|
|
|
|
|
|
Networking For Relationships Or Transactions?
I was a Peace Corps volunteer in West Africa. As I learned first hand, you can’t get to a transaction in Africa unless and until you develop the relationship – even to buy tomatoes, oranges or even fabric or gas for your moped. Sometimes that meant a 20-30 minute chat just to buy bread or a Coke.
At a meeting of Boston Ecademy, our speaker and guest host Richard Banfield, who is from South Africa, drilled home this contrast between Americans and Africans as it applies to networking.
Whereas in Africa, it’s all about the relationship and then somewhere along the line a transaction may occur. Here in the states, we are so transaction driven we’ve stripped most interactions down to the most mundane scripts with no opportunity to build the relationship in our rush to get to the next person in line. Yet, as anyone who is seeking employment these days can attest, it’s all in the relationships – that’s where the real transactions are happening.
In general, we New Englanders (natives) have a reputation for being a bit reserved when we first meet people. Once you penetrate that veneer, New Englanders are the most loyal trusted friends you’ll ever have.
In spite of this reserve, a number of other factors put New England in the top ranks in the indices that measure invention, innovation, venture financing and entrepreneurial endeavors. In fact, we are a model environment for fostering creativity – which other places want to emulate.
What we have is a rich mix of culture, people, technology, education, networks and money. It just may be our underlying Unique Selling Proposition (USP).
New Englanders are not afraid of risk – think blizzards and icy roads and we still show up, or the old whaling ships of yore. It gave us that reserve and it gave us backbone.
Add to that the diversity of people from around the globe attracted to our colleges and universities – arguably the highest density student population on the planet with some of the premier institutions ever founded. The resulting creativity is abundant.
Networks are in fact, one of the most critical contributors to our success. Ask any CEO in the region about starting your business and they all emphasize ‘build the strongest, widest network you can”. We take networks and networking seriously. Which
is why so many wide-ranging organizations are so successful providing venues and opportunities for networking.
Because we are well-networked and people move around easily, ideas and experience flow into both new and established companies. The depth of our entrepreneurial talent pool is rich. We wouldn’t have it without cultivating it from the diversity of people here, through various networking opportunities.
Innovation happens where different technologies intersect, maybe crossing the boundaries between industries. Isolated within our own industry, with our heads down, we would never see these ideas germinate and blossom.
New England is also a healthy breeding ground for venture capitalists, angel investors and their legal teams in support of these innovations. The financial base for these innovations to call on is very appealing. And of course, the money gravitates to where the people, excitement (hype?), networks and technology overlap.
New England is the oldest and most experienced region for bringing all these factors into play. The piece we have, that others are starting to see as essential, is building the relationships; the people connections where we help each other just because we can.
As leaders, we must recognize that we play a vital role in keeping the larger community strong by being generous with our networks, our knowledge, and enthusiasm, not just to close the next transaction. That’s networking at its best.
About the Author: Kerri Salls, MBA runs a virtual business school to train, consult and coach small business CEO's and entrepreneurs in 10 key strategies to make more profit in less time. Learn more at http://www.breakthrough-business-school.com/products.html or sign up for a free weekly newsletter at http://www.breakthrough-business-school.com/newsletter.shtml
Source: www.isnare.com
|
|
|
|
|
| Creativity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| Creativity (or creativeness) is a mental process involving the generation of ... Wallas considered creativity to be a legacy of the evolutionary process, ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
|
| Creativity For Life |
| An exploration of creativity in everyday life, with articles, quotes, reviews and other creative resources to awaken creativity in daily life. |
| www.creativityforlife.com |
|
| AdCritic.com: Commercial Ads |
| FROM CREATIVITY: Emerging Directors, Unite In the time it took to write this, three new directors popped up. Here are twenty to get acquainted with. ... |
| www.adcritic.com |
|
| National Curriculum in Action - Creativity - |
| Ordering Creativity packs: print and video materials. This website gives practical ideas on how to promote pupils' creative thinking and behaviour. ... |
| www.ncaction.org.uk |
|
| Ten Steps for Boosting Your Creativity |
| Experiments performed by the JPB Creative Laboratory show that watching TV causes your ... a weekly report on creativity, ideas, innovation and invention ... |
| www.jpb.com |
|
| Category:Creativity Techniques - Mycoted |
| This is a general category of Creativity and Innovation Techniques, ... I like to think of these creativity techniques as tools in a toolbox in much the ... |
| www.mycoted.com |
|
| Creativity at Work: The interplay of business, art and science |
| A resource for training and development in creativity and innovation in organizations. Has a newsletter, and some articles and essays by 'Corporate ... |
| www.creativityatwork.com |
|
| Crayola Creativity Central |
| Crayola Creativity Central offers kids arts and crafts ideas for rainy day fun. We also have coloring books and pages, art and craft projects, games, ... |
| www.crayola.com |
|
| Pages tagged with "creativity" on del.icio.us |
| All items tagged creativity ??? view popular ... Perspective for Creative Leaders · save this. by aromay to creativity business management ... 1 hour ago ... |
| del.icio.us |
|
| Creativity Web - Resources for Creativity and Innovation |
| Creativity Web Home Page Resources for Creativity and Innovation ... The Creative Process · Multiple Intelligences · Idea Recording · Your Creative Space ... |
| members.optusnet.com.au |
|
| gapingvoid: "cartoons drawn on the back of business cards": how to ... |
| So you want to be more creative, in art, in business, whatever. ... Companies that squelch creativity can no longer compete with companies that champion ... |
| www.gapingvoid.com |
|
| Creativity Quotes | Creativity Quotations | Creativity Sayings ... |
| Quotes on Creativity - part of a larger collection of Wisdom Quotes to challenge and inspire. Find Creativity quotations and links to quotes on other ... |
| www.wisdomquotes.com |
|
| Ideas by Creativity Pool |
| A free database with new ideas and possible inventions. Add your own, or bring an existing idea to life. |
| www.creativitypool.com |
|
| CREATIVITY |
| Creative problem solving depends on using the right tools, tricks, ... Search for the latest books on Creativity (or anything else) in the Quantum Books ... |
| www.quantumbooks.com |
|
| Creativity Tools, Creative Solutions & Creative Problem Solving ... |
| This page explains a wide range of techniques which can help you generate creative solutions to your problems. |
| www.mindtools.com |
|
| The 6 Myths Of Creativity |
| A new study will change how you generate ideas and decide who's really creative in your company. |
| www.fastcompany.com |
|
| CreativeClass.org |
| Richard Florida's "The Rise of the Creative Class" examines creativity and its effects on economic development. |
| www.creativeclass.org |
|
| TIP: Concepts |
| The relationship between creativity and intelligence has been always been a central concern of psychology ( Guilford , 1950). Much effort has been devoted ... |
| tip.psychology.org |
|
| American Creativity Association (ACA) |
| An incorporated non-profit organization promoting personal and professional creativity. Association membership is represented by four multidisciplinary ... |
| www.amcreativityassoc.org |
|
| CREAX - Portal for creativity and innovation |
| A resource for links on creativity and innovation on the web. A selection of 690 links is divided into 67 categories for the visitors convenience. |
| www.creax.net |
|
|