Introduction.......................................................................................... 3 My Story............................................................................................... 6 Why Network?..................................................................................... 8 The Best Version of You ......................................................................10 At Least One Area............................................................................... 13 Putting Up Resistance......................................................................... 15
Table of Contents
The Smalll World We Live In............................................................... 17 Deepening an Interest into Expertise.................................................. 18 Reaching Out...................................................................................... 22 Using the Internet as a Networking Tool..............................................24 Finding Caribbean People...................................................................25 Building Trust.......................................................................................30 The Final Result...................................................................................31 Next Steps...........................................................................................32 Further Links........................................................................................34 Acknowledgements............................................................................. 35 Bios..................................................................................................... 36
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Introduction
A Short Summary for Busy People If you are grabbing this e-book from the desk of a colleague, and want a short summary before getting back to your Blackberry, here goes: 1. Define one personal interest and passion 2. Deepen it until you become an expert 3. Think, and then write about it until you have developed something unique to say 4. Find people in the region who share the interest and share your ideas 5. Stay in touch with them Caveat: Be Courageous, and defy the conventional wisdom of your parents, friends and high-school principal. That’s it! To receive your own copy of this e-book, send an email to fwc-networking@aweber.com
For most professionals, the topic of networking brings to mind feelings of boredom and resistance. Words like stodgy, tired, pretentious and unfulfilling immediately come up. The chances are good that early in our careers as Caribbean professionals, we were told by those around us that we “should be networking”. We attended our first “networking opportunity” with business cards in pocket, not knowing what do, but keeping in mind that saying the right things to the right person at the right time could propel our career forward in leaps and bounds. This, of course, never happened.
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Introduction
Instead, we encountered banal conversation, bored expressions and many of the same people we have met before, including some that we just don’t like. A quiet evening at home started to look quite appealing. This is, I think, the experience of most professionals across the region when it comes to the practice of networking. A few have that perfect combination of charm, good looks and perfect luck to be able to land a golden opportunity over rum and Cokes, but the rest of us seem stuck wondering what we are doing wrong. Add in the knowledge that the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) is rapidly approaching, and we know that we should be doing something different—but what exactly? With a little work we can probably imagine the perfect end-point: a cool network of fellow professionals that are like us in many ways. They are hip to the latest technology and ideas, fun to work with, can teach us lots of interesting things that we don’t know about their work, culture and country, and they are also willing to treat us with respect and friendship. We imagine that they MUST be out there, and that they might be looking to try to find us also. But how do we go about meeting them, especially when the majority of them are residing in other countries? Also, if we do happen to meet them, what do we DO after we exchange business cards or email addresses? In other words, how do we effectively network on the eve of the big changes that are coming to the Caribbean region? What can we learn from professionals in other parts of the world that have had access to high-speed internet, free trade laws and cable television for years? Do we need makeovers? More
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Introduction
expensive clothes? Golf lessons? This e-book is all about fulfilling your goal of creating a region-wide network, while having fun meeting other career-minded professionals. Stand by to be challenged with a new way to network.
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My Story
I moved to South Florida from Central New Jersey in 1996, determined to extend my budding consulting business to the Caribbean. Luckily for me, I had friends and family who were willing to help me do so, even before I drove my car some 25 hours to Pembroke Pines, FL from Piscataway, New Jersey. Top of the list is my friend, Gervase Warner, who actually formed a company called CaribNet to help Caribbean professionals abroad to connect and to do business. He kept talking about the links that we all had as Caribbean people, and I kept trying to explain to him that we Jamaicans were above all that “Caribbean talk”. Jamaica was a big country, I argued, and the “small islands” didn’t interest us in the way Miami, New York, Toronto and London did. After a few years, I took up his long-standing invitation to visit Trinidad Carnival in 1996 and what he had been saying all along hit me between the eyes. It was true—we had a LOT in common, and it was as if we Jamaicans were the last to know it. The city looked as if it could be Kingston, just different. The food, the people, the culture, and the music—it all seemed close to, but not quite the same as the life that we know in Jamaica. That first trip opened my eyes, as did a subsequent visit to Jamaica during which my father, Barry Wade, insisted that I meet the president of a local financial institution. He engineered the visit by slipping the meeting in, on the way to the airport. During that conversation, I was struck by the fact that I was talking to someone who was very much like me and had many of the same interests. The company became my firm’s first Caribbean client. These two events together marked a turning point for me.
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My Story
Over time, and after several trips to Jamaica, Trinidad and then Barbados, I was able to create a management consulting business that is based primarily in the Caribbean, with equal business coming from companies based in Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad. In the beginning it was a struggle to stay in touch with people I met, but with the advent of high-speed internet and many of the latest tools for networking, the job has only become easier and more exciting. For more details on my business and personal stories, visit my business blog –Chronicles from a Caribbean Cubicle (http://fwconsulting.blogspot.com) or my personal blog–Moving Back to Jamaica (http://francismove.blogspot. com). This e-book pulls together what I have learned over a decade of maintaining a business network across a region that is still very new to me. As you’ll see, the task of doing so is only becoming easier—just within the past six months I discovered a tool that I think will revolutionize regional networking: Facebook.
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Why Network?
On a couple of occasions I have had the opportunity to speak on the importance of networking in the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) environment. Here are a couple of excerpts from speeches I have given on the topic to Jamaican audiences. Video from the Project Duration : 9 minutes
Management
Institute
Meeting,
2006.
Watch this introduction to a speech that covers some of the rationale for networking using the new approach outlined in this e-book. The speech starts with the response to a question I asked a friend of mine who is a lawyer: “Why did you choose to enter your field?� Watch the video to hear what her response was.
If clicking the video above does not work, click here: http://urlcut.com/pmispeech
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Why Network?
Audio from the Jamaica Employee Federation’s 2007 Conference Listen in to this 7 minute excerpt from a 2007 speech I gave on the importance of networking in the CSME environment. Click here to be taken to the recording:
If clicking the icon above does not work, click here: http://urlcut.com/fwCSME
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The Best Version of You
If you have read this far, then the chances are excellent that you want to network, and also that you want to quickly find out whether or not this approach has anything that is new, and that you can quickly learn. In short, you may want to know if there is anything you are not doing that you should be doing. The best place to start is with you. While some advocate an approach to networking that involves new clothes, new hair and even a different accent, in this e-book I advocate an organic approach. In other words, it should feel somewhat natural, even as you will be invited to do some things that might feel uncomfortable. There is no need for a makeover—although there might be a need to discover, enhance and develop what is already yours. Networking begins with a choice: “Which Version of You, are you interested in using to network?” The game of Monopoly starts in almost the same way, with a decision about the playing piece that you want to play with. Will it be the Hat, Thimble, Car, Dog or something else? Which Version of You will allow you to be confident, calm and poised as you reach out to people across the region, in countries that you have never visited, from cultures you have never encountered? Here are some Versions of You that are non-options—don’t try these at home!
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The Best Version of You
Silly Sally: She has never really settled down to focus on any of her hobbies seriously. Everything is taken lightly, including her own career. She really just wants to have fun, and not worry about too much. She will join in a crowd of friends that is doing anything, and sheds interest as soon as something new comes along. Pretentious Peter: He networks in order to feed his ego, and is always trying to look good to others, to be well liked and be well thought of. He chooses things to do based on how well they get him into the right circles. Everything Eric: Eric tries to do everything at once, and ends up doing nothing much at all. He is the ultimate dabbler, never spending enough time in one place to develop any mastery. He is always tired, and harried, and things are always falling through the cracks, creating emergencies. Arrogant Arnold: He comes across as a know-it-all, as he reads very widely and retains a great deal of the content in his fine brain. Unfortunately, he tends to rush in with what he knows into every conversation, making sure that everyone knows that he knows. No-one can give him advice—he already knows what they are going to say. If we were to look deeply enough, we could find elements of all these personalities residing deep within each of us. Each of them is an obstacle to the kind of quiet confidence that is needed to be a good networker. Where then does that kind of confidence come from? Experience tells me that people who are good networkers have at least one authentic area of interest that they know very, very well.
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The Best Version of You
Silly Sally, Pretentious Peter, Everything Eric, and Arrogant Arnold have made it hard for themselves to develop into good networkers. Their personal habits simply prevent it.
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At Least One Area
The best way to be confident, calm and poised while networking is to be anchored in the expert knowledge of at least one area that you feel passionately about. The best Version of You to network with is one that knows a LOT about at least ONE thing. I will show in this e-book that it doesn’t matter what the one thing happens to be. If your interest happens to be Caribbean pottery, that’s good. If it happens to be the migratory patterns of flying-fish, it doesn’t matter. An interest in Caribbean stamps and coins will serve just as well. The only point here is that the area of interest must be authentically chosen, and not imposed by parents, teachers, friends or the CXC subjects passed at age 16. This one area should be what they call in the business world a developmental “spike”—one place where you are exercising extraordinary curiosity, knowledge and expertise. Why is this one area of interest so important? When the area is one of real interest, there will be an unmistakeable ring of authenticity, and truth that is attractive to others. Think back to some remarkable people you came into contact with in public settings, perhaps as they were giving a speech. Often, the feature that makes them stand out in our memory is the fact that they knew what they were talking about, and were unashamed to share their love of whatever subject they were passionate about. They were probably also willing to learn more.
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At Least One Area
Only people who are truly passionate about a subject are willing to go to great lengths to learn all about it. The easiest topics of all for them to develop expertise in are the ones that they care about the most, and are also the ones they are most interested in sharing with others. The rest of us are just too busy with our lives. When you commit to finding at least one area of interest, it may take some time to discover. It takes a certain degree of commitment and self-esteem to be willing to pursue an interest deeply enough for it to become a passion. It might not be clear to you that the pursuit will pay off in any tangible way. You might have the feeling that you are wasting your time, and shouldn’t be indulging “foolishness”. After all, an accountant in Maraval, Trinidad, with an interest in orchids probably thinks to herself that she should be doing more work on perfecting her understanding of the new tax laws, than wasting time on finding the best fertilizer.
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Putting Up Resistance
As professionals devote time and attention to an area of interest, however, they are bound to attract the criticism of others who judge it as a waste of time. A father sees his daughter sewing and insists that she pick up a book instead (the better to become a lawyer). A boss condemns your interest in social networking sites as “foolishness� and blocks your MySpace site. A friend sees your love of stamp-collecting as an indulgence. At that point you have a choice. Do like everyone else is doing, giving in to their resistance, or follow your heart? Unfortunately, professionals who are unwilling to stand out, or to be different, make poor networkers. They appear bland and uninteresting, and have little or nothing that is different from their peers, and so fail to make a dent in the memories of those with whom they network. They are quickly forgotten. It takes courage to be willing to be different. It takes guts to pursue your personal path when there is none of the easy signposts to tell you which way to go. When we were younger, it was much easier, with well defined examinations at ages 11, 16 and 18 to tell us which way to go next. This is not to say that you should merely try to be different in some superficial way.
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Instead, a deep area of personal interest can make you different, and allow you to stand out, if it is earnestly sought. With the new area of interest can come life-long passions, interests and commitments that are by themselves life-changing. They may or may not be related to a choice of career, but if they are allowed to expand, they can be used as a critical part The New Networking: Caribbean Professionals 2008
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Putting Up Resistance
of the best Version of You with which to network. If it so happens that your chosen career has become a bore or a burden, then trying to make it the focus of your networking efforts will only be a painful exercise. Professionals following the New Networking ethos need to be smart about what kind of advice they take from others who might be trying to be “helpful”. In the early 1970s, when Bob Marley converted to Rastafarianism, it was not the popular thing to do, and many, including his own mother, tried to dissuade him. Adherents faced discrimination, injustice and harassment from police. Also, Marley was known for being a stickler for high standards, often being unwilling to leave the studio until late, forcing his fellow musicians to stay in order to get a track just right. Thank goodness he was willing to be different, and rejected the “right” direction that others were urging him to take. The best Version of You is the one that is committed to at least one thing, and allows the passion for that one thing to shine, regardless of the consequences. In the New Networking, the advice is to follow your area of interest, until either expertise is accomplished or the interest is lost. Then, find a new area and repeat. Through this process comes a natural and authentic sense of confidence and courage.
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The Small World We Live In
As for that accountant in Maraval with an abiding interest in orchids, there is good news. The chances are excellent that she will find that the Orchid Club of Guyana has several accountants among its ranks. Also, it might turn out that the President of the club is also a first-cousin to the Chief Accounting Officer at Guyana Telephone and Telegraph. If an accountant changes fields and decides to be a veterinarian instead, he or she could also discover that the owner of the biggest orchid shop in Kingston is married to a vet who specializes in large animals, and knows everyone in the field. Here in the Caribbean, our networks are small, and with only 6 million people in CARICOM, it’s not hard to see that overlaps and interconnections happen in every direction. Stories of fortuitous connections abound across the region, and professionals who networks are setting themselves up for a lifetime of assistance, camaraderie and fellowship. If they take the time to develop true expertise, then they make the job of networking even easier.
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Deepening an Interest into Expertise
Once your area of interest is defined, that’s just the starting point. It must now be refined, questioned, researched and tossed around until something new emerges. This process can be exciting and intriguing, but it should never, ever become stressful. From my experience, the most interesting people to network with are those who have something new to say about a topic that is already well-known. How does the average professional become this kind of person? The primary requirement is to bring a deep sense of curiosity to your area of interest. If this is an authentic area of interest, then this should come naturally, and normally. As the curiosity deepens, a number of questions should arise, some of which have been answered by others, and some of which have not. Those that have not been answered are worthy of further exploration. Here are some ways to jump-start the process of taking an area of interest and deepening it.
Caribbean-ize It I have found it useful to start with concepts already explored by others, and to then ask myself how it fits, or doesn’t fit, into a Caribbean context. Often, the answers I come up with are quite unique.
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For example, the idea that customer service is important to company success is already well-established in the world of business. Yet, customer service in the Caribbean region is a tremendous problem for most companies that The New Networking: Caribbean Professionals 2008
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Deepening an Interest Into Expertise
having a talent vs. having an interest It might seem to make logical sense to build an interest around something that one is naturally good at doing. The conventional wisdom says that a pianist with a gift for music, should build their area of interest around something to do with music. In like manner, an accountant should build there area of interest around their field, as should a mathematician, a teacher or a dentist. In the new networking this is simply not true. You may have gotten a Government Scholarship, 10 CXC’s or 5 A’Levels with distinctions… but they mean nothing when you have lost an interest in what you once studied. Not too many of us remember how to do quadratic equations, for example. Instead, you may have an interest in Caribbean street food. The new networker would focus on their area of interest, and regard the fact that they passed “Higher Maths” with a distinction as a curiosity, but not a shackle or even a guide to what they should do or become in the future. In other words, the new networking is not about your resume, or your accomplishments, but is squarely rooted in your deepest interests, whatever they might be. Knowing the difference between what we are good at, versus what we are interested in is critically important in this approach. There are a many for whom the two are one and the same, but for the rest of us the choice must be clear. Steve Jobs gave a wonderful speech at
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must deal with over four hundred years of history in the form of workplace slavery. How does a company overcome the servitude of the past to provide the customer experience of the future given our unique circumstances? It’s a simple question, but no-one has begun to answer it well. This is just an example of how knowledge of a generic area of interest can be deepened by applying it in a Caribbean context.
SCAMPER It Another technique introduced to me by Caribbean business author and consultant, Andre Bello, is the SCAMPER technique that can be found at http://www.brainstorming.co.uk/tutorials/scampertutorial.html, and also with a simple Google Search. It’s a brainstorming method that can be applied to any topic in order to discover new aspects that have not been revealed. SCAMPER simply refers to: S: Substitute C: Combine A: Adapt M: Modify or Distort P: Put to Other Purposes E: Eliminate R: Rearrange If you take any area of interest, and put it through the SCAMPER process, it’s possible to come up with some gems of insight that are invisible to the The New Networking: Caribbean Professionals 2008
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Deepening an Interest Into Expertise Stanford University’s graduation in 2007 telling his personal story of how he followed his passion in life all the way to Apple Computer, NeXT, Pixar Studios and to other ventures – as a college dropout. Here is the link to the speech he gave from my business blog: http:// fwconsulting.blogspot.com/2007/06/stevejobs-speech-at-stanford.html
un-SCAMPERED eye. I recently used the technique of P: Put to Other Purposes to see that what the science of time management needed was some aspects of martial arts, skyscraper construction and the do-it-yourself ethos of Home Depot.
Write It After the brainstorming processes above have borne some fruit, a powerful next step is to take them from their birthplace in the mind, and to put them into written words. This is, from my experience, where expertise is best developed. Anyone can do it, and everyone has the opportunity to convert raw ideas into useful content. I recommend that an author write as if the whole world is going to read the output at some stage, even if this is not true. Benjamin Disraeli once said: “The best way to become acquainted with a subject is to write a book about it.” In today’s day and age, the written application might take the form of an e-book, a blog or an ezine, instead of a book, but the discipline is the same. Becoming an expert, and earning the right to have something new to say does not come simply. It comes from carefully rehashing and rehearsing that which is to be said again and again in writing, even if privately. It is the best way to be prepared when the time comes to network, for example. Having a unique point of view does not come without making
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Deepening an Interest Into Expertise
some investment of time and effort in developing the ideas to the point where they make sense, and are distinctive. Fortunately, skilled networkers who have been clarifying their area of interest, probably have already developed something to say. It is quite possible that they have been thinking about the area of interest for some time, and already have the raw materials with which to develop some unique thinking, and a specific point of view. Unfortunately, none of this will work for “fake” interests that are developed in order to fulfil some ulterior motive. For example, a feigned interest in squash in order to spend some more time with influential squash players who happen to be CEOs will probably fall flat, become a burden and result in poorly played games. The people I have met who have forced themselves to learn to play golf because “that’s where business is conducted” are pretending to be who they are not, in opposition to the message of the New Networking. On a personal note, I have never been able to maintain the discipline of keeping a personal diary for very long, but once I started blogging, everything expanded. I have some 200 readers following what I write on a daily basis, and I can testify that having an audience has changed everything about my writing in less than three years. This advice is simple. Open a blog and start writing immediately. It takes 15 minutes and it is free at websites like http://www.blogspot.com and http://www.wordpress.com (I recommend the latter).
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Reaching Out
Now that you have something to network with—an area of interest plus something unique to say—and you have started to write it down in some shape or fashion, the next step is to share it. Who should it be shared with? There are a number of groups of people that good ideas can be shared with, and each person should follow a strategy of sharing that works for them. The key is to remember the following: start wherever you want, but over time, take increasingly courageous steps to share your knowledge and insight with others by writing about them. Here are some possible avenues of sharing the unique information you have developed: • write a hardcover book or e-book • publish a blog (an online diary) and comment on other peoples’ blogs • write white papers • send letters to the editor in local newspapers • publish articles in regional organs • give speeches at Caribbean conferences • send out a newsletter or ezine • conduct research to test out your ideas with some target audience • have a column • send email to friends and family with your ideas While some may say that they are not cut out to be a newspaper columnist, or a public commentator, the point is to start with what you can do, which is another way of saying: “Start anywhere.” As time goes on, you’ll find that the next step is easier to take, and the job of sharing what you have to say gets
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Reaching Out
an alternative: enjoying others For many, however, networking is not about sharing ideas; it is about enjoying the fellowship of others. In the New Networking, it is not absolutely necessary to have something profound to say before starting. In fact, one may start empty-handed, trusting that if anything profound gets created, it will happen through the cross-fertilization that takes place in collaboration with other professionals. Chances are, there are other people across the region who share the same interests. The chances are also good that they are interested in connecting with others of like mind! For example, if you love bird-watching, then the chances are good that there are others across the region who want to know about bird-watching in your home country. I do triathlons, and sure enough I have found other swimmers, cyclists and runners in every nook and cranny of the region. The new game becomes “How do I find these people? How can I engage them? How can I move to trusting them?”
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increasingly easy as time goes on. I have found it useful to be driven by my own curiosity, to find out what happens next when the ideas I have been working on are shared widely. While there is no guarantee that anyone will respond either positively or negatively, it still makes for a fun game to play! There is a point of caution here. If this is all being done to pump up an ego, or to serve a tendency to be “Pretentious Peter”, this will become increasingly transparent to those who share your area of interest. In other words, it will block the effort to network. This is true because the point of reaching out is to share ideas and to learn, and a natural by-product of taking these actions is to become known as someone who knows something special, or has a unique perspective to share. This is naturally attractive to others. And never has it been easier to reach large numbers of people than it is at this point in human history. The internet has made it ridiculously easy.
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Using the Internet as a Networking Tool
It used to be the case that networking was all about joining with the right people at the right places, pretending to enjoy the same things.
courage
Whether it was tennis courts of the Liguanea Club, the golf courses of Sandy Lane or the upscale fetes of Diego Martin, the idea was to spend time with others of influence, and mimic their behaviour. Slice serves, sliced tee-shots and lemon slices in a rum and Coke were all the rage and HAD to be learned to get ahead.
On a side note, it would seem from the outset that networking takes a lot of courage.
This is part of what makes it seem such a formidable task, but the truth is that most people are not born with the courage to immediately network with those who appear to be intimidating. Instead, this e-book encourages people to break down the mountain of courage into smaller achievable steps. At one point in my life, I imagined being comfortable speaking to audiences in the hundreds. Now, almost fifteen years later, I have accomplished that for myself, but in retrospect I did it by slowly but frequently speaking to groups of increasingly larger size. Networking using the approach outlined in this book progresses in much the same way—each step requires just a little more courage than the step before. In this way, the fun and benefit derived from the new step taken can be easily greater than the pain that is required to learn a new approach. For some, there is a significant distrust of the internet, and of being known by the public. There is absolutely no way to network while trying to remain private, so I recommend learning enough about each new step to become comfortable taking it.
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Professionals forced themselves to attend these events because they thought it was the right thing to do. The internet has changed all of that, and levelled the playing field. All of a sudden, a ten-year old and a seventy-year old can publish their point of view with equal access to the marketplace of ideas. Their reputation, experience, contacts, degrees and income have become irrelevant. All that is important is the quality of their ideas. Furthermore, it is not physically possible to travel the 15-20 territories in the English-speaking region, due to the limitations of air travel. The internet is the perfect tool to supplement any physical travel that one does. Among the choice of internet connections, high-speed DSL access is almost a necessity, as it enables low-cost telephony, multimedia communication, sharing volumes of information, instant messaging, plus other features that save money and time.
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Finding Caribbean People
Once professionals realize that cultivating a network of other professionals, friends and associates is important to their career, he or she has taken the first step to what is likely to become a life-long practice. The practice of networking is quite simple 1. meet people 2. exchange contact information 3. stay in contact The key idea behind the three steps is to take each action in an easy, organic manner that feels natural, even though it may feel uncomfortable at first. Lucky for us in 2008, there are new ways being invented every day to do all three activities. For example, between the moment when I started this e-book and the time it ended, I have discovered Facebook, which I now see as a critical tool for regional professionals and one that I had to include in this e-book. Step 1: Meet People Once the area of interest has been identified and it has started to be deepened, the next step is to find others who share the interest. The networker does not need to become an expert, and does not even need to have fully defined the area of interest to get started. The important thing to do here is just to get going! Here are some suggestions based on using your area of interest, all of which are enhanced with the use of the internet, and search tools like Google: • Find clubs, associations, groups, conferences to join, attend or visit
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Finding Caribbean People
Facebook makes the three step process outlined above an easy one to take. Here in the Caribbean, in early 2008, it appears that the service is becoming vital to easy networking among professionals who are computer literate, and interested in networking. Other services like LinkedIn and Plaxo, allow users to connect with others strictly for business purposes, while MySpace seems to attract mainly entertainers and performers. Facebook, however, has a mix of business and personal networking that people in Trinidad, Jamaica and other countries are enjoying – it allows for the real Caribbean blend of both business and social connecting that is unique to our region. It’s no wonder it’s being called “Maccobook,” “Fas’book” and “Crackbook” in different countries across the region! Facebook is a free service that can be joined by visiting http://www.facebook.com. Start by looking for connections to existing friends on the service by using your address book. Keeping abreast of the latest tools, like Facebook, is critical to serious networking taking Steps 1-3.
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• • • • • • • •
regularly (or create them) Ask friends and family who else they know Send emails to anyone with the shared interest Read the latest information in magazines and books Find or create newsgroups on the internet Correspond with authors of blogs, books, articles. Make public comments online in blogs Create a listing on Facebook clearing stating the interest Contribute to forums discussing the area—ask questions and offer points of view Start online message boards or discussion lists for people you know to come together to discuss related topics, share information and get connected
The important thing to focus on at this point is generating the involvement of others around the area of interest. This is not trying to get to know people for the sake of it—very few professionals have the skill to create social and business friendships without a clearly defined purpose. The professional who has actually developed some written content usually finds this step an easier one to take, as they can use their written material as a reason or excuse to meet people of like mind. Step 2. Exchange Contact Information While business cards are fast becoming an anachronism, in 2008 they are still a requirement to share information quickly, particularly with older professionals who are not as net-savvy. Once “coordinates” are exchanged, the smart professional places them immediately in some form of electronic database that can be manipulated in many different ways. The New Networking: Caribbean Professionals 2008
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Other ways of exchanging information include giving out contact information online in various forms, e.g., email signatures, social networking pages, blogs, or any online community. Once again, professionals who have good content to share have a leg up on others, as they have a tangible reason to capture contact information from people they want to network with. For example, he or she might say “Give me your email address and I can send you an e-book I wrote on the topic of networking.” Step 3. Stay in Contact This may be the most arduous step of all, and the one that requires the most grunt work. It also happens to be the step where most people fail. Once the first two steps are completed, most professionals stall because they wonder to themselves—what should I do with this information? Luckily, professionals who have deepened their area of interest has something to network with—the content that has been developed in the area of interest. In other words, as they develop new ideas and put them in writing, they can use their content as a way to share information with people around them, even with those who have no specific interest in the area. For example, in their Christmas card, they can mention: “For a quick peek into what I have been up to lately, visit my blog, which I update daily with the latest happenings in __________.”
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In a brief annual newsletter they can share the latest developments in their area of interest. In a blog they can not only share information, but invite comments from far and wide, allowing the experience to be fully interactive. There are too many ways to stay in touch to mention here, and they are only limited by the creativity of the professional. I have sent out hand-addressed Christmas cards to my 500+ contacts for the past few years. The whole process is a labour of love—from the selection of the card, to writing them up, to licking the envelopes, applying the stamps and shuttling them off to the post office. Is it effective? I have walked into people’s offices only to see a familiar card stuck up on the wall. No-one takes the time to send personal hand-written cards anymore, and this perhaps is one reason why these cards work so well for me as a way of keeping in touch. Later on in the year, when I send an email asking for an update to people’s contact information, I get a healthy response. When many of us were children, the idea of having a pen pal from another country was an appealing one—someone who you could learn from, and share your life with, but would probably never meet. Today, as adults in the internet age, we have the choice of meeting up with people we have never met within a few minutes, and getting to know a lot about them very quickly, especially in an environment like Facebook. Basically, networking and keeping in touch is a lot like having a pen pal, when it comes to making connections across the region. The difference is that as an adult, you are in a position to visit them in person
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on vacation or while travelling for business. In fact, the New Networker looks for excuses to visit other Caribbean islands, in the hope of extending his or her network in useful ways.
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Building Trust
Most of the networking that occurs, however, is not done in person. To put it bluntly, Caribbean professionals who can only do business with people they have met in person cannot hope to be effective for much longer. They must develop the ability to trust and do business with someone they have never met in person. This is a skill that comes through some practice, and some trial and error, and is one of the skills taught in our NetCoaching programme. The truth is that there are the unscrupulous few that are not to be trusted in every country, and they must be weeded out effectively, but with good networking skills, the good can be weeded out from the bad.
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The Final Result
Some of the final results of taking the steps outlined in this e-book are predictable, and fulfil the initial goal of creating a network. By following these steps, you will build an authentic network that is based on direct contact and useful information. The actions taken will feel organic, and seem natural. While professionals who take these steps may be the one in a hundred, it is most likely that they will be the ones to benefit profoundly, and build their career on a cross-regional foundation. Rather than being the burden it has been seen as in the past, networking can be fun, light and exciting as you decide to take on the mindset of the New Networker.
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Next Steps
If you are interested in learning more about our NetCoaching Programmes for Caribbean professionals, listen in on the the invitation to join one of our programmes from Dale Pilgrim Wade, our Head Coach. The clip takes 1.5 minutes.
If clicking the video above does not work, click here: http://urlcut.com/NetCoaching In these customized programmes you will receive step by step instructions on how to begin your journey to develop your own personal, regional network. Each programme includes an initial diagnostic that helps you to define your passions and interests. You continue by gaining access to a unique set of modules that comprise written text, audio and video, plus the expert guidance of our Head Coach, Dale Wade. The practical tools you learn to use in the programme are invaluable to your development, and include: • directions to create a blog • pointers to set up and use Facebook • multi-media methods to deepen a professional relationship with someone in another country
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Next Steps
• plus more At the end of our programmes, you will be well on your way to creating a regional network for the 21st century. To hear more about our coaching and learning programmes, click here: http://fwconsulting.com/netcoaching
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Further Links
Here are some useful ways in which you can stay connected to ideas, links and people across the region. • To stay up-to-date with some of the newest management latest ideas for Caribbean executives, sign up for our free monthly newsletter, FirstCuts, that delves deeply into a single topic of interest. Send email to firstcuts@ aweber.com. • For Caribbean professionals interested in staying on top of the latest ideas on management, subscribe to our periodic One Page Digest. The Digest gives important links on the internet to the newest global sources of information. Past issues can be found at http://urlcut.com/digesthome. Send email to onepagedigest-join@discussnow.info or visit http:// discussnow.info/mailman/listinfo/onepagedigest_discussnow.info in order to subscribe. • To be automatically included in the message board for readers of the New Networking e-book, visit http://urlcut.com/newnetmsg and register as a user.
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© 2008 by Francis Wade, Framework Consulting Inc. Copyright holder is licensing this under the Creative Commons License, Attribution 3.0. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ e-book design and layout by Tavia Tomlinson
Acknowledgements
Thanks to my wife Dale for the unconditional support she has given me for my varied commitments, projects and past-times. Also, as a Trini married to a Jamaican, and living in Jamaica, she has had to put up with a lot from us “Yardies” as she established her own network. My parents, Barry and Merle, and my sister Ruth have always stood behind me with a combination of love and an expectation that I have fun and excel at whatever I do, by my own standards. Bianca Welds volunteered to edit this e-book, and her expert input was invaluable. Tavia Tomlinson, the designer of this e-book, spent countless hours tending to the kinds of details that drive me to distraction. She worked patiently and diligently over several months without complaint. Without her, this e-book would be little more than a “paper”. I have been a member of different organizations, groups and clubs that have supported my personal development over the years. Special thanks to a group of close friends that we dubbed “The Community”.
Francis
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Bios Francis Wade is the President of Framework Consulting Inc., a U.S. company with an office in Jamaica and a focus on Caribbean clients. He lives in Jamaica, and authors several blogs, and has written articles for publication in the region. He is married to a Trinidadian. You can contact Francis at francis@fwconsulting.com
Tavia Tomlinson is a recent Media and Communication graduate from The University of the West Indies (UWI). She is presently a Teaching and Research Assistant at UWI, Jamaica. She is a qualified teacher and a poet with several internationally published poems (you can read some of them on poetry.com). You can contact Tavia at tavia.tomlinson@gmail.com
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Framework Consulting is a management consulting firm that focuses on unique and difficult people issues in Caribbean companies. The company’s website can be found at www.fwconsulting.com.
http://www.fwconsulting.com
Address: 3389 Sheridan Street #434 Hollywood, FL 33021 USA
Tel: 954-323-2552 987-880-8653
Fax: 509-272-7966
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