Personal Networking

Great collaboration systems are deployed by great teams that have great people. It's that simple. And to put together a great team you have to have a great personal network. The goal of personal networking is to get a list of people (anyone and everyone you can), that you stay in touch with (every three months), and that you constantly scan for opportunities to give to (vs. being a blood sucker and looking for how you can use them). The best resource on setting up a personal network is the podcast from Manager Tools - 5/8/2006, Building a Network. Listen to the podcast, then do the following:

• Everyone you meet, not matter their position, add to your contacts list in Outlook. You'll need people in your company and outside. Do everyone!
• Create a category called @Network in Outlook
• Create a task with that persons name and email address, make it a recurring task every three months and put it in the @Network category.
• When the reminder pops up send that person an email: "Hey, just wanted to say hi! Hope all's well with the family!" Tack on some question about their job, family, project, etc - show some interest!
• When they respond back, take their response and put it in the notes section of the contact entry in Outlook so you'll remember what's up with them.

Here's the thing: when you're working with people you think (or don't think as the case may be) that these people will always be around. They won't, so get them in your network today, so when they move on, you'll stay in touch.

I wish I had started this in college or when I started work. If I had, I would have 26 years worth of people in my list. When I started three years ago doing this, it was actually fun. I started to think through all the people I've worked with and started to get back in touch with them - very cool. In some cases it was funny, I had one person who thought I was after something! They calmed down and we've been in touch ever since.

So here's why this is important:

• First, showing regular care to other human beings is important. Really don't need any other reason. The list could stop here. They feel valued, you keep up, and it's fun. It forces me to think outside of my immediate circle.
• Second, they may need help and you can either offer that help, or hook them up with someone else. Just had a guy call me in a layoff situation. If I hadn't been doing this networking thing, he wouldn't have that opportunity. Not someone I normally would have networked with.
• Third, I may need help someday. I may get laidoff, or need help. And I may need some people to deliver a great collaboration system.