just happen to enjoy it "as is"]

12) As a general rule, a prospective client who does not feel that he or she has had to win your confidence, attention and interest will always be difficult to work with. [I've ended a sentence with a preposition, just to impress you with the fact that I don't have to impress you...]. Let your client feel that he or she has found and retained the very best.

Starting a Client relationship is always business first, with familiarity and friendship much further down on your list of priorities. To purposefully misquote an old aphorism, "Too much familiarity breeds disrespect."

Stop throwing pitches and start catching clients. Don't sell -- educate, tantalize and aim very high.

Don't be enslaved by a whining galley of ungrateful, low-paying clients. They will ultimately destroy your reputation, and far worse...they will damage your precious self-esteem. No one has that right. Remember that.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle

http://aboutdouglascastle.blogspot.com/
THE NATIONAL NETWORKER- We Are Networking
BRAINTENANCE - Stay Razor Sharp
INTERNAL ENERGY PLUS - Human Potential
THE INTERNATIONALIST PAGE
THE GLOBAL FUTURIST


TERMS: pricing, fee structure, presentation, self-esteem, negotiations, perception, professionalism, education versus sales, over-selling, credibility, arrogance, indignity, respect, power, posturing, THE NATIONAL NETWORKER, blogs by Douglas Castle, familiarity, budgeting time, choosing clients, picking your battles, winning, negotiation, compromise, the value of your time, setting precedents...

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SENDING SIGNALS: The Ugly Truth About Those Small-Ticket, "Bargain-Hunter" Clients...

Paris au mois d'août. August in Paris

This is a different season for sure. It happends every end of July. It's in the air, the ambiance is slightly different, something intangible, different from the other days.

I can tell about Paris : less cars (ok, not every day), more tourists. And the rythm is definitely slowing down. If you go to Notre Dame, the Sacré Coeur, at night, you will find hundreds of people staying there, singing and talking to each other. France is on holidays every month of august, including the government.

BTW 40% of french businesses are closed in august!

François Garon, a canadian friend of mine (he runs the Referral Institute in Quebec) told me he is going to be quite busy in august.

I'd love to know what's happening in your town. Do you see the same thing all over the world? Some cities I've been in august didn't give me the same impression. Let me know what's happening where you live.

From Paris - France

Bonnes vacances!

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Paris au mois d'août. August in Paris

THIERRY MAZUÉ: Simple Plan to Improve Business Networking

by Thierry Mazué

This is a discussion I've had with Daniel. I met him for the first time ten years ago. He has been a successful business owner for seven years. However, growth has always been slow, going from +2% to a one time +5%.

To increase his business, he joined a business group less than two years ago, and he is now facing a real challenge: He doesn't know where to find new guests or how to bring referrals on a consistent basis to his fellow members. He likes them, they meet, it's ok, but...

It all started well, but after some time, he had told most of his relatives what he was doing.

He brought visitors, and find some business to his partners from the business group.

Then things started to slow down, and he felt sincerely embarrassed with the situation.

That's when our conversation started: what could he do? what was going wrong? this kind of questions.

My first question was about his own business: How did you start it? And then, how did you get new customers? The former owner of his business proposed a deal to him, helping him taking over the company, paying a reasonable fee over some years to pay for the business he was taking. So he did not start from scratch, and things just went well.

Now, the second questions brought interesting answers: New customers? Well from time to time, a customer told him "you should call M. X from ABC Corp, they need more or less the same thing we are buying from you..." and that' pretty much it.

You mean: no Ads, no prospecting, no... nothing? Yes!

Well, you know, I have to run the business and take care of most of the things here, so It was kind of hard to develop the company and to spend time working on sales. But anyway, we are doing good, making reasonable money.

Here is a reality check: He never had any real action to increase his business. Nothing really planned or thought about.

Then we spend one hour talking about what he could do differently to revert the situation.

This what came out of our conversation :

Plan for the coming months includes:

- Ask his friend Pascal to invite him to these networking events he often goes to.

- Find out at the local chamber how he could meet and talk to somebody to find out how he could meet entrepreneurs.

- Finally, talking to Jean (same business, different location - they often exchange resources), he will also go to visit their professional association.

In addition to this, he decided to spend more time with some of the members of his business group to get a better understanding of their needs in terms of business.

Combined to more people he is going to meet, he will certainly start being a good provider for his business group. As Dr. Misner (founder of BNI) said: "Networking is helping others as a way to grow your business", and this is what Daniel will try to do.

So, we talked about a plan, set goals for the coming 3 months.

Then, he decided to do the same thing he does on all his professional business: when something is finished, what is the real final result?

Reality check will be performed every month to see what is helping him in his new project to become a focused business networker. I'll help him, being his accountability partner.

I'll come back to you to share with you the results of this plan. In the meantime, please feel free to share all the good things you did to increase your businesses.

Thierry Mazué

Paris - France

For more information, please visit Thierry's TNNW Bio.

Published by THE NATIONAL NETWORKER Newsletter. All rights reserved. Subscribe Free - Click HERE.
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THIERRY MAZUÉ: Simple Plan to Improve Business Networking

A NOTE FROM THE CHAIRMAN: Not Your Grandfather's TNNW

With August upon us, I am excited for you, our reader because I know that cool stuff is happening this month. If you're just joining us, then this might or might not be as exciting to you, but for those of you who have been faithfully reading us for the past four and a half years, you are in for a treat.

First of all we are in the process of overhauling our new format to you.

We plan on providing you the same great content you've been getting all these years, but we are adding more. For a glimpse of things to come you do not want to miss this week's Update.

Secondly, we have decided to alter the way we present you our information - you may have noticed changed beginning last month, but this month we take it a step further. When we first got started with TNNW, the online networking/social media revolution was just in its infancy and face-to-face networking was more prevalent. Because of this it was important to bring you the various flavors of networking from across the country.

But now the world has become smaller - we are networked to people in other countries and they are networked with us. We have become nations unto ourselves and therefore, we have turned our attentions to presenting you newer articles that are focused on:

1.) Specific vertical areas in which our authors have credible expertise and passion, and

2.) "Edgier" material from those who are done being polite and politically correct - humanitarians, futurists and just good writers.

We still have our international correspondents as they will bring you the world each from their own perspective as they are an integral part of the TNNW nation.

With this in mind, our once and briefly re-returning Bureau Chief from Hawaii, Sandy McKee debuts her new column this month: The Entrepreneurial Guide to Entertainment.

My partner-in-crime and blood-brother-in-arms, Douglas Castle, re-Christens his column this month as Sending Signals.

And lastly, we introduce my friend (and gearhead) Mike McClintock of GaltMidas with his new column for CIOs, technophiles and social media mavens: History Repeats Itself.

Hold on tight...it's going to be a month that will take your breath away. Stay tuned for more.

As always, I look forward to Networking with you,

Adam

For more about Adam J. Kovitz, please click here.

Hire Adam to speak at your next conference or event by emailing info@thenationalnetworker.com.

Follow Adam on Twitter!

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A NOTE FROM THE CHAIRMAN: Not Your Grandfather's TNNW

BECAUSE I CAN: Ending Slavery in the U.S. and Abroad

Because I Can with Adam J. Kovitz

“So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains and we never even know we have the key.”

- from “Already Gone” by Jack Tempchin and Robert Arnold Strandlund

When many of us think of slavery, we look back to the darker parts of our history like during the founding of the United States when slavery, as an institution, was considered integral to our very economy, especially in the southern states which relied upon a more agrarian society through the production of tobacco, indigo and cotton. For a while in the early years, there were heady debates over the morality of keeping slaves but nothing constructive was done about it until the Civil War brought everything to a head. During this time, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation and Congress later ratified the Thirteenth Amendment, effectively freeing the slaves and abolishing the practice of slavery in the United States.

We would like to think that we’ve come so far as a society, but as a concerned world citizen, networker, Relationship Capital thought leader and Futurist I look at seemingly disparate data, attempt to synthesize it and am alarmed at what I see. I continue to see slavery (in the classic sense) being used as an economic tool in other parts of the world, as well as insidious variations on the same ugly theme still being regularly employed and culturally elsewhere, including right here in the U.S.

But why should I speak out about this issue?

Because I can. And even more importantly, because I should.

Slavery and Human Trafficking

In a recent blogpost by former U.S. State Department Ambassador and Executive Director of the Polaris Project Mark Lagon on the Change.org Human Trafficking Blog, he suggests that “Steel and biofuels from Brazil, rubber and shrimp from Thailand, cotton from Uzbekistan” are all under suspect for such practices in their production. More alarmingly, these goods are produced for major G8 countries, including the U.S. He goes on to urge the U.S. Government Department of Labor to create a list of such countries and products for consumers so that we may be empowered to make the decision not to purchase such goods.

The most frustrating part of the post is that despite a mandate from Congress in 2005 for the Department to produce the list, to this date it is still not a reality. Why? Because the Department of Labor does not want to offend any countries or companies implicated. Really?

An even more gruesome example on the same blog is a post by Amanda Kloer who talks about “baby farms” in Nigeria and India in which young teen girls, sometimes trafficked or tricked, sometimes of their own will, are paid to have babies, which are then sold into slavery.

Bottom Line: There is profit in dehumanization, and where there’s profit, there’s power and an economy. The more profit and power amassed, the greater the need to feed it further with the enslavement and dehumanization of larger numbers.

“Civilized” Slavery in the U.S.

Before I get into why I believe legalized slavery still exists in the U.S., I wanted to share the following with you:

1. Dictionary.com defines slavery as “A condition of hard work and subjection”.
2. In a recent New York Times article, the unemployment rate as of July, 2009 is 9.5% and the underemployment rate is at 16.5% (underemployment also takes into account those working part-time due to loss in hours or lack of full time job availability). Neither of these figures take into account those whose benefits have run out and still cannot find a job.
3. A recent CNNMoney.com article on job satisfaction reports that 54% of currently-employed Americans plan to find another job once the recession is over and as much as 71% for those aged 18-29.
4. Wall Street Journal reported that most Americans are “Drowning in Mortgage Debt” and that 20% of all mortgages on U.S. single-family homes exceed the estimated current value.
5. According to an article in the Washington Post, several Wall St. investment banks, after receiving their bailout money (thanks to American taxpayers), are going back to business as usual by compensating their executives and other employees with billions of dollars – at levels even higher than before the bailout.

What does the above point to? To me it says that as long as lobbyists are paid by big business to influence legislators and government buckles under pressure to prevent legislature from passing meaningful, enforceable laws that reign in the “business as usual” mentality that is working hard to preserve the status quo that benefits the privileged few in the short term, we are headed – quickly – toward an unsustainable and disastrous chapter in the history of Humankind.

Why?

Because the more big business is allowed to act irresponsibly, the more the masses suffer.

Why?

Because big business answers only to an unconditional financial bottom line. This bottom line is devoid of humanity, and any shred of reinvestment in Humanity or Society-At-Large is seen as a sign of weakness. What does this mean?

People suffer. When the American people experience a corrosion of the fundamental middle-class due to unemployment, they cannot pay their expenses. When this happens, there is more reliance upon a slow-moving, unresponsive government to help them out. In the meantime, people get hungry, they get scared, and they get desperate. The situation is inherently divisive, with an increasing disparity between the growing ranks of the poor, and the insulated rich. The poor, in effect, become financially enslaved by the rich.

Breeding Ground for Revolution

In a climate such as this, revolution becomes a real possibility. Marie Antoinette said, “If the poor have no bread, then let them eat cake.” This callous remark, smacking of depraved indifference to the plight of the poor people (who, ironically, have always filled the silos of the rich), let to her famous beheading.

The fundamental status quo as an economic “default setting” in the U.S., as well as in many parts of this world must change. It breeds violence and misery. It foments revolution. It is a recursive, self-perpetuating cancer which requires education, advocacy and activism to change. The governments of the world are so profoundly enmeshed in it that they are compromised.

Ultimately, if a very violent final chapter in the book of all Human History is to be avoided, investments in human dignity must be perceived as positive and rewarded, and investments in slavery and suffering must be either taxed or otherwise punished if the pendulum over us is to be stilled. An economic system that embraces its own humanity, is fully transparent to all citizens and is inherently sustainable must be adopted. A positive movement in this direction has to be started at a grassroots level.

We believe that our ever-increasing core of faithful Subscribers is comprised of fundamentally good people. They are blessed with the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship. They are receptive, and by virtue of their works, Humanitarian. They have inherent flexibility and adaptability. Our Subscribers have riches that they have not yet fully drawn upon. THE NATIONAL NETWORKER calls upon you to invest a generous portion of your networking and relationship-capital building skills and efforts in benevolent activism. The dividends are great beyond measure. Any failure to use our gifts to do what large, conflicted, compromised and slow-moving government bodies just cannot do makes us a party to our own eventual enslavement and the enslavement of our children and subsequent generations.

Poverty, and a lack of a lawful means to escape it, is indeed a form of slavery. The fear and insecurity that accompany systematic dehumanization are a form of enslavement as well.

Our Subscribers are great people with great promise. We are a multinational nation in heart and mind and cyberspace. We can, if we choose to work together, eliminate slavery from the entrenched short-sightedness of the status quo.

Why?

Because we can.

Until next month...

Author’s Note: Featured Columnist Douglas Castle contributed to the content and editing of this article.

Adam J. Kovitz is the Chairman & Founder of The National Networker Group of Companies, which publish The National Networker (TNNW), provide member services and consulting as well as branding and social media domination.

For more about Adam J. Kovitz, please click here.

Hire Adam to speak at your next conference or event by emailing info@thenationalnetworker.com.

Follow Adam on Twitter!

The Emergence of the Relationship Economy

Relationship Capital is the cornerstone of the Relationship Economy, which RNIA defines as “a measurement assigned to individual and organizational entities based on the relationship interactions between them, and the interactions they have internally.” I am proud to have contributed discussion of the Ten Laws of Relationships Capital to The Emergence of the Relationship Economy, now out as an eBook and in hardcopy. With a forward written by Doc Searls (of Cluetrain Manifesto fame), it is being considered a “must read” for anyone responsible for the strategic direction of their business. If you would like to purchase your own copy of The Emergence of the Relationship Economy, please click here.

Published by THE NATIONAL NETWORKER Newsletter. All rights reserved. Subscribe Free - Click HERE.
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BECAUSE I CAN: Ending Slavery in the U.S. and Abroad