networking strategy

With forecasts of the UK’s economic prospects for 2012 remaining gloomy, the chances are that many more people will be seeking new employment over the course of this year. With more well-qualified people seeking fewer jobs, strong networks will become ever-more relevant, as will a proactive approach.

When I speak to many organisations about their existing referral strategies, many of them complain that they are giving referrals to Partners but receiving nothing back. Others question whether they should pass referrals in one direction as that company many not be able to reciprocate. 

As part of Global Entrepreneurship Week, this morning the business minister Mark Prisk announced a doubling in the size of the Mentor SME network. This increase in the mentoring support for entrepreneurs followed hot on the heels of last week's announcement from Theresa May of a new scheme to provide mentors to female entrepreneurs.

Last month I spoke at a Successful Insurance Selling conference in Milan. In preparation for the talk, I discussed the role of the family in business with my interpreter. I then shared her words with the audience, much to their amusement, when I said, "In the UK many people like to separate the family and business; in Italy, the family is the business"!

The latter part of the last decade has seen a revolution in the way we communicate. The growth of social networking has changed the way we interact with friends, both new and old; how companies engage with their customers and now even shape the way that government policy is set.

This blog originally appeared in The Huffington Post

I'm looking forward to visiting Vietnam in a couple of weeks to speak at two events about networking and why it is so important. In preparation for my talks I have been asking Vietnamese business owners and expats based there for their views on Vietnamese networking culture and how it compares to the way we network in the West.

On Friday afternoon I was interviewed by Colin Paterson on BBC Radio 5 Live in a section looking at the growth of networking in securing jobs and questioning whether networking is a positive thing.

^{* Image courtesy of socialmediaseo.net}

When you built your network, how did you decide to whom you should connect and why? 

That may seem like a strange question to many. After all, how many of us set out deliberately to develop a specific network? For most people they evolve naturally, don't they? 

Yesterday's Women's Hour on BBC Radio 4 featured a discussion on networking as part of this week's International Women's Day. 

During the discussion the presenter said, “There is one model for success. It’s called PIE. Performance 10%, Image 30% Exposure 60%, which suggests that networking is absolutely vital.”

I was recently asked to provide this guest blog for Warren Cass's excellent new site, full of social media and networking advice. 

What could you be doing instead of reading this blog? Did you pick it up from Twitter or Facebook? If so, how long have you spent on either site today? What else could you have done otherwise?

If you’re going to a networking event later, why are you bothering? You might be doing something far more productive.