Weekly       eCoach

BORA Consulting - Consultancy for Entrepreneurs - Ralf Borlinghaus
contact: ralf.borlinghaus@bora-consulting.com, +41 44 58 66 157

In a yesterday's group coaching session our topic was networking: Yes, everybody confirmed to do some sort of networking. Yes, each of them is in contact with a number of people with whom they connect, if they have a topic to discuss. No, they neither know the birthdays of their contacts nor keep important and helpful information available in a database. - Why should we do that?

Within a company there are three kinds of networks:

1. The expert network. In order to do your job properly you need to be connected to people who can be contacted in case of any questions related to your business. If you start a new job you need to build up this network as quickly as possible in order to get your job done.

2. The informal network. Companies are living and changing organizations. To protect your position you need to know what's going on. There is background information, which isn't not put in the minutes or in the official newsletters. To get those you need to be part of the informal network.

3.  The career network. It's like on the labour market outside: Vacancies are mostly announced officially, however, the top jobs are headhunted and distributed based on personal recommendation. Therefore, it's good to be connected with people who could give such kind of recommendations.

Why should the company be interested in employees who invest some of their time in networking activities? Networking is an essential and necessary investment in the company's infrastructure. The professional is like a net of highways and bridges, which connects factories, suppliers and consumers with each other. The better the infrastructure the more business can be processed between the participants. Even the informal and the career network contribute to the company's success: It's good to have employees that are informed and pushing themselves towards those positions where they can realize their full potential.

Beyond this, for yourself networking could be like spending your vacation abroad in order to discover new cultures, ideas and habits. Each human being is a world itself waiting to be discovered by others. Enjoy networking!

 Your comment is welcome

"Without friends no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods."
                                            Aristotele (384 - 322 BC)
 

"We Are The World" - Live Aid 1985                        

Strategic Self-Manager                                               

The Big World-Wide Network

"We Are The World!"

"The great American Allstars performance, "We Are The World", in the framework of the historic Live Aid rock concert in 1985 shows that beyond all professional networks we are part of the one big social network requiring our attention.