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To Text or Call: That is the Question?

Is texting just the latest fad that will go the way of pagers (remember them), MySpace, and PDAs?  I am genuinely interested in why and how texting became such the preferred way of communicating, especially among the millennial generation, but also for other generations.  Let’s go back a number of years to say, 1983, before anyone knew what the internet was, and virtually no one had a portable phone.  Doctors and salespeople were just beginning to use pagers, then called “beepers.”  Car phones, big bulky devices, were beginning to be installed on the floor boards of cars.  If hospitals (or sales managers) wanted to get in touch with people urgently, they used the pager, and the person would go to a pay phone (remember them?)  to return that urgent page.  Answer machines were actual machines where we could hear the message of the person calling (as it was being recorded) from another room in our house.  This was before the concept of “voicemail.”  So we had pagers, car phones, and primitive answer machines.

The internet intervened in our lives in a big way in the 90s, and really not much before that.  I was so excited to get an account with American Online, and instead of using my entire last name Saleebey, which wasn’t taken, I chose wsaleeb@aol.com, which I have kept until now, much to the chagrin of my gmail counterparts.  Social media began to emerge with sites like Friendster and MySpace, but it was mostly for the younger generation.  How did we communicate with the home office?  Facsimile, or fax as it came to be known.  “Fax it to me” became the business mantra of choice.  As e-mail began to take over and become ubiquitous, more businesses asked us to “e-mail it to me.”  I remember thinking that e-mail was just a passing fad.

Many things have intervened, some of them just fads and some of them have become a part of how we live our lives.  I am currently writing a “blog post,” which didn’t exist as such just a few years ago.  I get e-mail constantly, use a laptop computer, a smart phone, and have come closer and closer to my limit of 200 text messages a month.  As a 63 year old man, I am neither a Luddite or a technology trend setter, but somewhere in between.  I actually got an IPhone because my last device wouldn’t receive text messages without a hassle.  I notice the transition from calling someone when you are running late to texting them.  I really don’t believe texting at that point is fundamentally better or even quicker.  I am a big believer in fads and trends, and that they all pass at some point.  For example, markets now have self check-out, but they often have market employees doing all of the work for you, so it’s not really self check-out at all.

There always seems to be someone on the cutting edge, or the supposed cutting edge, telling us we have to get a Betamax machine, subscribe to Home Box Office (that’s HBO in case you forgot), join Friendster, or join Netflix.  By the time I get around to some of those things, they have been replaced by something quicker, sleeker, or trendier.  I have begun to text more, but at times I feel it is just as efficient to make a phone call, especially when I want a dialogue or clarification without a lot of back and forth.  Besides, it is downright dangerous to text while driving.

My concerns center around that fact that as a society, we tend to embrace the latest technological advance, regardless of the benefits of more traditional modes of communication.  A phone call still serves a purpose, though texting may be quicker and mitigate the need to actually have a conversation with human voices.  I am not opposed to texting or anything that might come after it.  What concerns me is the blind embracing of the new technologies, without considering that a more “primitive” channel of communication might work just as well.  Some people seem to be using text messaging to prove how modern they are, regardless of the appropriateness of it.  As a baby boomer, I can observe members of my generation almost equally divided among those who embrace new technologies, and those who eschew any and all of them.  Some people are kind of caught in the middle, like when we call someone on the phone, hoping for voicemail so we don’t have to actually talk to them.  I’m certain that next year (or next month for that matter) some new form of communication will emerge as the preferred or hippest method, and many will rush to use it.  As for me, you can call me, e-mail me, send me a message through FB or LinkedIn.  I will try to check all of them every minute, so I never miss anything.  Or I might just move to a tropical island like I did in 1976 and hide from everyone for a year.

What about you?  Are you just infatuated with texting, or do you really believe that it is the most efficient way to get your message across to others?

Using LinkedIn for Fun and Profit

I was first introduced to LinkedIn several years ago by my son Billy.  He said, “You have to join LinkedIn.”  With some prompting and good old fashioned logic, he convinced me that LinkedIn was the wave of the future, a free online advertisement, and a conduit to everyone on the planet.  So I joined, and did so with gusto, amassing many connections, some of whom I knew only peripherally.  Today, 1703 connections (and counting) and 65 recommendations later, I am considered an expert on LinkedIn.  I know many, though not all, aspects of this premier business networking site.  I continue to invite people to be a connection, and accept invitations of others on a daily basis.  What then are the basics of using LinkedIn?

First of all, you must sign up.  Then you need to write a Profile as detailed and comprehensive as possible. Take the time to make sure you have included all relevant work and educational experience in your profile.  You must upload a professional picture.  This is critical.  Once you are satisfied with your profile and picture, it is time to start compiling your connections.  I recommend that you invite anyone who you know in business, friends, relatives, and significant people in your life.  My philosophy is “the more the merrier.”  The more connections you have, the more opportunity to build a truly wide social media network.  The six degrees of separation principle is in effect here.  You don’t really know who the people you know are acquainted with.  This factor can be utilized when you want to be introduced to someone who knows someone you know.

As you begin building your online network, it is useful to read about your connections so that you have more to talk to them about.  For example, if you have  meeting with someone (connection or not) you can peruse their profile and find out about their employment, educational and personal background.  This can be invaluable in your initial discussions.  It is more and more common in business for people to do online research on potential business partners.

Another key component of your LinkedIn page is Recommendations.  Ask for recommendations from people with whom you have done business.  Another useful tactic is to write a recommendation for some of your contacts.  As you gain new connections, continue to seek and give recommendations.

LinkedIn can be used to do research on people to determine their suitability.  You can also use the Search function to find people, as most business people are now on LinkedIn.  You can even find people who work at a specific company.  For example, if I want to meet an attorney at a particular firm, I can search to see if I know anyone who works at that firm.  With 1703 connections, I probably do.

You can join groups (there are hundreds of them), form groups, and have discussions and dialogues.  Ultimately, LinkedIn is about an interaction and engagement of others.  You can share your blogs (I am going to share this one), respond to others’ postings, and regularly post updates about your business activities.  It is not enough to join LinkedIn, you have to be active in it.

You will determine your level of participation in LinkedIn depending on your needs and available time.  If you are in business development or recruiting, it is an outstanding tool.  But like any tool, it is only as good as your judicious and consistent use of it.  I will be doing a number of presentations on using LinkedIn.  Stay tuned.

The Social Side of Business Networking

Imagine a conversation at a networking mixer, amidst a very noisy room.  A woman asks a man, “What do you do for fun?”  He doesn’t hear the “for fun” part and begins to describe his business to her.  She laughs, and says “That’s what you do for fun?  Sounds like work to me.”  Puzzled, he asks what she means.  When we encounter people at mixers and networking events, we often emphasize the business aspects of our lives.  While this is normal and expected, it is really the social side of business networking where we forge deeper relationships and get to know others’ real personal interests and passions.  I have noticed that conversations usually start with the cliched, “And what do you do?” which leads to purely business conversations.  These often have no real impact and can be easily forgotten.

If you want to build substantial relationships with others, it is imperative to incorporate a personal dimension.  What do we have in common with others outside of business?  It could be where we live, hobbies, personal interests, the books we are reading, our children or grandchildren, caring for aging parents, or travel.  It could really be anything, but it must be a non-business conversation.  People want to get to know you as a person, not as a personal injury attorney or executive coach.

Social mixers offer a great opportunity for having personal conversations.  The venue, the food, and yes, the drinks can loosen us up so we are more apt to share what is going on in our lives.  It is highly unlikely that you will establish an enduring relationship if you stay on a strictly business path.  By sharing something personal about yourself, you allow others to connect with you in a more meaningful way.

How do we accomplish this?  It is really quite simple.  Ask open-ended questions about topics you are interested about, such as where they grew up, where they went to school, their hobbies, travel, or sports.  If they indicate an interest, you could talk about books, movie, music or food.  The important thing is to be genuinely interested and an attentive listener.  Try to remember what they say, so that you can develop the relationship in subsequent encounters.  By doing this, you are not avoiding business topics, but rather you are building a solid personal relationship as a foundation on which to develop a business relationship.

As you meet new people, the key is have a balance between personal and business conversations.  Pay attention to what others want to talk about, and if you know something about the topics they bring up, respond appropriately.  Try not to be argumentative, especially in a business setting.  The more people like you, based on personal topics, the more likely they will be to expand your business relationship.

Request for Proposals are a Request to Waste Time

I just read a timely article in the Los Angeles Business Journal (5/16/2011) on the process of filling out Request for Proposal, better known as RFPs.  I have had to fill out many of them in my attempts to secure business.  They are often long, and in many cases very long.  Let me go back to say that in order to get my qualifications across to potential clients, it doesn’t take 100 pages.  I can usually get the essential information in a few pages, plus my references.  In fact, there have been times when I submitted a basic proposal for commercial relocation services, only to have a consultant or project manager enter the scene and require my company to complete a lengthy (and often irrelevant) RFP.  I represent a high quality company with many years of experience and reams of references.  I have over thirty years in the business, and have successfully handled over 3,000 commercial relocations.  Despite this fact, my company is often required to go through the tedious process of responding to an RFP.

The people who read RFPs usually have a spreadsheet that analyzes the information, whittles the aspirants down to a “short list”, and then ultimately the decision is made.  Completing the RFP takes time, research, and many hours.  Though some of the questions are relevant, many are impertinent and merely designed to cover legal contingencies.  In most cases the people who administer the RFPs are trying to justify their existence and fees to the client.  Unfortunately it is usually impossible to circumvent the RFP process and simply submit the basic necessary information such as labor, costs, experience, and references.  I will still reluctantly complete RFPs for significant or desired projects, but I will do so under protest.  They are largely a time drain and waste of time, both to the client and the “bidder.”  I agree with the author of the article, who posited that RFP really stands for “Really Foolish Process.”

The Social Part of Business Networking

I am continually struck by the interaction of business and personal conversations in the process of business networking.  Traditionally at business mixers, people look at your name tag and ask, “What do you do?”  You then answer, hopefully in a clear and succinct manner, and ask them a similar question.  This type of discussion, though it might yield insights into the business side of a person,  does nothing to develop or deepen the personal relationship which is so essential to success in networking.  It has been demonstrated that people are somewhat “wired” to falling somewhere on the continuum of a purely business orientation to  a purely personal/relational one.  We could just as well ask “Tell me about yourself, your interests, and your passions” or “Let’s get to know each other” but some business settings don’t seem to encourage that type of interaction.

Ideally, we find a comfortable blend of personal discussions  to enhance the business relationship.  We might ask where a person was born, where they went to school, what their hobbies are, or if they have any animals.  I have noticed that there is often an almost unconscious drifting to more personal conversations.  A purely business discussion does nothing to develop the rapport necessary for building a strong personal relationship.  For these reasons, it is beneficial to include social activities (mixers, socials, sports tournaments, outings) in the mix of your networking activities.  Learn about others and what they do outside of work.  Pay attention to these conversations, and build upon them in future discussions.

Sometimes it is necessary to build some kind of personal connection in order to derive any business benefit such as referrals or introductions.  People have to get to know you, like you, and trust you before they are willing to share trusted contacts.  If you focus solely on business conversations, you are missing the opportunity to build meaningful and enjoyable relationships, and the possibility to exchange business referrals.  This does not mean that every discussion has to be deeply personal.  However, it is important to be open to personal conversations.  Be interested in others, and you will develop friendships as well as business connections.

Golf as a Team Sport

I played in a golf tournament on Friday with members of Bruin Professionals, a UCLA alumni group of which I am an active member.  I haven’t really been playing golf much lately, except an occasional round on the pitch and putt course at Rancho Park.  I hadn’t practiced, has just gotten back from a two week European vacation, and didn’t know what to expect.  I knew that there would be others who were much better players than me.  I had signed up for the tournament strictly for the fellowship, and had no idea of the tournament format.  It turned out to be a “scramble”, in which you take the best shots of each member of your foursome.  Our foursome was a team, and any concerns I had about my individual performance were minimized almost immediately.  I would try to contribute, but it didn’t matter if I shanked a drive or missed a putt.  I had three other people, all better golfers than me, who could do the heavy lifting.

I noticed almost immediately that we developed a team rather than an individual attitude toward our score on each hole.  We truly wanted other members of our foursome to have good shots and for our score as a team to be as low as possible.  Lloyd was clearly the best and most consistent player and a very humble person.  Steven was also very good, very competitive, but seemingly playing below his potential.  Nancy was a solid player who plays golf at least once a week.  All of them were more scientific about the game than I have ever been.  I’m more of a “grip it and rip it” kind of player rather than a strategic one, so I deferred to almost all of the group’s decision about our strategy.  We ended up being tied for second place.  I had some good shots, many bad ones, but I really enjoyed being part of the team and how it affected my attitude considering my “rusty” play.  It didn’t matter what I did, but what the results of the team were.

The experience was very interesting from an interpersonal point of view.  I learned a lot about the other members of my foursome: their children, their interests, their style of play, their level of competitiveness.  We all encouraged, rather than competed against, the other members of our foursome.  We didn’t have much interaction with the other three foursomes.  We were competing against them, but didn’t know exactly how they were doing compared to us.  At the end of the round of golf, we all went to the clubhouse for a couple of beers.  There was laughter and levity, and I felt that the sixteen of us had something in common through the experience.  However, I had much more of a connection with the members of my foursome than the others.  In ways we had operated as four distinct groups until we met after the game.

This was a different form of networking than typical formats such as business meetings or lunches.  Games such as tournament golf allow us to see others in a very different light.  In fact, it was hard to physically recognize some people I know well in their ball caps and sunglasses.  This experience allowed us all a time away from the office, playing a game we enjoy, with some competition to keep it interesting, in the interest of the group.  I was pleased that I could contribute in a small way to the successes of our team.  More importantly, I deepened my relationships, especially with members of my foursome.  I look forward to the next tournament, when I can meet some different people and share the experience.

Using LinkedIn Effectively

I was first introduced to LinkedIn several years ago by my son, who told me that “I had to join LinkedIn.”  I wasn’t sure why I had to join, but I took his advice, wrote my profile, uploaded a picture, and began building my online network by adding connections.  I really had no idea where any of these activities would lead me, but I was having fun expanding my virtual network.  Over time I became a bit of an expert on LinkedIn, and colleagues would ask me how to use it effectively.  From my experience, the starting point is to write a detailed and comprehensive profile, including education and work experience.  It is worth spending time to include the most relevant aspects of your career in the profile.  It is also important to upload a professional photo and to include peripheral information like links to your blog and other social media sites.

After you have completed your profile (and proofread it), you should then begin inviting anyone and everyone with whom you have a business relationship.  This should include people you know to some degree.  You don’t need to know them well to invite them to be a connection.  Additionally, when someone invites you who you know, accept their invitation and read their profile and list of connections.  So you have written a great profile, uploaded a flattering picture of yourself, and begun to build your professional online network.

The next step is to begin to post updates of your professional activities: deals, honors, speaking engagements, publications.  Spread the word about your business updates.  Include web sites when relevant.  LinkedIn will serve as a vehicle to promote your business, and without any cost except your time.  If done properly, you can get information out on a regular basis about everything you are doing.  Don’t be shy about providing these updates.

Another step is to begin seeking recommendations from connections with whom you have worked: clients, business associates, colleagues.  You will also be able to reciprocate and provide others with recommendations on their work.  These recommendations will then be posted on your LinkedIn profile.  You should also join groups that are related to your field of expertise and education.  Depending on the amount of time you have to devote to LinkedIn, you can join in discussions with other members of the groups, make announcements of upcoming events, and pose questions for group members.  Ultimately, LinkedIn and other forms of social media are ways to engage and dialogue with members of your online network.  Social media is not passive, but a vehicle to engage in virtual communication with others 24/7 and around the world.

You also need to periodically update your profile and continue to invite people to join your network.  Read the comments of your various groups, and weigh in when appropriate.  The more connections you have and the more active you are, the more value you will derive from LinkedIn.  LinkedIn is the premier business social networking site, and has become increasingly important in the process of business development.  It should be an integral part of anyone’s social media campaign.

Networking in the Modern Age

The concept of business networking is changing as rapidly as every new development in social media.  Self-styled experts are telling us to tweet, to post, to update, to blog, while traditionalists are insisting that there is no substitution for face-to-face, belly-to-belly old school schmoozing.  While some are quick to embrace every new social media fad and channel, others wisely adopt the solid aspects of social media, while continuing to talk to others in person and on the phone.  We have more choices than ever about how to build relationships and develop business through the networking process.  It takes a discerning approach to utilize all of the options in an optimal manner.  For example, we are able to easily find out about people in advance of meetings through Google or LinkedIn.  However, this pre-knowledge is not enough.  We still need to meet people in the moment and be open to them as they express themselves.  Just because we can find out a lot about others in advance doesn’t mean we always should do so.  In fact, some people might resent or be suspicious of people who seem to know too much about them. Additionally we might make incorrect assumptions about others based on where they worked or where they went to school.

Social media allows us to “network” in front of a computer screen or on our smart phone.  We can certianly enhance the effects of in person meetings by a judicious use of social media.  Some people will truly be impressed with us for “doing our homework.”  However, a dependence or over emphasis on social media can backfire.  You might decide to send a Tweet about a meeting you had with “Bob”, but “Bob” might not have wanted that meeting to be broadcast over the internet.  I suggest using social media as an enhancement of the overall networking process, not the centerpiece.  If you have a pleasing personality, you are missing out by not meeting others in person.  Conversely, it is short-sighted to eschew social media because you don’t know how to navigate it.  Ultimately it is the confluence of face-to-face networking and social media that will yield the best overall results.

There have been and will continue to be monumental advances and changes in the way people connect.  No one really knows exactly how the business world will look in five or ten years in terms of how people interact with one another.  Take a look at business cards of 20 years ago.  Almost all of them had physical addresses on them and few of them had e-mail addresses on them.  Today almost every business has a web site, and most progressive businesses use that web site as a integral part of doing business.  The other day I exchanged cards with one of my competitors, and was astonished that his card did not have his e-mail address on it.  You don’t have to be a computer whiz to be successful in business, but you have to at least have an e-mail address so people can get in touch with you.

The real key is balance, and the realization that you have to use various channels in order to connect effectively with a variety of people.  More importantly, you have to be flexible and determine which channel they have tuned in, so you can reach them.  Be open to change while continuing to use more traditional approaches that still yield positive results.

What Motivates People to Make Referrals and Introductions?

In the world of business networking, it is interesting to find out why some people are motivated to make referrals and introductions to others.  We meet hundreds and even thousands of people in the course of our business careers, yet we don’t refer everyone equally.  You’ve got to know someone before you would even think or referring them.  The next point is likability.  If you like someone, you are more likely to refer them than if you don’t like them.  Thirdly, we trust them and truly believe that they will do a good job.  After you know, like and trust a person, there must be something else that serves as motivation to make a referral or strategic introduction.  It could be that you are in a networking group that encourages or even requires that members make referrals and introductions.  That can be a motivating factor.  Altruism might be another key factor, the desire to help others because it is the right thing to do.  Sometimes people don’t make referrals because they are concerned that the person might not do a good job and it would reflect badly on them.

One key to effective networking is to be a giver, without expecting anything in return.  If you embrace that principle, you will be listening carefully to what others say in order to help them by referring business to them.  Another reason people make referrals is because the other person has recently stated their needs clearly and in a memorable way.  They have been clear about what a good referral is to them, and make it easy to give them a referral.  We sometimes meet multiple people who do a similar thing, yet might only remember the one we met most recently.  I know a lot of financial advisors, yet can only refer business to a small number of them.  My motivation is based on how well I know them, if I like them personally, if others have spoken positively about them, and I hear about someone who is looking for a financial advisor in their geographic region.   I might also be more likely to make a referral to a family member or close friend.

It is a well known and accepted principle that the more you give, the more you will get.  Thus, the single best way to get referrals and strategic introductions is to be generous in giving them.  Get to know people, get them to like you, make your business clear and easy to understand, and above all, do an outstanding job.  If all of those conditions are in place, and you stay with a particular business for a reasonable period of time, you will will receive referrals and introductions in abundance.  When you do, be sure to thank the person who makes the referral and if there is any way to reciprocate, do so at the next opportunity.

Raise Your Profile in Networking

There are many ways to derive benefits from business and personal networking.  One of the best is to raise your profile within every group in which you are a member.  Assuming leadership positions are the most obvious way to raise your profile.  Sometimes that takes time, but often such positions become available not long after you join a group.  In addition to being the president or moderator of a group, you can also volunteer for committees and committee chairs.  There are often opportunities which require skills that you already possess.   There is work involved, but often that work allows you to demonstrate your work ethic, dependability, organizational skills and other forms of competence.  By assuming leadership positions and other forms of involvement, you are perceived as a nexus in a given group and get to make decisions about the direction of the group.  Others will notice your skills and make positive assumptions about how that applies to your work in other situations.

There are other ways to raise your profile, especially related to social media.  A judicious use of such social media tools as blogging, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and You Tube can give you a perceived expert status.  Since I have become deeply involved in the various forms of social media, many people have approached me at events and commented on my various postings.  In utilizing social media, it is vital to make valuable contributions, and not merely to post updates about watering the lawn.  In addition to your status updates and regular blog posts, you should engage in online dialogues with your connections, friends, and people in your various LinkedIn groups.  Posting a profile and adding connections are only the first steps.   Follow up and offer your knowledge, insights, experiences and insights.  The more that others see your name, the higher your profile, and the more likely you will be perceived as an expert and someone worthy of a referral or introduction.

The more you do, both in person as a member of a group or online will increase others’ awareness of you.  As your profile increases, so will your success.  Perception is reality, and if you act like a leader you will be treated like one.  When opportunities arise, seize them enthusiastically and carry them out to the best of your ability.  Show up regularly and step up to the various challenges that are put before you.  If you take the time to join a group, you may as well maximize your involvement.  The same is true of social media.  There are many opportunities to go beyond the status quo.  If you want to have a business with endless referrals and constant introduction, it is up to you.