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Keep Tabs on Your Friends
Document Your Network
BY NOW YOU’VE FIGURED out that you can’t improve your leadership skills completely on your own. The very essence of being a leader means interacting with others; that’s why you got into this business, to work with people (yes, it’s right there in the job description). The fact is, you need other people—and not just to have someone to lead. You need others to provide feedback, ideas, and encouragement. You need people to exchange information with, to seek answers from, and to connect you with other people. Perhaps most important, you need people who will say nice things about you if you ever need a recommendation (who hasn’t experienced that lately?). In short, if you want to pull yourself up by your own bootstraps and develop your leadership skills, it helps to have a wealth of other people to draw on for support (for more on assessing your network, see Chapter 2).
By this point, you know all about the importance of networks; you’ve been reminded of this since you entered the workforce. But especially now, and especially as a leader, you need to network, network, network (by the way, you know a concept has reached critical importance when it becomes a verb as well as a noun). If you’re already a great networker, if you have lots of contacts and work hard to keep them current, good for you. If not, it’s generally because you don’t like networking, you’re too busy to do it, or you don’t feel you need to meet new people. It’s one of those reasons, isn’t it? Go ahead, I’ll wait—pick out your reason (be honest now). OK, have you identified the issue? Great, now let’s explore a technique that may change your approach to networking.
Start with a List
You may be getting the feeling that every exercise begins with a list, and in this case, you’d be right. Make a list of everyone you know in the world of business—absolutely everyone. Include every person you’ve ever met or worked with; go back to your earliest jobs and companies and write down the names of people you’d like to reconnect with, stay in touch with, or just keep tabs on (see Chapter 8). Add to the list anyone that you want to meet or work with, including people in your current company, but also vendors, recruiters, business partners, clients, contacts, authors, etc. Don’t stop until you can’t think of another person that you know, need to know, or would like to know. (Obviously, you might want to stretch this exercise out over several weeks—this could take awhile!) Put all of the names together in a document that you can access easily, and start taking control of your network.
I use a simple spreadsheet to manage my network, and I recommend it as a convenient way to keep track of people and plan your networking activities. First, arrange your network into meaningful groups, such as previous companies, vendors, trade associations, and so forth; it helps to “bucket” people into categories of when and how you met them. Following their names, create a column labeled “Then” to indicate how you knew (or know) them by documenting their role and company. Then, because people often change jobs, create a “Now” column to indicate what role and company they’re in now. Use the next two columns to record their current contact information (label these columns “Email” and “Phone”). Then (and this is the key column) create a “Last Contact” column to make a note of the last time you heard from them. Only put a date in this column if you truly made contact with them—you want a record of your network hits and not merely the attempts. Next, organize yourself by planning your next contact: When are you going to reach out to them again? Label this column “Next Contact.” Finally, create a “Notes” column to capture what you talked about or any other pertinent information you want to document.
Use the List Every Day
Open and use your network spreadsheet every day. Literally, there shouldn’t be a day that goes by that you do not update the list. Every time you touch base with a contact, update the “Last Contact” column. And then immediately document when you plan to connect with them again by filling in the “Next Contact” column (I like to touch base with everyone in my network at least twice a year, so I plan my next contact accordingly). Keep the contact information up-to-date at all times; when someone moves or gets a new phone number or email address, change it on your list (this takes work; don’t get lazy with this or you’ll lose track of people—and your network is useless if it is out of date). Another trick you might find useful is to document how you know certain people. I use the “Now” column to make notes to myself about where I met someone or who introduced us. In the “Notes” column, write down anything that you think will help you remember conversations, obligations, key connection points, etc. I sometimes capture how I feel about the relationship or make a note of what I want to accomplish next time (I may want to reach out more often or ask for a favor).
There’s something about the process of organizing your network that makes it come alive for you. Use this technique to go back in time and find old friends and colleagues that you used to work with (sign on to social networking Web sites such as Face-book and LinkedIn and start tracking them down). Use it to keep track of business contacts outside of your company—the ones you’d forget to call or write otherwise (these contacts are critical, especially if you need a wide network to help you find your next job). Use it to expand the list of people you know inside the company; in fact, you can “pre-populate” the list and then use it as inspiration to start meeting those people so you can update their information in the spreadsheet!
How many people should you have in your network? The simple answer is: as many as you can. When you reach out to reconnect with people, don’t worry that you won’t have anything to say or that you’re pestering them with calls or emails. They’ll let you know whether (and how often) they want to maintain contact through their actions. Use your own judgment about how many times to reach out before crossing them off your list (I never cross anyone off the list entirely, but I do “gray out” the names of people who just won’t take the time to connect). Who should be in your network? Anyone that you a) want to stay in touch with, b) need to have a relationship with to get work done, or c) feel you can help (or can help you) now or sometime in the future.
Like a lot of leadership skills, networking is an art—and art requires you to put your own personal stamp on it. You’re smart, so you know these relationships won’t maintain themselves. You have to work at meeting and staying in touch with people. Turn your network into a working document, and manage it daily. Get organized and planful about your relationship building, and challenge yourself to build (and use) a stronger network. After all, you never know when you’re going to need it.
Bootstrap Takeaways
Document Your Network
1. Create and maintain a healthy network of business colleagues and contacts. Start by writing down the name of everyone you know or should know.
2. Put your network into a “working document” that you use on a daily basis. Make updating your network a regular routine.
3. Use your network proactively and strategically. Get planful and organized about who you’re contacting and why.