Networking Tips for Everyone

Thanks for reading my blog, and I hope you enjoy thinking about my ideas. Please tell me how you like the experience.

Recognize this logo? It’s important to you, and I’ll tell you why in one minute. First, a story. I recently saw a cartoon of a herd of cows. One lifts his head and says, “Hey, you guys, this is grass. We’ve been eating GRASS!” Well, I’ll be that cow right now, and I’ll tell you what I think we’re doing. Namely, we’re living in the center of a monumental communication revolution that has changed our lives forever. Let me explain.

I was chatting with my friend Stacie Tamaki last Saturday. She created that logo as part of her campaign to generate help for a cousin who desperately needs a bone-marrow transplant. Stacie told me incredible stories of the contacts she’s been making world-wide -- with individuals as well as donor programs. Nearly all online. She’s primarily using Facebook, Twitter, her various websites, her blog, and email. Her project shows how far we’ve come from the days of communicating with smoke signals and town criers. Stacie’s logo is important in two ways: First, for rallying support for the worthwhile program it represents, and second, for symbolizing the enormous power of online communication.

By the way, click on the logo to learn more about Stacie’s project. Maybe you can help her directly, and maybe her example can show you how to run a similar project.

So, how about Networking? Well, here you are, reading my blog (online, I presume), so I may be “preaching to the choir”. Nevertheless, let’s find the big picture here. We’re past “amazing”, by now, and these online tools are no longer just for teeny-boppers who ask “What are you doing now?” Smart, creative people in all lines of work are finding these tools unbeatable for exchanging all kinds of messages -- the only limit is our imagination.

Social applications like Facebook and Twitter, through their connections to websites and blogs, let us spread our ideas faster, farther, and wider. We ought to stay aware of these developments and use them for our own networking messages -- discussing ideas, asking questions, offering help, updating plans, and spreading news, just to suggest a few.

We’ll notice how our access to more new information helps us understand more and accomplish more every day. Of course, we need to balance that against how much the trivial portion of all this new information wastes our precious time and distracts us from more important issues in our lives.

What important issues? Ones that matter most. The current explosion in online communication creates options for making our face-to-face encounters more effective, rewarding, and productive. In other words, making our life more worthwhile.

Obviously each of us has many unique needs, and for me one of the strongest is to constantly keep in touch with many friends. Better online communication helps me network better. For example, last Saturday I met Stacie, and many other business friends, at a swinging networking event called “Martini Madness”. It’s coordinated mainly online, through Facebook and Evite, and what a night it was! The brainchild of my friend Duncan Reyes, this movable mayhem meets quarterly at some notable facility in the SF Bay Area. Members socialize, deepen our friendships, and strengthen the basis for working together even more effectively.

What an extraordinary happening this is! What a boon to all of us, and to our clients, as well. We all benefit from Duncan’s imagination and talent for organizing. He is a fabulous wedding and event coordinator (formerly social events coordinator at the Westin St Francis, where I first met him), and he uses the newest online resources to organize “Martini Madness”. I haven’t had an opportunity to work with him now that he’s on his own, but based on how he handles “Martini Madness”, I’m really looking forward to it.

Now, what should we do? No matter what business we’re in, we can all follow Duncan’s inspiration. Let’s go out and create opportunities for our colleagues to meet and develop deeper personal and professional relationships. Maybe add entertainment and educational aspects to these opportunities. As a result, we’ll all work together better, and our clients will love THAT. While we’re at it, let’s support not just our own program but similar programs our colleagues create. We’re all in this together, and we’ll find the more our colleagues prosper, the more we’ll prosper.

Speaking of prospering, the band has been keeping busy this year, and I’m always on the lookout for more opportunities. For instance, will you be celebrating a significant event soon? Throw a party and include us. Are friends talking about a wedding? Please recommend us. Today I’m talking with people hosting parties for Easter Sunday and Mother’s Day. If you’ll have a soiree on one of these days, or on any day in between, now’s a good time to arrange the details, including the music.

Have a question? We’ll have the answer. Call us at 408-245-9120. You’ll love what we do. We’re easy to work with, so let our experience help your celebration.

In the meantime, please catch us at a few public events coming up. On Friday, April 3, we’ll create an elegant mood at the Computer History Museum, in Mountain View, during cocktails at a reception and art auction to benefit the Alzheimers Association. On Sunday, April 12, we’ll be entertaining during Easter brunch at The Toll House Hotel, in Los Gatos. Two days later, on Tuesday, April 14, we’ll create a lively atmosphere for the annual “S.V.C.A. Hospitality Awards” at Club Auto Sport, in San Jose. Please visit MagnoliaJazz.com for details, and I hope to see you soon.

Please tell me what you think about any of my ideas. I’ll reply to all your opinions and comments.