NETWORKING FUN FOR THE INTROVERTED: That's TMI

Networking Fun for the Introverted

with Wendy Kovitz

Twitter, what were you thinking? LinkedIn was supposed to be my sanitized cyber resume. My make-up, dark-colored suit and "Yes, I can interview with you at 11 am this Thursday" personae. Sure, it's always gotten the least of my attention. Probably because it's just so gosh-darn bland. Everything is so black and white there, just like a resume. You read a dozen of them and they all start to look alike.

But Twitter, be it 140 characters of utterly pointless drivel, poignant commentary or a juicy red-hot rant, is 3-D with smellovision. You know who you're dealing with and what makes them tick. Unless you only follow the "biggins" who are out to sell you something. I like people who can keep it real even over the expanse of cyber space. I enjoy hearing who's had a G-d awful day or who's laid up with the flu. Not that I enjoy the misery of others, but I find the willingness to share the good, the bad and the ugly with friends, strangers and stalkers alike so much more personable than a LinkedIn exchange. (Note that I am not talking about creepy and dangerous stalkers, merely those Google-happy people that find you much more interesting than you find yourself.)

If I like the line in the sand between professional and personal, why would I even think of using my Tweets to update my LinkedIn status? Well, first of all, you have the choice of shooting all of your Tweets red-robin right over. "No, thanks. Really. That's TMI." Honestly, I think it's my inner voice telling me that it's okay to embrace my uniqueness - for an introvert that's pretty scary stuff. It's okay to have an opinion on issues. Not everyone will agree with you or like you, no matter how hard you try. It's all the stuff we tell our kids but otherwise seem to ignore in our day-to-day existence.

Frankly, I'm getting a bit tired of maintaining a separate unique me in facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. My advice is simple: live your conscience, make your mark and everything else will fall into place.

I'll leave you with one link from a Twitter pal named @JimmyElliot, a young college kid who believes that love can change the world. He started @holdingofwrists to reach out to young people struggling with day to day existence, especially those battling depression. It reminds me that we're all connected, and that's a good thing.




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

- Wendy Kovitz
The Book Of Ara - Fictional Fantasy Memoirs
Twitter - @wlkovitz

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NETWORKING FUN FOR THE INTROVERTED: That's TMI

BEYOND NETWORKING: BEING: What Could Be Better Than Leads?

Beyond Networking: Being with Ron Sukenick

You're on your way home from a networking event, and, well, you're rather pleased with yourself. Not only were you able to collect several dozen business cards while handing out a similar number of your own, but two individuals you met actually gave you "leads". Now you have in your proud possession the names and contact information for companies your networking friends think might be able to use your products and services. What could possibly be better than that?

And the answer is…(TV quiz show drum roll here) Referrals!

Let's backtrack a moment. In this Beyond Networking blog, remember, the goal is to reach further - and deeper - beyond traditional networking, getting to the point where networking really starts to work for us. The fact is, study after study demonstrates that your best clients meet you through an introduction from someone they already trust. In other words, the way to meet really good clients is through referrals.

Every sales training course (I've taken many and led many!) talks about referrals, and about how lack of commitment to getting referrals can limit a business person's success. Bill Cates, author of Get More Referrals, has something truly worthwhile to say about the big R's, something very much in tune with my Beyond Networking principles. A common error, Cates says, is making referrals be about you, where you, in the old sales-school style, explain to clients that your business is built on referrals. What the clients hear is that, in order for you to keep providing them with good client service, they need to help you grow your business by supplying names of their friends and associates.

"Clients give referrals only when they see the value in the work you do," Cates explains, suggesting that if a business is not getting referrals without asking, it's a signal something's wrong.

In coaching hundreds of people over the years, I've arrived at a very simple conclusion about all of this: R's (referrals) depend on R (relationship). As we continue to create deeper relationships with our clients, coworkers, and network contacts, referrals will follow. My book, The Power Is In The Connection, is all about relationships.

What's better - much, much better - than a lead? A relationship, and its inevitable result - a referral!

Ron Sukenick
Business Advisor / Relationship Strategist / Author / Connector
rs@ronsukenick.com
www.ronsukenick.com
317-216-8210
Check out my Radio Podcast’s
http://www.smallbizamerica.com/beyond

Let's get connected on LinkedIn
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/ron-sukenick/0/226/20a

“Certified Human Behavior Consultant”
Nominated 2009 "America's Most Influential Business Connector"

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

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BEYOND NETWORKING: BEING: What Could Be Better Than Leads?

RISK AND REALITY: Risk Management Related Syndromes and Their Cure

Risk and Reality with Franco Oboni, Ph.D.

Hazards have to be treated transparently, which of course does not exclude confidentiality, in order to avoid various well known organizational risk-related money wasting syndromes which we will summarize in three points:

The “specialist syndrome”: this syndrome leads hazard specialists of a given hazard, for example IT, military, political, or financial experts to believe they understand how to evaluate risks. They do not! What they can do is characterize the hazard they specialize in, but they simply do not know how to quantify, prioritize risks. We will not cite again the sub-prime/banking disaster, but let’s put in in simple terms: a car mechanic is not necessarily a racing pilot, right?

The “denial syndrome”: This syndrome is exemplified by the classic “it will not happen to me: I am too large, too small, it can only happen to others etc.” Well, invincible banks went on their knees, small Mom & Pop businesses were forced to shut…entire industries collapse…it will happen to you whether you like it or not, so stop procrastinating or looking into your horoscope! Get real and prepare.

The “technology fix-it-all syndrome”: This syndrome leads to the classic excesses driven by “hardware/gear” vendors and other biased parties who want to erase aspects of the hazards, but miss the true nature of the risks. History is full of invincible castles (I am not referring to Douglas Castle here) who were seized in a day, starting from Troy on; unsinkable vessels, who sank miserably; invincible armies who starved or froze to death too far away from a logistic base (Russian campaign(s) etc.). Furthermore, examples abound of laws and decrees aimed at solving one situation, then backfiring on another; parking planes close together to avoid “local sabotage” in Pearl Harbor, only to offer an easy prey to the Imperial Air Force, etc.

Can we cure these syndromes?

Of course we can..and here we summarize how:

• In a well managed organization hazard specialists should define the hazards, their magnitude, and to a certain extent, with facilitation, the likelihood of a strike.
• Then a Risk Manager will determine the risk posed by these hazards, after helping to evaluate probabilities and potential consequences of the hazards hitting the system. Finally a risk estimation will be delivered in a clear and transparent way, compared to the organization’s explicit and quantitative tolerabity threshold. A that point it will be possible to know which mitigations have to be implemented, if any, and a road map will be defined.
• In a well managed organization a preliminary risk assessment (see the two points above) will allow to evaluate which risks are relevant and should be tackled. This will result from a comparison of the evaluated risks with the organization’s tolerability curve, an exercise that has to be developed quantitatively and transparently in order to avoid biases of various nature.
• In a well managed organization prestige, arrogance and self-praise will be kept at bay by unbiased, transparent evaluations.
• A good Risk and Crisis Management approach will ensure the balance of the mitigative measures.
• No good mitigation can be implemented unless a serious Risk Management approach weights the residual risks, and secondary effects.

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RISK AND REALITY: Risk Management Related Syndromes and Their Cure