A whole new world of opportunities: With

BUSINESS MENTOR, SPEAKER AND CPD TRAINER By Dale Howarth

A WHOLE NEW WORLD OF OPPORTUNITIES

Photo by Artur Aldyrkhanov

Events over this past year have changed the landscape of how people are connected and how we network. Previously, the rule was generally true in that we network with people who are similar to us, who share our attitudes and are often close to where we live and work. However, this has changed, with events forcing many online to use platforms such as LinkedIn, Zoom,

Teams and Skype more than ever before, or for the first time.

Many have shied away from this online cultivation of contacts, believing it to be an unproductive or secondary use of time, devoting time instead to a small circle of what they see as key people, and keeping other acquaintances very much at arm’s length. When in fact cultivating our contacts is one of the most strategic things we can do, especially as we move to the ‘next norm’ and integrate on and offline networking like never before.

You may be familiar with the notion of ‘six degrees of separation’, the idea that all people are on average six, or fewer connections away from each other. It all started with an experiment in the late 1960s by psychologist Stanley Milgram who wanted to find the answer to the question ‘how are people connected?’ Do we all operate in our separate worlds or are we all part of a grand interlocking web? He called this the ‘small-world problem’. What the six degrees study showed was that, whilst a network was important and can assist us to reach people we want to engage with, not all degrees were equal. Whilst the results highlighted six or fewer connections it became apparent that two people featured in 50% of the chains. They referred to these people as ‘connectors’. Today, ‘connectors’ are often confused with KPIs (Key Persons of Influence), but in reality their sphere of influence is more of a pyramid than a circle, with them at the top and in an exclusive category of their own. They know lots of people, many more than most and can seem to know everyone. They also possess a strong and often selfless desire to help others, to connect people where and whenever they can. Most of us know a ‘connector’ but few of us realise it, their importance or how to work effectively with them. We tend to just group them in alongside our other contacts. But sprinkled out there are ‘connectors’ - a handful of rare people with a truly extraordinary ability for connecting us to others.

In the ‘next norm’ those that consider growing and cultivating their business connections as a key part of their business strategy, that work to identify and leverage ‘connectors’ will prosper the most. Expanding their networks at scale and pace with people from much broader business and social backgrounds in a way like never before, and in doing so, opening up a whole new world of opportunities.

Dale Howarth is a Business Mentor, CPD Speaker and Accredited CPD Training Provider. Working with individuals and companies to make the business leaders and businesses successes of tomorrow. To find out more visit www.dalehowarth.com.