Transforming organisations

Networking and loyalty

Everyone is talking about networking. Those that aren’t are either writing a book about it or firing off emails and blogs about networking, like me.

Networking organisations are no different from any other, some are moving in a positive direction, a virtuous cycle of development and growth, others are in decline.

In the UK right now you could choose from twenty that are active in your own locality. And then there are those that are online such as Ecademy. This group has just hit 100,000 members globally. They talk about having ‘a friend in every town’. But you can’t enrol with all these organisations, they all take our time, our energy and our money, so which ones do you choose?

From a business perspective, I think it is important to spend resources where you are likely to meet people you could eventually work with or work for. Notice how interactive all the media have become. We are invited to comment or join the debate; our opinion on this programme or that show is suddenly “valuable”. Why is this? Nobody cared a few years ago. Well everyone is trying to buy our loyalty, they all want us to sign up and be part of their thing, their community, their world. And we do the same with our newsletters and podcasts.

Some networking organisations want you to make an annual commitment, some want you to sign up for life. I guess it’s a bit like dating really. Is this networking relationship to be a one night stand or are we pledging to become forever together?

Perhaps it needs to be a mix of both because you can’t build relationships short term and it is long term relationships that are often based upon trust, honesty and mutual respect. This means that some of our subscriptions are fairly permanent and others may have to be reviewed annually.

So which ones do you join? Well, like so many other things, it all depends on your bull’s eye.

posted by Tim @ 1:05 AM