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Your network: Beyond the obvious
A friend of mine who had been a very prominent person within his industry, in South Africa, recently immigrated, with his family to Australia, to take up a senior position in a Sydney firm. After less than three months in the company, they reneged on the contract.
Had he been in South Africa, I firmly believe that the firm would have thought twice before breaching the contract; his prominence and network would have done huge damage to their reputation. For the first time in his life, my friend experienced the vulnerability that can come when one has no network. Like a newbie, on his first day at work, he found himself not knowing where to turn, who to trust and how to seek advice.
Networks are not just groups of people to whom one can potentially sell one’s product. I believe that entrepreneurs need to broaden their understanding of what constitutes their network. For me, a network is much more than just a pool of potential clients. Used correctly, and accurately defined, a network is a powerful support system which provides entrepreneurs with the perspective and encouragement they need while growing a business. They are people who will give you honest feedback, such as mentors or friends. They are your family, who will support you no matter what. They are people who will help you identify opportunities, and they are people with whom you shoot the breeze during a game of golf.
The power of network is terribly underestimated by entrepreneurs. There is a homogenous view of what a network is and what its purpose is. Most entrepreneurs, when faced with a problem, turn automatically to those people in their network who will ‘understand’ them and what they are going through. They look for people in the same industry or business as them. The problem with this approach is that usually, when people drink from the same stream, so to speak, they become ‘infected’ with the same paradigms.
Two week ago I had a very rough day at work; a part of me just felt like throwing in the towel. I was facing a problem about which only someone in an industry, different from mine, could be objective. I called a close friend, who works in a large corporate, and asked if he could spare me an hour or so. Because he was so distanced from the issue, his line of questioning helped me to see a perspective which I would never have achieved had I been talking to someone close to the problem. The chat left me excited about the new possibilities; I arrived at work the next day, mojo intact.
When you approach someone, who is not your automatic choice, a person who lacks the context for the problem, you open yourself up to new perspectives and fresh paradigms. Devoid of context, the person is able to ask questions that give you insights that someone, experiencing the same challenges, would struggle to help you see. On the flip side, one also needs to ask the questions that will allow the people in your network to give you the constructive negative feedback, you may require, in order to change your perspective.
Too often, we avoid certain people because we are afraid of exposing ourselves to their critical view. For me, these are exactly the people from whom we need to be soliciting advice. The trick in using networks effectively is to be honest and to ensure that one is not defensive when hearing the all-too-often, constructive, but not necessarily positive, feedback.
Once, many years ago, I was visiting my mentor to give me perspective on an issue I was battling to resolve. I began by telling him how wonderfully I had been doing. After about fifteen minutes, he stood up and said, “How do you want to use this valuable time? Do you want to spend the next fifteen minutes telling me how wonderful you are or do you want me to help you with something?” At first, I was shocked, but I soon realised that this is exactly is the kind of honest feedback that only someone who cares about you could give. What a beautiful lesson to have learned so young!
Challenge for the week
Network!
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