I attended a networking workshop organized by FountainBlue, one of our partner organizations, yesterday in Palo Alto, and found many of the points and tips discussed very effective and useful.

Here are some of the ideas that were bounced around during the discussion:

1. Follow up you must!

Everyone knows the importance of following up; however, it might be a time-consuming process for anyone to do so, considering the number of people you network with everyday.

To enhance the follow up process, you can create templates for different categories of people that you network with. This can be done by saving your past follow up emails and modifying it to a template. Over time you will have a database of email templates that you can call upon. Use these templates instead of drafting new emails every time you meet
someone new.

2. Categorize the level of friendship you want to build when you meet someone.

Have in mind what level of friendship you would like to achieve by the end of the event. Ask yourself this question: Do I just want a surface contact or someone that can refer me to another job/opportunity or a business partner? The deeper the relationship develops, the more time and effort is needed to sustain it. With limited time and resources on hand, it is impossible to have level 5 relationships with everyone that you know, therefore it is important to prioritize the relationships that you would like to sustain.

3. Do what you say and say what you do!

This statement can’t be more true. It is not only applicable to networking but in all aspects of life. Do not say you will do a follow up if you have no intention of doing so. And over time, that’s how you build up your reputation and credibility. Remember people only like to be associated/introduced by people with good reputation and credibility.

4. Don’t piss people off!

Well, this may sound obvious, but you are spending time and money to attend a networking event to know people, make contacts and to build friendships and not make enemies. I would like to share with you a little story from Linda Holroyd’s (CEO of FountainBlue) personal experiences in a networking event not too long ago. A lady entered late in the middle of the event. She was dressed in an amazingly inappropriate night gown, considering it was a morning event. Throughout the event, her cell phone was ringing and she was interrupting the speaker. After the event, she went up to Linda and tried to strike a conversation with her, but by then her previous actions had left a really bad impression in Linda’s mind.

5. Never burn bridges

This goes in line with the previous point. If you happen to have left a really bad first impression on someone, it’s bad, but it isn’t the end of the world. If you fared poorly in the first meeting, make an effort to mend the relationship. Being honest and sincere certainly helps and what appears to be a closed door might be opened for you with a little hard work and perseverance.

Final thoughts

On a more personal note, I feel that Linda’s framework is very useful, be it to a veteran networker or someone who is new to networking. Some core values like practice what you say and being true to yourself goes a long way in building up one’s reputation and credibility. Special thanks should go to Linda for opening up the events to NUSEA members.

Pls feel free to comment and add on your views and opinions.

The detail tips/notes on the above networking workshop can be found in

http://fountainblue.blogspot.com/

We had a Mentorship Unplugged session recently with Tom, a business analyst who helps enterprises and individuals define and achieve business strategies, develop and market products and services, and increase efficiency. He also authored books on management tools such as Gain Impact, Save Time (GIST). Tom shared with us insights and excerpts from his books and tools he had formulated which companies or individuals could use to assess their situation, their companies, their teams, business ideas and to improve their effectiveness in situations.

In one of his management tools, he shared a tool which classified people into various categories with different skill levels and working styles. He highlighted that the important thing is to realize that there are merits in all the different levels, and that if you recognize what level your team members are, you can then match the right person with the right job and maximize the efficiency of the team.

Another tool which Tom shared classified companies into different stages and modes. For example, a company could range from being in a haphazard mode (start-up phase) to being in a procedural mode (larger company). He expressed that he felt it was important to start a company in a culture higher than the “haphazard” level. In the midst of being in a “we-got-deadlines” start-up, where getting the product out to market or getting the code working is all that the team can think about, it is important for the leader to step out of that situation, slow the team down and get everyone to see things in a larger context and think through decisions properly.

Tom also shared with us anecdotes from his past experiences. Interestingly, while pursuing his Mathematics course at Caltech, he had Richard Feynman and Kip Thorne as his lecturers!

To a question posed by the audience on how to maintain innovation within a start-up that has increasingly more processes being set in place, Tom replied that 1 person could also be a bureaucracy by himself or herself. His view was that anything that is not morally or ethically wrong is probably good and worth trying out. He related personal experiences on how he had innovated time and again in his career, from how he joined a start-up that had the world’s first automated document library, to how he had helped catalyzed a nationwide grassroots movement that improved governmental service for the United States national agenda, to how he had helped introduce corporate licensing in Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (PG&E). His firm belief was that, “You can innovate in perceptibly the worst environment.”

A large company like Google is a great proof of this statement. Google places huge emphasis on maintaining an innovate culture despite its size, such as allowing employees use 20% of their work time to pursue any projects they want, or maintaining small work groups, or pursuing innovation at all levels, down to the way they store and label their food.

It was an interesting and thought-provoking evening, and NUSEA thanks Tom sincerely for openly sharing his view and experiences with us.

I just got back from a little road trip a weekend ago. But perhaps “little” isn’t exactly the right word here. It started out, innocently enough, as a visit to Yellowstone. 18 hour drive, cross 4 states, no big deal. It gradually developed, however, into an excursion covering 3 National Parks, 2 major cities and more than 3000 miles of American asphalt. And my goodness, the things I saw and did. But I’m not going to give you a running commentary of my trip. This isn’t the Travel Channel. No, I’m going to be talking about the spirit of adventure…

It’s something we all experience in some measure or other during our time here, and more often than not, on a personal level. It took a leap of faith to be able to uproot ourselves from comfortable, familiar Singapore and make the commitment to come live here for a year in the first place. But even while here, rather than settling down into a routine, we find ourselves constantly trying out new things. Things we wouldn’t normally be able to do back home. Snowboarding, skydiving, high-rolling in Vegas, nerve-wracking presentations in Stanford, you name it. Adventure’s the name of the game. 

And what a fitting topic for Silicon Valley, USA. For it was in the same spirit that the Americas were discovered, the West was won, and Google was founded. A profound sense of excitement ran common through all these, and in my time here often have I seen demonstrated the same boldness and willingness to try that has become the hallmark of the Bay Area culture. The air is constantly thick with that sense of adventure, and there’s always a buzz going round. People starting companies, investing in companies, buying other companies…never a dull moment.

I mean, you have to admit that it takes a sizeable amount of chutzpah to say “You know what; I think I’ll quit my stable, bill-paying, 9-to-5 job, and start a company of my own. I could be bankrupt by next Christmas, but hey, at least I’ll have memories!” And then be adventurous enough to do it.  

Entrepreneurs are the latter-day Indiana Joneses among us. They are (largely) fearless, gung-ho, daring to try anything and to risk all they have over little more than an idea. Some find their Holy Grail along the way. So many more fail. But hardly any stop trying. Colonel Sanders approached more than 1000 restaurants with his recipe for fried chicken before one finally agreed to give his idea a try. The rest is history.

What inspires these people? What drives them to give up that security and stability in their lives to pursue these ideals? Surely not the money. Many of these individuals are hot-shot CEOs and Vice-Presidents, with pay scales that would be obscene to most of us. I’d like to think it’s the passion in their veins, the thirst to always lead the pack in seeking the unexplored. And I am vindicated whenever I talk to an entrepreneur, and I see the sparkle in their eyes, and hear the passion in their voice when they discuss their latest venture. These people are excitement junkies. They crave adventure. 

What about the rest of us then? How many of us walk the safe, beaten path, afraid to tread where few have been? How many of us could do with some adventure in our lives? I’m proud to say that those of us who come here are living it right now. Since I came, I’ve taken every opportunity to do stuff I’ve never had the chance to before. And I think I’m better for it.

But what about you, dear reader? What’s your adventure? It doesn’t have to be an earth-shattering effort. Whatever it may be to you, I promise you it will be vastly more fulfilling than if you simply chose not to do anything at all. Take inspiration from the Silicon Valley story. Dare to do something different. Feel free to explore the unknown. You may even discover something about yourself along the way. What an adventure that would be.