Career Success! Partners

Networking Secret: Give First

Networking is not an event, it's a process.  Networking is not something you do for a limited period of time -- such is during a job search -- and then "shelve" when you "get busy" with your regular work life.  It should be ongoing throughout your career .... good times and "bad" times.  Nurturing and developing your business and professional network is one of the best things you can do for yourself career-wise.

One of the keys to successful networking is to put yourself into the mindset of a "giver" .... with an orientation towards "service" to your contacts -- constantly looking for ways to share and be a useful resource to those in your network.  Once you begin planting the seeds of service to others on an ongoing basis, the true value of your network will manifest itself -- returning incredible rewards to you, near term and long term.

So....what are some ideas for things you can do to be of service to your network contacts -- to initiate the "flow" of giving?  Consider these:

• Sending birthday cards - paper cards, ecards
• Sending holiday cards
• Sending birthday cards to your contacts celebrating the birthday of their young children.
• Sending interesting and relevant articles -- hard copies of magazine and newspaper clippings, particularly articles mentioning your network contact.
• Giving the gift of your time -- advice; an ear to listen to issues or concerns; a sounding-board.
• Promptly answering an e-mail.
• Returning "that" phone call as quickly as possible.
• Writing a recommendation (LinkedIn offers a wonderful platform for doing this).
• Referring a business contact.
• Sharing a job opportunity.
• Picking up "the tab" at lunch.
• Picking up the tab for their favorite Starbucks drink.
• Sending a congratulatory note.
• Reaching out with condolences -- sharing in someone's grief.
• Forwarding an email with a unique message.
• Sharing a link to a useful and relevant website or web-based tool.
• A simple email touching base and letting your contact know that you're always there to help them in any way you can.
• A simple phone call to say "hello" -- five minutes of time well-worth the investment.
• Giving your HONEST opinion on something.
• Withholding your advice when it's not asked for.
• An offer to donate a small amount to your contact's favorite annual fund-raising campaign.

Small acts of giving often mean more to the recipient than the big actions (there are many more opportunities for the small acts too).

When was the last time you reached out to someone in your network to offer your assistance or support?  The mere gesture of asking will differentiate you -- many people simply just don't do it. 

Your acts of giving will let your contacts know that you care. Generosity also fuels your own happiness and personal fulfillment. Begin planting the seeds of giving to your network today.

Add-Value Tip - It's the Little Things That Count

In these tough times, it is absolutely critical that you continue to demonstrate your value to your employer, to your clients and to your colleagues on a daily basis.  Adding Value is THE buzz-word for "safe-guarding" your career and propelling yourself to the top of your profession.

Today's Daily Dose of Value -- It's the Little Things That Count

The value you add in your current position is a function of both the actual results you deliver AND the perception of the effort you devote to the work you do.  Results are key, but time and effort do not ALWAYS produce MEASURABLE results.  It is therefore important to remain aware of others' perception of your time and effort.  Perception of time and effort is a function of a number of "little things" that you consistently do to achieve the results you produce .... the "little things" definitely count.

Consider these "little things" that you can consistently do to raise the awareness of your time and effort in the eyes of others at work:

• Arrive a FEW MINUTES earlier than everyone else on your team, including your manager/boss. 
  
• Leave a FEW MINUTES later than everyone else on your team, including your manager/boss.
• Arrive at all meetings on time and fully prepared.
• Always have an agenda prepared for all meetings with your staff, your manager and your team members.
• Coming out of every meeting -- get crystal clear clarity on YOUR next actions and follow ups.
  
• Return all phone calls as quickly as possible -- certainly within a 24 hour period.
• Be visible and available to others.
• Plan your day -- setting aside 15-20 minutes either at the beginning of the day or at the end of the day.
• Plan your week -- identify the important projects and tasks and set aside time blocks to get those things done.
  
• Focus on the quality of ALL of your "deliverables" - written reports, email messages, PowerPoint presentations, spreadsheets, etc.  Present work that you're proud of and that is error free.
• Recognize the efforts of your support staff and administrative assistants.
  
• Dress for success; maintain a "polished" and professional image.
• Focus on the positive; avoid office gossip and avoid negative talk about any team members.
• Help others; be an approachable resource.
  
• Be thankful; express gratitude and appreciation to others.

Little things really do count.  What are some other "little things" that you can consistently do to improve the perception of the quality of your time and effort at work?

Add-Value Tip - "Face Time" with Your Boss

Ideas for Maximizing Your VALUE at Work .... EVERY DAY

In these tough times, it is absolutely critical that you continue to demonstrate your value to your employer, to your clients and to your colleagues on a daily basis.  Adding Value is THE buzz-word for "safe-guarding" your career and propelling yourself to the top of your profession.

Today's Daily Dose of Value -- The Importance of "Face Time" with Your Boss

Actively seek out opportunities over the course of each week -- several times -- to spend substantive/quality one-on-one time with your boss, manager or direct supervisor.  Use those opportunities to remind your manager of your continuing value contribution, including:

• Demonstration of getting things done ahead of deadline.
• Evidence of getting things done under budget.
• Surfacing great cost-saving and expense-reduction ideas.
• Evidence of your going above and beyond the call of duty with respect to projects and assignments.
• Offering to tackle the jobs or projects that everyone else is avoiding.
• Evidence of new business generated through your efforts -- individually or as a member of a team.
• Sharing client or customer feedback offering testimonial to your great service or excellent work.
• Keeping your manager fully aware and "in the know" on important matters -- minimizing surprises.
• Effectively managing your boss' expectations -- under-promising and over-delivering.
• "Saving" a client relationship that was "heading south."
• Leadership involvement in outside activities that effectively promote your company and enhance the company's goodwill in the community.

Never assume that your manager or supervisor is aware of all of the great things that you do.  It is YOUR JOB to communicate that good news and keep your boss fully informed of the value you continue to deliver.

Add-Value Tip - Planning is Key!

Ideas for Maximizing Your VALUE at Work .... EVERY DAY

In these tough times, it is absolutely critical that you continue to demonstrate your value to your employer, to your clients and to your colleagues on a daily basis.  Adding Value is THE buzz-word for "safe-guarding" your career and propelling yourself to the top of your profession.

This is the first in a series of our "Daily Dose of Value" postings.  These posts, which will occur several times throughout the week, will offer you ideas, suggestions and tips for maximizing the value you add at work.

Today's Daily Dose of Value -- The Importance of Planning

Whether it's the end of the day on Friday or first thing Monday morning, set aside some time - 60 to 90 minutes to reflect back over the prior week and plan the upcoming week.  Planning will help ensure you focus on the IMPORTANT things -- those things that MUST get done and those things that create the greatest value.

Your Weekly Planning Time should generally include the following, plus any other similar elements specific to your "style" and "personal system":

• Review your business goals and personals goals.
• Review your prior week's calendar and note any follow up actions necessary.
• Review all "to do" and project lists and identify important next actions that should be done this coming week.
• Review, process and file all hand-written notes.
• Schedule your current week calendar for important meetings, calls and events.
• Schedule meeting preparation time in your calendar to ensure you go into all meetings fully prepared.
• Schedule "core time blocks" for important projects that demand focused time to complete.
• Aggressively delegate tasks to direct reports to ensure that you are focusing on the "highest and best use" of your time.
• Review and clean out your email inbox, flag important emails and schedule time to complete important tasks associated with those important emails.
• Review and clean our your paper inbox.  File, distribute or discard papers.
• Review your calendar one final time asking yourself if you've focused on scheduling the most important and highest value efforts.

Set a goal to establish a routine, a habit for weekly planning.  Avoid falling into the "urgent" but not important trap -- planning will help, without question.

Keeping Your Job - Ideas from "the Field"

Let's face it .... times are tough and the proverbial "light at the end of the tunnel" is still a faint flicker.  A single day doesn't go by where we don't hear about another company making lay-offs.  Keeping your job in these times is without a doubt a top priority .... in fact, your job is probably the most important asset you have right now.  So, what are some things you can do to improve your "standing" at your current employer?

I recently submitted a question through the LinkedIn "Answers" application, asking for suggestions from LinkedIn members -- real business professionals out in "the field" -- as to what can be done -- those things under YOUR control -- to help ensure you keep your job and stay off the "pink sheet" list.  I've summarized the best of these suggestions below:

Suggestions From LinkedIn Members:

• Work ethic.  "Do your job, do it well, and be willing to pitch in to help others, without complaining that "this isn't your job." Also don't proclaim it to the heavens that you're helping out. Just do it without calling extravagant attention to yourself, and trust me, you will be noticed."

• Continuous Self-Improvement.  "Continual striving toward self-improvement, and do make sure your boss knows it. Let him/her know that you've identified your own "needs improvement" areas, and also let him/her know what steps you're taking to improve yourself."

• Hone Your People Skills. "Be a people-person. Cultivate business relationships. Get along with everyone: peers, superiors, subordinates. Be kind, be firm, be fair, be empowering, be caring. Do NOT be a gossip, and stay out of the drama."

• Set the Example - Be the Role Model.  "Set a good example by following all the "little" rules. Come to work on time, don't make personal calls, don't take 10 smoke-breaks a day, etc. Lots of people think these don't matter, especially when they see other people behaving badly. But from an employer's perspective, these people are seen as taking advantage of the company, and it does not go unnoticed."

• It's All About the Value You Deliver.  "Always be proving your value inside the company through results. Being in sales this is particularly important, but regardless of your position within the company you should be achieving above and beyond what is expected of you."

• Be Politically Savvy.  "Become as friendly as possible with your superiors and other executives. This is a political one, but companies are living organisms, and it can't hurt you if you are well-liked by those above you. I am not saying to be artificial here, because if you are not perceived as being genuine it will work against you. But if your boss asks you out for lunch or you've been putting off attending company events, you may want to rethink your strategy. After all, when it comes down to eliminating people, it is another person or people who are creating the short-list, and their decisions aren't always rational ones."

• Focus on the Important.  "Work on things that are critical to your company's success. No matter how "cool" you might think of the project you're working on, make sure it is what matters to the folks making the layoff decisions."

• Be an Idea Person - Show Your Creativity.  "Have some ideas/suggestions on how things could be improved, and be willing to take the lead to see them through."

• Listen!!  "Two ears, one mouth. Listen, listen, listen and speak up when you can contribute or add to the solution (not the problem). As my grandmother always told me, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all" - whether in a meeting or in an email - which is especially important in tenuous times."

• Be Kind to Others.  "Smile, say "please" and "thank you" and remember that everyone you interact with is important - now or in the future."

• Prepare; Be Ready Just in Case.  "Always have a longer term plan in place to deal with what unfortunately, is becoming a reality for more and more of us. Keep your resume current by including any new training or courses you have completed (hopefully you are availing yourself of those tuition reimbursement vouchers in your workplace!). Highlight on your resume, how you specifically saved the company time, money or improved quality in your or other organizational areas. Network relentlessly and come to the realization that all of this is an inevitable component of the new workplace. It must be managed and dealt with, as you would any management problem that you face day to day."

Thanks(!) to all of my fellow LinkedIn members for the above great ideas.

Another GREAT Resource: 

I also strongly encourage to take a look at Stephen Viscusi's newest book, "Bullet Proof Your Job", which offers excellent insights, ideas and suggestions in the form of "simple strategies to ride out the rough times and come out on top at work."  Stephen's book is available on Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover below.

A couple of final words.....all of the above a great ideas for helping you to keep your job, but in the end, these ideas are great whether times are tough or not.  Keep these things in mind throughout your career to consistently come out on top at work.