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The economics of community building 

Summer is ending in this part of the world, and September will bring business lunches, networking events, and professional development opportunities. It's an exciting time--back to school, back to sports, and back to business. 

It also brings Q3 reporting with Q4 at its heels with year-end pressures. September is also a time for career and business planning. While education, training, and business experience are pivotal to success, people are at the heart of business, at least in my own experience. 

Community-building and networking in business is a practice many find challenging. I've put together this short article to help you with your upcoming quarter as you prepare for the busy fall season. 

Many business leaders struggle with networking because they want to support acquaintances and colleagues (to reciprocate benefits received), but often they don't often know how. 

There are no shortcuts to relationship building and deepening trust and collaboration with others. One of our strategic advisors in the private equity sector explained his system of consistent and intentional follow-up with his networks. He prioritizes this practice with his assistant each quarter, and it becomes on par with strategic planning and financial budgeting. 

Stephen Pitt-Walker | Optima Board Services Group 

A CEO I recently spoke with, Stephen Pitt-Walker, of Optima Board Services Group describes his process of relationship building and negotiating. 

Stephen's past negotiations include multi-billion-dollar deals with Fortune 500 companies in the technology sector for well-known companies with big budgets and significant clients. He explained that he focuses on the relationship first and foremost. 

I admire his approach to business building, in which the financial result of a transaction is the strategic outcome of building the relationship and creating value which is founded on mutual alignment, mutual support, and mutual benefit. 

Also, thank you to Kevin M. for suggesting Never Eat Alone and Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship At A Time, by Keith Ferrazzi and Tahl Raz (p. 115) from which the list below is adapted.

Networking Follow-Up Checklist (strategy)

• Always express gratitude toward your colleague
• Include an item of interest from your meeting or conversation-a joke or a shared moment of humor
• Reaffirm the commitments you both made-going both ways
• Be brief and to the point
• If you invited your colleague for lunch, take care of the bill
• Always address the thank-you letter to your contact by name
• Use email and snail mail. The combination adds a personalized touch
• After emailing, send requests to connect through social media
• Timeliness is vital. Send them as soon as possible after the meeting or interview
• Many people wait until the holidays to say thank you or reach out. Don't wait. Your follow-ups will be timelier, more appropriate, better remembered, and appreciated
• Don't forget to follow up with those who have acted as the go-between for you and someone else. Let the original referrer know how the conversation went, and express your appreciation for their help
• Network 10 - Invest time weekly to connect with ten people in your networks each week. I use a simple spreadsheet and choose ten people to contact. 

NETWORK 10 STRATEGY

• Step 1: Choose the people you want to engage and record their names in the spreadsheet. Choose a combination of people you know and do not know.
• Step 2: Choose a combination of email, text, phone call, and direct message for outreach
• Step 3: Revisit last week's list and retarget those who didn't respond. Polite persistence is the best strategy (I've proven it)
• Step 4: Track your progress over time, looking for patterns of interactions and best practices
• Step 5: Continue indefinitely as a career management strategy to raise your visibility and enrich your life by seeking the help of others while serving as a resource to them

Other helpful resources include Dig Your Well Before You're Thirsty, by Harvey Mackay, and CEO Script Vault: Job Search Scripts for Busy Executives, by Maureen Farmer. 

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Happy Labor Day Weekend...

In this part of the world, Labor Day marks the unofficial ending of the summer break for students and vacationers. We are enjoying a sunny and warm weekend with temperatures at 25 degrees. 

Lawrencetown Beach is noted for its surf, and is a mainstay of surfers living here or visiting the province. Strong rip tides and currents are common. 

While I love to swim, this is the beach where I nearly drowned when I was 19 years old. Luckily I escaped the riptides by swimming diagonally toward the perpendicular shore. Luckily, I survived. I've not been in these waters since that time. 

Last evening the beach was busy with swimmers and surfing enthusiasts who travel from around the world to surf here. 

Brenna Farmer (daughter), Hank (her dog), and Ewan (Bren's partner) enjoying the new paddle board yesterday at the cottage near Chester, Nova Scotia. 

This is me (Maureen Farmer) on Friday at my daughter's home. It was a bright and sunny day and just chilly enough to need a light coat. Despite summer's end, I'm looking forward to re-engaging with clients and enjoying some more business travel. 

I hope you have an optimized week ahead! 

Maureen Farmer is a CEO career advisor and personal branding strategist for next-level executives, investors, and board nominees. 

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Westgate Executive Branding and Career Consulting Inc. would like to acknowledge that we are located in Mi'kma'ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi'kmaq People. We are all Treaty people.