Earlier this summer I was on active duty for a training exercise with my unit of the MN National Guard. It was very interesting for me to see the amount of networking that is done in the military and the importance of that networking to the success of a unit’s mission.
When people look at the military, they see a very hierarchical structure with orders flowing from the top down. But the interaction occurs more than just in one’s chain of command and it happens in both directions.
On multiple occasions I watched as company commanders worked together to coordinate the use of a weapons range or the order for chow in the morning so that each company could get to their range on time. I also watched as our Operations Officer or Operations Sergeant Major coordinated for more ammunition with another unit. This cross unit coordination was all possible because they had established relationships with their counterparts at different units.
I walked away from my two weeks with not only some great military training, but also being reminded of three simple things that will help anyone network more effectively.
1. Ask Questions.
I know that doesn’t sound very military like, but in reality when orders are issued it is always good to ask questions to make sure your understanding of the order matches the understanding of the order that
the person giving it to you has. The same holds true in networking.
If your contacts tells you something, ask a question to verify what you think you heard or to clarify what they said.
2. Be nice to the help.
Currently the defense department utilizes a large number of contractors to help provide services to the uniformed personnel. Additionally unless you are a private there will be a large number of people who you out rank. The same is true in the business world. Companies outsource some services that they require to operate and there are multiple people at different levels of the corporate ladder in your company.
You never know what doors these individuals may hold the keys to. That brand new Second Lieutenant may be in charge of a range or be the person that will get your need in front of the person that can help you. The mail clerk at your office may end up your boss one day after he graduates with his MBA that the mail clerk job is helping pay for.
Sabotaging your relationships by being rude or disrespectful to someone who is perceived to be of a lower stature than yourself may come back to haunt you in the future.
3. Follow Up.
Following up is key to building trust with your network. Hopefully we all understand the importance of following through on items that you said you would do, but follow-up actually works both ways and many times we forget that. In the Army we use a phrase, “Trust but verify”, to describe that type of follow-up. If someone says they will do something, or if we ask them to do something for us, trust that they will do it but verify down the road that it was actually done. If we think about it, how many of us have ever forgot to do something that we said we would do or that our boss told us to do? Probably most of us. Help that person out by making a polite call to follow-up.
Networking happens everywhere not just at designated networking events.
Don’t miss an opportunity to build a quality relationship with someone just because you think it is not time to network.
Kevin Snow is an Area Director with BNI Minnesota and Northern Wisconsin. He also is a writer, speaker and trainer with Time On Target.
BNI
With over 5,500 active chapters, and over 100,000 members throughout every populated continent worldwide, BNI is the largest and most successful business referral organization in the world. BNI was founded in 1985 by Dr. Ivan Misner and the organization, which allows only one person from each profession to join a chapter, offers members the opportunity to share ideas, contacts, and most importantly, referrals. Last year alone, members of BNI passed 6.2 million referrals, generating 2.6 billion dollars’ worth of business.
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