Martijn Aslander - Networking
Summary
- The right network consists of the right people. We distinguish between two kinds of people: sinks and motors. When you put energy into people who are sinks, the person does nothing with it and the energy is lost. When you put energy into people who are motors, he or she uses it and plays with it even when you are not there, and thus the energy gets a whole new life of itself.
- The network triangle consist of people, information and ideas.
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People have a certain talent and an overall attitude. The right
people share the following attributes:
- fast learners
- flexible
- open minded
- very curious
- have guts
- nice (unselfish and incorruptible)
- You can connect the right people regardless their age, sexe, status, education, net worth, or any other regular society norms or indicators. However, you should have a big defense wall against people who are takers or getters.
- The purpose of a network is to gain access to information positions. An information position is someone or something through which you can get more social information, strategic information or information with respect to content. The importance of having information is that you can help someone.
- To gain more information, condition yourself to think out-of-the-box. Continuously force your brain to adopt new patterns by learning things outside of your field or meet people outside of your field. For example, you can subscribe to some magazine or buy some random magazine, rip out the articles that might be of interest to you or anyone in your current network, read those articles when you have some free time. This way you can not only connect people from your current network with even better information, you also get to learn about new things you were previously unaware of.
- Value seems to be relative. One thing that can mean a lot to one person, may be of no interest to another person. By continuously giving those things that are of interest to certain people to those people, you are likely to receive back things that are of interest to you or someone you know. Thus an idea or a piece of information on itself may have no value at all.
- An idea is composite information. The less equivalent the information pieces are, the more radical the idea will be, and the more you can distinguish yourself with this idea from the crowd. As an idea on itself has no value, it has to be turned into a solution or realization.
- On first encounter, people are often afraid and unsure about the intentions of the other person. Therefore it is important to gain trust very fast. For this you show high reliability, credibility and authenticity on your part. Next you find out about what drives the other person, what makes him or her tick. Ask him or her what he or she would do when he or she wins a million euros. At the same time, get to know what that person is good at doing.
- As you often don't know yet if the person is nice, you hook him or her up with one of the contacts from your network. Note that they can simple say your name to get approved. By forwarding the person to your network you effectively delegate this part of the selection process. For example, when you chose your network carefully, and the new person doesn't possess the right attributes, you won't hear from him or her ever again. However, when the person is actually very suitable, you will hear his name a lot circulating in your network.
- People remember you very well when you attach much emotional value for them. The fun thing is that you can give an abundance of good feelings and helping hands to someone, while you are limited in your monetary support to that person. Love, attention, respect, information and much more can be given freely and endlessly, and by the Law of Reciprocity you are very likely to receive something in return now or later from this person or someone else.
- To get things for free, ask for it in places where that thing is in abundance. There is no point in getting something for free when there is a shortage of it. So ask for favors where it's no big issue to help you out.
- "To strive for revenue maximization often doesn't lead to maximum revenue."
- When you get paid back for your services only afterwards (thus not up-front), you get to know the real value for your services. For example, when you set a price up front, people who think it's too expensive won't buy it at all, and people who think it is a bargain buy it by paying your fixed price. However, when they may voluntarily pay you back afterwards, those people give you exactly the amount of money they think it is worth. This point range is a better indicator than a fixed point.
- The nice thing about a network is that it manages itself. You don't need to maintain a large network, just write down some email addresses or keep some notes and when the person is connected with you again, find those notes again.
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People don't listen to your verbal communication, instead they
look at your non-verbal communication. The main attributes of
non-verbal communication are:
- physical contact
- nearness to other people
- the relative position and posture
- gestures
- facial expessions
- head movements and eye contact
- non-verbal aspect of the language itself
(buy this book)
Addendum speech 'Fake it Till You Make It'
- The key is to make the most use of your time, contacts and resources. Therefore move away from profit optimisation and focus on utility optimisation (value creation) instead. When you make yourself useful on the right place and on the right time, you can earn a great living and still be able to do other things you want as well.
- The true test for value creation is asking your customers and clients only afterward for a compensation they feel your work is worth.
- Martijn's overall approach to the world as a lifehacker is: "Let's just see what happens if I do this..."
- Property (possessions) and wealth (money) are no longer the primary ways to get things done and enjoy freedom. It is much more important to accumulate knowledge, information and experience, and learn how to access resources instead of owning them. This allows you to be where want, and enjoying the benefits of a resource, without having to own it (which involves a risk of losing the property).
- The Six Degrees of Seperation is a myth. You'll never reach the inborn natives of Africa. However, your second and third degree contacts (which tools like LinkedIn make visible to you) are the most important ones. Vague acquaintances appear to be more useful to get things done than very good friends. When you need the help of a contact it is best to invite him or her for coffee.
- If you feel like you have an information overload (too much unanswered emails, phone calls to be made, people asking you for a response, etc.) then that is a signal that your filter is not strict enough. Be even more selective and ignorant when you sense an information overflow is heading your way. Use Outlook email filters and make it harder to reach you for things that are not immediately useful to you.
- If you withold information (i.e. put a high price on it) then you'll lose contacts to the party that gives away much information for free. It is the freely distributed and immediately applicable knowledge that people consume that connect them with the source (you).
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Characteristics of useful network contacts are:
- Quick minds (comprehend new information easily)
- Open minded (open to new insights and beliefs)
- Flexible (adaptable and fast changers)
- Curious (seek out new information on their own)
- Courageous (dare to go over the edge)
- Nice (pleasant to be around)
Links
Posted on 13rd December 2008 by Quintus Hegie
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