Networking Self-Analysis: Who Can You Call at 2 a.m.?
Have you been down-sized or laid off and looking for a job? Are you making it through the interview process but not getting the offer? Can’t close the deal in your major account? Overlooked for promotion even though you’ve got great credentials? Do you need help making your project successful? Are you looking for an introduction to a potential customer or need a referral to a new accountant?
What do those issues have in common?
The common thread is: You need other people to help you. No person is an island.
We all need other people in our lives: People who are willing and able to help you get a job, help you with a sale, recommend you for a promotion, work with you for successful completion of a project.
There’s an old adage my wife’s mother used to tell her: “It’s as easy to meet and fall in love with an educated, interesting, and amusing fellow with good manners as it is to do the same with his opposite…you choose.”
Of course, that said, it was then up to her to be the kind of person who could add value to the life of that fellow. In other words, become educated, interesting and well mannered with a knack for determining what I valued and finding a way to give it to me. We’ve been married for 40 years so the advice obviously worked!
Most of us have lots of people in our lives. Family people, work people, activity people, community people. And those people fill all the time in our lives. They fill it such that we have very little space left for more people – for those who, if we nurtured them, could reciprocate with high value for us.
What am I saying here? There are many people who, if we knew them, could help us to be more successful, accomplish our goals, and gain access to resources.
The Most Powerful Question You Can Ask of Your Network
And, I’m not just talking about networking for business or career advancement.
In Harvey Mackay’s book Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty, he asks the question, “Who can you call at 2:00 a.m.?”
This is the most powerful question you can ask of your own network. Who can you really count on? And, who’s counting on you? Who would call you at two in the morning?
Value Based Networking is not for those who want to make a fast buck or manipulate others for power. It’s about building strong relationships. It’s about connecting and how to maximize your connections so that they can benefit from you – and, how you can benefit from them.
BUT, for these relationships to happen, you need to first figure out who they are; what are their interests and passions, who do they associate with, what do they belong to? Then you need to figure out what you have in common with them and how you might create value for them. Finally, you connect.
Consciously choosing and investing in relationships will have the biggest impact on your achievement of your life’s potential. If you reach out to others with the intention of helping them, it will come back to you many times over. You will be connected. And the people you are connected to will help you achieve your life’s goals.
image courtesy of B Rosen
