It’s not what you know but who you know, or so the saying goes. Lester Coney, executive vice president at Mesirow Financial, couldn’t agree more. Charged with forging strategic alliances and brokering multimillion-dollar partnerships for the Chicago-based conglomerate, Coney states, “Every business is relationship business, and your ability to cultivate relationships is essential to your success in any and all aspects of business.” In Never Eat Alone … And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time (Currency; $24.95), authors Keith Ferrazzi and Tahl Raz outline a definitive guide to building an impressive network of friends, colleagues, and contacts. The hobnobbing primer touts the tenets of engaging in meaningful interactions over those of routinely recommended networking practices that include frenzied card swapping.
Coney points to the following insights for growing your social circle:
Never eat alone. Don’t limit your networking to business meetings. Capitalize on all opportunities to talk and/or meet with others. Initiate conversations over meals, in the elevator, during a taxi ride, or while picking up your dry cleaning.
Don’t wait to be invited. You shouldn’t rely on lucky encounters. Be proactive in building contacts by joining professional associations, volunteering for community service projects, and taking a seat on a nonprofit board.
Create a win-win relationship. Identify ways to make your relationships mutually beneficial. Offer your time, resources, and expertise to assist others in achieving their goals, before requesting any favors from them.
The Business of Nonprofit
“Escalating costs, diminishing resources, and increasing competition have posed many of the same business quandaries for nonprofits as for their private-sector counterparts,” says Harold E. Creacy, attorney and executive director of Ocean-Monmouth Legal Services Inc., a New Jersey-based organization that provides free legal representation for low-income residents in civil cases.
In an effort to heighten organizational
performance, Creacy enrolled in an executive-level program at Columbia Business School’s Institute for Not-For-Profit Management in 2006. Creacy says the six-month course offered an in-depth look at best-in-class management paradigms for the social sector.He later rolled out a strategic plan that included these class takeaways:
Know the mission. State the purpose and long-term direction of the organization. Be clear about what your organization does and does not do. Creacy communicates the company’s agenda with a formal, written mission statement. He also reinforces the mission at board and employee meetings and during interactions with donors.
Streamline operations. Focus on what gets the job done. Eliminate efforts that do not produce outcomes aligned with the organization’s mission. Creacy worked with his team to identify tasks that most helped the organization achieve its goals and then outlined policies, procedures, incentives, and rewards to support those tasks.
Measure progress. Evaluate how
things are working. Creacy is developing a balanced scorecard to assess how well the organization meets its goals in strategic, financial, operational, and client satisfaction areas. He uses the information to make necessary adjustments in work plans.For more information about executive education courses offered at the Columbia School of Business, log on to www.gsb.columbia.edu/execed.
Volunteering Helps You, Too
According to the 2005 Deloitte Volunteer Impact Survey, employed Americans overwhelmingly agree that volunteering can help boost their career. “Volunteering pays huge career-building dividends,” affirms Angela Eason, Deloitte Consulting senior manager and corporate volunteer. Eason, who volunteers with several Southern California nonprofits and serves on the board of the National Black M.B.A. Association, explains that volunteering gives professionals the opportunity to network with peers, share existing skills, learn new ones, and add to their portfolio of work experience–all of which she says can lead to career advancement.
Eason further supports her claim with additional findings and recommends these strategies for maximizing your volunteer experiences:
87% of survey respondents said volunteering can expand an individual’s network of business contacts. Volunteer with your professional or alumni associations. Ask your mentor, boss, or colleagues with which organizations they volunteer and consider joining them.
78% of survey respondents said volunteering can help an individual develop skills that can be used at work. Choose projects that allow you to develop transferable skills such as planning, budgeting, project management, writing, and public speaking.
Consider participating in other projects outside of your profession to take advantage of cross-functional training.
81% of survey respondents said volunteering can enhance an individual’s professional reputation. Ask colleagues about their volunteer activities and invite them to get involved in yours. And if you receive awards for your efforts don’t be afraid to display them around your work space.