In retail, there is an expression, location, location, location. What I have learned from the article, 4 Smarter Ways to Work Your Connections (Tobak) is connections, connections, connections. It really isn’t about what you know; it’s about who you know and how you utilize those connections.
Realizing that one needs to cultivate their business connections and grow their networks in smarter ways are essential to maintain and growing their business. This can first be done by looking at who we really want to have connection, continue a connection or absolve a connection that we currently associate with in business. Are the connections that we currently have giving us everything we need? Understanding that connections should be a two-way street is critical to the success on one’s business. Are we offering our connections value and are these connections able to offer us any kind of value to support our organization?
After you decided who you would like to maintain your connections with, you need to look at how you want to maintain your connections. In my opinion, I think the best way to maintain your connections is by a personal means. I believe that means pick up a phone and speak directly with a connection when at all possible. I don’t think we understand the context of a conversation without hearing a person’s voice or seeing their facial expressions. I’m not talking about just picking up the phone to chat. Have a purpose, respect their time but let them know you are interested in who they are and how your partnership can benefit one another. Obviously, there are times when it isn’t necessary to communicate by phone, in those instances, go ahead and reach out with an email. The main point is to let them know that they mean something to you and their time is valuable.
I don’t certainly don’t want to make light of the importance to social media and networking, social media has impacted society by positive and negative means. However, I do not believe that maintain and cultivating connections through social media hold the same value that is formed between connection when you can personalize the message with another human being. Therefore, know the value of your connections, personalize your connections through mutual respect and pay attention to when and how you utilize your connections.
Tobak, S. (n.d.). 4 Smarter ways to Work Your Connections. Retrieved January 30, 2013, from http://www.Inc.com: http://www.inc.com/steve-tobak/4-ways-to-make-your-network-work-for-you.html
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