Build Your Dream Network by J. Kelly Hoey
Build Your Dream Network by J. Kelly Hoey
Great book about having a purposeful networking mindset. Make sure people know the right things about you. Know how you can help others. Make it easy for others to help you. Follow up.
ISBN: 0143111485 Date read: 2017-01-19 How strongly I recommend it: 8/10
My conclusions — the directives
Make sure the people you know know what you do better than anyone else.
Focus networking activities on the intentional pursuit of a goal.
Make sure more people heard your unique point of view, or about the product you’re developing, or passion project you’re pursuing?
Give your skills and expertise an audience.
Know what you want. Know who to ask for help in getting what you want. Know how to ask for that help.
Take consistent action to build a network that works.
Cut through all the networking noise by paying close attention to the behaviors of other people.
Cut through all the networking noise by having a clear focus on the primary task at hand.
Get on a first-name basis with everyone (and I mean everyone) in your industry.
Know what people are capable of taking on and what’s going on in their lives at any moment, so you know how you can help them or what you can reasonably ask them to do.
Recognise that your networks are fluid—more active in some years, less in others.
Learn to weed out the people who don’t reciprocate early on!
When you visit a city arrive with enough time to schedule one-on-one time with key relationships.
Switch from being ready to network to being network minded. Use your network to solve someone else’s problem. Use the network to seek a solution to a problem or challenge you’re facing.
Recognise that different problems and goals need the brainpower of different connections.
Check your answer to this question: does your current network support your ambitions
Check your answer to this question: what small changes in your daily routine can set you apart and lead to big opportunities.
Make networking a priority, not just an activity you’ll get to or make a priority when you “have more time.”
Check your answer to this question: who in your network can make a warm introduction.
Dress for the job you want, not for the job you have.
Make the effort to expand your network.
Avoid continuously seeking answers from the same core group of people.
For corporate staff: Network Around the Corporation to Move Up the Ladder
Seek an introduction to someone via a trusted mutual connection. That’s always been the strongest way to network when you’re seeking help.
There is no point in continuing a painfully unproductive conversations. End those meetings politely. However, don’t skip the follow-up just because it was an unpleasant first encounter.
Check in periodically via e-mail to keep unresponsive contacts informed about your progress. Don’t ask for anything or anticipate a response; simply send them your latest news. And don’t worry: if they don’t want to hear from you again, they will definitely let you know.
When meetings don’t work out spend a little time decoding why you wanted to meet this person. Were your expectations for the outcome of the meeting in line with what your meeting preparation (or gut) was telling you? Sometimes the enthusiasm of securing a meeting with an influencer trumps our networking common sense—and you don’t want to constantly make this mistake.
Keep your introduction simple. “My name is X. I do Y,” or “My startup solves X problem,”
When you approach busy, connected people for help make a genuine ask, backed up with a substantive reason why they should help you.
Connect with people you want to spend time with.