Understand the power of your business networks and use its potential to drive your success.
In this incredibly fast-paced business and economic landscape we can no longer do it alone -realistically, we never could; we just thought we could. Building a powerful and diverse network, your own personal tribe, is a critical ‘must have’ within the new operating system of commercial collaboration. Moving from the isolated ‘Me’ space to the collaborative ‘We’ space will future-proof careers, leadership and your own personal success.
A powerful and diverse network drives your success. It:
- creates new opportunity for growth
- stretches, pushes, drives and inspires you
- enables you to contribute and influence more and leverage your position further.
This ‘we’ space of commercial collaboration requires courage, confidence and bravery and is one where:
- networks of connected individuals, communities and businesses work together to drive success
- we can bring our skills, strengths and talents to the table and together amplify and share expertise to create progressive, results-oriented solutions
- collective intelligence means we work smarter and quicker together
- diversity and difference of opinion are actually the new competitive advantage.
Networking, connecting, meeting, doing coffee, lunch dates and even speed connecting – all these terms are synonymous with meeting others to drive skill sets, contacts and ongoing business and personal growth. And however much you might want to hide under the white tablecloths of a corporate breakfast, powerful and effective networking has evolved and is now a business must for all who want to forge ahead.
It’s not simply about building up a Rolodex of business cards (or, more accurately, a smartphone full of virtual ones), a mass of LinkedIn contacts or a significant number of social-media followers. It’s about a true meeting of minds and skill sets, and skilfully parlaying said meetings into long-range, successful relationships.
Networking is a must-have for successful collaboration, and diversity of that network is the tipping point between average connections and those that collaborate to create magic. The cross-fertilisation of connections, skills and brainpower- and the ideas that are openly discussed and shared through network creation – in their turn create new opportunities, innovation and new solutions to existing problems. It’s a domino effect—the way your initial networks interact provides a guideline for the subsequent or flow-on networks that spring up from these collaborations. They will only benefit from your experience and way of working together.
The most innovative businesses and organisations are finding that collaboration and effective and powerful networking are giving them an edge.
The most innovative businesses find that collaboration and effective and powerful networking give them an edge.
So how do you find, build and manage a diverse network? How do you gain entry to a true circle of excellence that will work with you and not against you? Because, let’s face it, there are still ladder-kickers out there.
The critical element of a powerful network that can become your lifeline, and is an absolute must-have for successful collaboration, is diversity.
Powerful networks are those that are cross-functional and cross-industry.
Think about it. A like-minded network limits the breadth of conversation. Lawyers sit in a room with lawyers sharing their legal experience from the industry of law. CEOs play golf with CEOs, fashion-industry PR experts mingle with other fashion-industry PR experts. Imagine the colour of the conversation if instead you had lawyers, accountants, creatives, athletes, marketers and business owners discussing the various solutions to a problem. Imagine the different perspectives shared, the varying insights, the depth of conversation that would stretch thinking and push perspective wider.
Diverse connections:
- challenge thinking
- drive further questions
- push boundaries
- increase awareness
- open our eyes to another way
- bring to the forefront opportunities that were previously not in the direct line of vision
- present solutions that were not previously on the radar
- create innovations that were once not thought possible.
Who do you need to surround yourself with to inspire you and your business to achieve more? As Jim Rohn said, ‘You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.
Understanding the power of your network and using its potential is intrinsic to the ‘We’ mentality. To care about the wellbeing of those who are connected to you through business similarities, or ethical focus, or a desire to advance the same cause – and expecting nothing in return—this creates a fantastic opportunity for collaborative relationships, and also for a true value exchange, where ‘what’s in it for Me’ turns into ‘what can do for you’.
Janine Garner, businesswoman, entrepreneur, author of ‘From Me to We – Why commercial collaboration will future-proof business, leaders and personal success’ (Wiley)
This article first appeared in issue 10 of the Inside Small Business quarterly magazine
