Use your passions as a guide to which activities and events you should be seeking out to network11/16/2012
Shared interests are the basic building blocks of any relationship. Race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or business, professional, and personal interests are relational glue. It makes sense, then, that events and activities where you’ll thrive are those built around interests you’re most passionate about. Friendship is created out of the quality of time spent between two people, not the quantity.
There is a misconception that to build a bond, two people need to spend a great deal of time together. This is not the case. Outside your family and work, you probably can count the people you see a great deal of in the course of a month on two hands. Yet, surely, you have more than ten friends. It is what you do together that matters, not how often you meet. That’s why you have to pay special attention to where you’re most comfortable and what activities you most enjoy. Usually it’s the events and activities you excel at that you’re most passionate about. So it makes sense to make these the focus of your efforts. For me, my love of food and exercise has led to the most amazing get-togethers. For others, it may be stamps, baseball cards, politics, or skydiving that brings you together. Make a list of the things you’re most passionate about. Use your passions as a guide to which activities and events you should be seeking out. Use them to engage new and old contacts. If you love baseball, for example, take potential and current clients to a ballgame. It doesn’t matter what you do, only that it’s something you love doing. Your passions and the events you build around them will create deeper levels of intimacy. Pay attention to matching the event to the particular relationship you’re trying to build. I’ve got an informal list of activities I use to keep in touch with my business and personal friends. Here are some things I like to do: 1. Fifteen minutes and a cup of coffee. It’s quick, it’s out of the office, and it’s a great way to meet someone new. 2. Conferences. If I’m attending a conference in, say, Seattle, I’ll pull out a list of people in the area I know or would like to know better and see if they might like to drop in for a particularly interesting keynote speech or dinner. 3. Invite someone to share a workout or a hobby (golf, chess, stamp collecting, a book club, etc.). 4. A quick early breakfast, lunch, drinks after work, or dinner together. There’s nothing like food to break the ice. 5. Invite someone to a special event. For me, a special event such as the theater, a book-signing party, or a concert is made even more special if I bring along a few people who I think might particularly enjoy the occasion. 6. Entertaining at home. I view dinner parties at home as sacred. I like to make these events as intimate as possible. To ensure they stay that way, I generally will invite only one or two people I don’t know that well. By dinner’s end, I want those people leaving my home feeling as if they’ve made a whole new set of friends, and that’s hard to do if it’s a dinner filled with strangers. Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time by Keith Ferrazzi, Tahl Raz How to fix your systems process errors for $.05 and make yourself a hero in your business10/29/2012
My job is to know is to know why some process at a customer doesn't work and then find the easiest and most cost effective way to fix it, and each time, my first step is always the same. This tool only costs $.05 in materials, a child could do it and often does, and it solves the process problem almost every time.
Anyone can do it, everyone should do it, but most never do. They should, but usually overlook it as too simple or obvious. It has worked for me in manufacturing plants, plant and warehouse layout problems, sap integrations, Microsoft AX integrations, paperwork flow, and many other applications. It is pretty much a universal tool. This tool is a Swiss army knife of business problem solving. What is it? It is simple. - Draw your process out. A nice simple rough sketch. Get a piece of paper and a pencil. Draw the work flow. Make sure that you have people with you who are involved in all steps in the process and they are helping you create the sketch. Make sure you get every move, every transaction, every single delay, every person, all the issues. Your drawing will be messy and that is good, just make sure to draw out the flow of the process you are working on as accurately as possible, no editing until done. Put it up on the wall. Does anything in the process get handled twice? If it does, there is a problem, because nothing should be handled twice. Is there dead inventory, material stuck at stations? Draw it. Inventory is there to hide a problem, if everything is working, you do not need extra inventory. Are there feedback loops so that people who aren't of the process know the results of their actions, and see when they are doing well, or not doing well? This important, because people need to know how they are doing, if there is no feedback, they think it doesn't matter. Put times on your drawing, it will surprise you. Draw your problem and every time the solution is there as well. I am a visual learner, and I see structures where others hear words, but it works for every one. Once you see the problem, the answer is obvious, you need to fix a machine, train more, redo the process line, fix process errors that cause quality errors. It is also makes you truly know your process. D Whom you meet, how you meet them, and what they think of you afterward should not be left to chance10/27/2012
“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” ― Winston Churchill "Whom you meet, how you meet them, and what they think of you afterward should not be left to chance. As Winston Churchill would tell us, preparation is—if not the key to genius—then at least the key to sounding like a genius. Before I meet with any new people I’ve been thinking of introducing myself to, I research who they are and what their business is. I find out what’s important to them: their hobbies, challenges, goals—inside their business and out. Before the meeting, I generally prepare, or have my assistant prepare, a one-page synopsis on the person I’m about to meet. The only criterion for what should be included is that I want to know what this person is like as a human being, what he or she feels strongly about, and what his or her proudest achievements are. Sure, you should also be up-to-date on what’s happening within the company of a person you want to establish a relationship with. Did the person have a good or bad quarter? Do they have a new product? Trust me, all people naturally care, generally above and beyond anything else, about what it is they do. If you are informed enough to step comfortably into their world and talk knowledgeably, their appreciation will be tangible. As William James wrote: “The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated. During mixers, I like to hang out near the bar. Virtually everyone gets a drink at some point. Throughout the day, I had also scouted out which rooms the people I wanted to meet were holding court in for the day, and arranged my schedule so I could be there as they were walking in or out. It sounds a bit manipulative, but really, it’s just putting yourself in the right position at the right time." Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time by Keith Ferrazzi, Tahl Raz "The recipe for achievement is a medley of self-assuredness, dogged persistence, and audacity."
"In her many years teaching others to overcome their fears, she’s created a time-tested script that anyone can use when meeting someone for the first time. I found the script helpful. I think it can help a lot of you as well, and I gratefully offer it to you here: 1. State the situation. “You go right in and hit them with how you see it in the cold light of day, without being too inflammatory or dramatic,” says Rosenberg. She made it clear to the A.M.A. that a) having no women speakers was wrong, and b) hiring her would be a step in the right direction. It makes sense that before you can speak persuasively—that is, before you speak from a position of passion and personal knowledge—you need to know where you stand. 2. Communicate your feelings. We downplay the influence of emotions in our day-to-day contacts, especially in the business world. We’re told that vulnerability is a bad thing and we should be wary of revealing our feelings. But as we gain comfort using “I feel” with others, our encounters take on depth and sincerity. Your emotions are a gift of respect and caring to your listeners. 3. Deliver the bottom line. This is the moment of truth when you state, with utter clarity, what it is you want. If you’re going to put your neck on the line, you’d better know why. The truth is the fastest route to a solution, but be realistic. 4. Use an open-ended question. A request that is expressed as a question—one that cannot be answered by a yes or no—is less threatening. How do you feel about this? How can we solve this problem? Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time by Keith Ferrazzi, Tahl Raz You can start a new business as a consultant in about one day, if not sooner.
Follow these two basic rules: 1. Pick something specific as opposed to something general. Don’t be a “business consultant” or a “life coach”—get specific about what you can really do for someone. 2. No one values a $15-an-hour consultant, so do not underprice your service. Since you probably won’t have forty hours of billable work every week, charge at least $100 an hour or a comparable fixed rate for the benefit you provide. The Template OPENING FOR BUSINESS* I will help clients _________. After hiring me, they will receive [core benefit + secondary benefit]. I will charge $xxx per hour or a flat rate of _____ per service. This rate is fair to the client and to me. My basic website will contain these elements: a. The core benefit that I provide for clients and what qualifies me to provide it (remember that qualifications may have nothing to do with education or certifications; Gary is qualified to book vacations with miles because he’s done it for himself many times) b. At least two stories of how others have been helped by the service (if you don’t have paying clients yet, do the work for free with someone you know) c. Pricing details (always be up front about fees; never make potential clients write or call to find out how much something costs) d. How to hire me immediately (this should be very easy) I will find clients through [word-of-mouth, Google, blogging, standing on the street corner, etc.]. I will have my first client on or before ____·[short deadline]. Welcome to consulting! You’re now in business. Remember the all-important lesson of convergence we’ve been looking at throughout the book. You must focus continually on how your project can help other people, and why they’ll care about what you’re offering in the first place. (Passion + skill) → (problem + marketplace) = opportunity The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future by Chris Guillebeau |
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