Marny Lifshen's blog

The answer, obviously, is "You can't!"  Yet, many of us feel the stress of trying to maintain the many, many relationships that you work so hard to create via networking! I think the key to success is creating (and sticking to) a system that works for you - your communication style, your work schedule, your personal life. I generally recommend quality over quantity when it comes to professional relationships. I have found much more benefit when focusing on fewer, more relevant colleagues, rather than trying to maintain or grow a ton of acquaintances. That being said, you do need to add new people to your network fairly often.

I met with a client last week - a real estate agent who is an expert "green" homes. Patty has taken the time to learn about (and get certified in) all of the ways you can make homes more energy efficient and environmentally friendly - and how to market these green features when selling a home. She left a large agency last year and started her own agency with three partners focusing on green real estate. Now, her former colleagues are reaching out to her for advice and guidance on how to best work with clients that are interested in buying or selling green properties.

I was lucky enough to attend a wonderful event last week hosted by the
Austin Business Journal that recognized women business and community
leaders.  The key note speaker was Ambassador Karen Hughes, formerly a
high-level communications advisor to President Bush.  Ambassador Hughes is
an internationally recognized and respected communications and media expert,
and is currently the Global Vice Chair of Burson-Marstellar.  She is also
one of the best speakers I have ever heard.  I was thrilled to be one of the
Profiles in Power winners and to have Ambassador Hughes present me with my
award.

The night before this event I had Chinese food, and my fortune read "Comfort
zones are most often expanded through discomfort."  I took that message to
heart the next day, and following the award presentations, brought a copy of
my book over to Ambassador Hughes' table.  I briefly introduced myself,
thanked her for speaking at the event and told her what a wonderful story

So here is something I've always struggled with - talking about my successes and sharing my victories. Strange, considering I've been in marketing and branding for 20 years and know that telling your story and promoting yourself are keys in building credibility. But, still, I hate the feelling of "bragging" about myself.

It took a good friend and colleague whom I trust to put this issue in a new light. She got me to realize that sharing good news with people in your network is just that - sharing, not bragging. As long as you are NOT self-centered and arrogant, and try to keep this "sharing" to truly newsworthy accomplishments, most people will be delighted to be a part of your happiness.

So, with that in mind, I'd like to share with you two pieces of good news in my world. First, in May, my book "Some Assembly Required: A Networking Guide for Women" was selected as the business category winner for the 2009 Eric Hoffer Awards for Independent Books. And just this week I learned I was a finalist for the Austin Business Journal's Profiles in Power and Women of Influence.

Too many people think of networking as another word for "cold calling."  And for most of us, even sales professionals, cold calling is a less than pleasant activity.  Well I'm here to tell you networking is NOT always about going to events with the sole purpose of meeting new people.  In fact, the true power in newtorking is about leveraging the relationships you already have -- and one way to do this is by asking them for introductions.  In fact, I can't think of a better way to meet strategic new contacts than by asking the people who already know and trust you for an introduction, or by tagging along with them to an appropriate event.  

For most of us, summer has a little slower pace, both professionally and personally. That's not to say that there isn't work to be done and vacations to take, but we do tend to have a little more down time. Often people leave the office a little earlier and take long lunches and longer weekends. I think that summer is a golden opportunity to ratchet up your networking.

Since many of us have summer calendars that are a bit less packed, it's a great time to reach out to people you've been trying to get together with and grab a cup of coffee, lunch or a glass of wine. You may have much better luck connecting with colleagues in June, July and August than in other months. So here's a snapshot of how to create a killer summer networking plan:

1) Go through your Rolodex or contact database and identify 8-10 people you'd like to reconnect with.
2) Block out time on your calendar (I recommend at least one slot a week) so your schedule doesn't fill up and preclude a networking meeting.

I'm not a big fan of traveling for work. Maybe it's the lines at the airport, being away from my family, trying to find my way around a strange city, or dealing with inevitable travel delays - whatever the reason, I avoid travel when possible. But I had a terrific experience last week that reminded me that traveling offers a great chance to expand and extend your network.

Last week I had the priviledge of speaking at w2wlink's first Ascendancy Awards for Business Women in Dallas. Lisbeth McNabb, w2wlink's founder & CEO, was a gracious host and together we made the most of my time there. Rather than simply flying in at the last minute, doing my speaking gig at the banquet, and flying out as soon as possible, Lis scheduled meetings for me with targeted people. We strategized together beforehand to identify the kind of people I should meet, and then talked directly before the meetings so we were clear on our goals. We proactively looked for ways to benefit me, her and the people we met with.

Too many of us tend to think of networking as an optional activity. We think networking is a great thing to do - when we've got the time. When someting more pressing comes up - a deadline at work, an issue at home, an invitation to lunch with friends - it's all too easy to blow off a networking activity. We tell ourselves that we can always reschedule that coffee with a former co-worker, or we'll attend next month's speaker meeting, or there isn't really anyone we wanted to see at the awards dinner anyway. The problem is, if you are always giving yourself an out, you will often take it, and networking will not become a habit. I tend to cancel and reschedule networking on Thursdays and Fridays, when I'm scrambling to wrap up the week - not a good habit!!!

I heard from a friend recently who has totally changed careers as a result of the recession.  She talked about how much her network helped her make contacts in a new industry, and it reminded me of one of the most important rules of networking - balance focus with diversity. I know it can be hard for all of us to find the time to network at all, let alone in a diversity of ways and places. So, I generally recommend that people focus their networking efforts on the organizations, events and people that give them the most return for their investment.