Dan Erwin

How to Get Buy-In for Your Ideas

Many people do not seem to recognize that getting buy-in for their ideas is not only key to organizational success--but also to personal and career success. This is an issue that does not seem to go away or get old. Furthermore, the inter-disciplinary set-up of businesses today just makes the competency both more difficult and more valuable.

Surprisingly, there is a definite process for how actionable recommendations evolve and gain acceptance. When I say “process” I’m revealing that much of communication is built upon protocols. To a degree, communication process can be compared to software development process—to coding.

Surprisingly, there is a definite process for how actionable recommendations evolve and gain acceptance. When I say “process” I’m revealing that much of communication is built upon protocols. To a degree, communication process can be compared to software development process—to coding.

To the Givers Go the Riches: The Hidden Dimension of Work—and Life Relationships

Today’s political world would often have you believe that it’s the “getters” who have success—not the “getters.” But that’s a short term bias. And admittedly a few politicos seem to have success on that basis. But what you’re seeing is the gross exception not the everyday reality. The percentage of successful “getters” is very small, even though that few get a lot of attention. American writers love to call attention to the exceptions: it makes for great reading and sells a lot of copy. 

Just common sense
The people who look at the big picture recognize that a few of the getters succeed, but they know it’s a damned few. And that a terrific percentage of “getters” are very unhappy, frustrated people down deep. It’s just common sense that the givers make the great contributions to our communities—not the getters. The problem with that statement, however, is that common sense has become a rare ingredient in most cultures. And for a number of documentable reasons common sense has become a rare commodity in today’s world. It’s that loss, too, that drives all the craziness, fake facts and conspiracy thinking we stare at or listen to nearly every day.

The major reason common sense has gone the way of the dodo bird is the unique siloing of the universe since WWII. We’ve got academic silos, business silos, industry silos, religious silos, political silos, class silos, economic silos, race silos--and most people talking to themselves. No wonder the crazies are able to stir up manure by the ton load. If you know your history and literature, you know that silos have always been around, limiting and rejecting a common worldly sense.

The example that often comes to mind is

Learning from Da Vinci

 

The first thing that crosses our mind when we think of Da Vinci is either the Mona Lisa or the Last Supper. But Da Vinci, who died in 1519, was a lot more than a painter and muralist. The “Renaissance man,” he was also a scientist, engineer and mathematician, as well as a student of anatomy, birds, optics and geology. He even did city planning.

In the new biography by Walter Isaacson, who also wrote biographies of Steve Jobs and Albert Einstein, the author calls da Vinci “history’s consummate innovator.” It’s a beautiful book, beautifully written and illustrated. I was especially amused by the section “A Golden Age for Bastards.” Being a bastard in that time was not an especially unusual experience. But if his father had formally adopted him, he would have had to become an account and follow in his father’s footsteps. We’d never have had the work of this master. So, give thanks for bastards!

My reading of the book offers three lessons for anyone desirous of learning from da Vinci.

First, there is no such thing as a great genius, working alone. Isaacson puts it this way: “we should be wary of that word.” What da Vinci did was based on skills that he learned from others. Da Vinci left a trove of notebooks, many of them filled with to-do lists. Although they sparkle with curiosity, they show Da Vinci relentlessly seeking people from whom he could learn. “Get the master of arithmetic to show you how to square a circle.” “Ask Benedetto Protinari by what means they walk on ice in Flanders.” “Get the measurement of the sun promised me by Maestro Giovanni Francese, the Frenchman.” “Ask Giannino the Bombardier about how the tower of Ferraro is walled.”

To put it in 21^st century lingo, his creativity is driven by a huge network that he uses constantly. Creativity is always like that. What that means is that if you don’t know or can’t find expertise in your network you’re doing yourself a great disservice and limiting your future...

To the Givers Go the Spoils: The Hidden Dimensions of Networking Success

Shift your networking orientation from getting to giving and your long term success is assured.

It’s a proven fact that those with the best networks usually get the most job opportunities, the fastest promotions and the top salaries. Yet building a great personal network is not as easy as many think. Recent research confirms what I’ve found to be true in my own business: effective networking is more about giving than getting. 

Adam Grant of Wharton, the hottest organizational researcher of his generation, shatters the myth that greed is the path to success. With personal research as well as an exceedingly knowledgeable base of research on career success, Grant reveals how and why you don’t need to be a selfish asshole to...

It’s a proven fact that those with the best networks usually get the most job opportunities, the fastest promotions and the top salaries. Yet building a great personal network is not as easy as many think. Recent research confirms what I’ve found to be true in my own business: effective networking is more about giving than getting. 

Adam Grant of Wharton, the hottest organizational researcher of his generation, shatters the myth that greed is the path to success. With personal research as well as an exceedingly knowledgeable base of research on career success, Grant reveals how and why you don’t need to be a selfish asshole to...

How to Use Networking as a Leadership Tool

Acting like a leader is not just about what you do. It’s also about the company you keep. So what kind of company are you keeping? 

In her brilliant new book, Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader, Herminia Ibarra describes the best ways to lead with far greater impact. She emphasizes the necessity of redefining your job to make more strategic contributions and “playfully evolving” your outdated leadership style. But the other strategy for...

The Magic of Networks: Bigger Is Not Better!

It's not about size, but about quality.

Rob Cross often reminds us that it's not what we know, but whom we know.  The fact is that those of us with top-drawer networks are dealing with a lot of magic.  As Cross writes in an HBR Blog, there's a great deal of difference in networks. 

Work since the 1970s shows that people who maintain certain kinds of networks do better: They are promoted more rapidly than their peers, make more money, are more likely to find a job if they lose their own, and are more likely to be considered high performers.

The secret, or the magic of networks has never been about size.  Indeed, building mammoth Rolodexes or Facebook accounts can be harmful to your health and your performance. 

The people who do best tend to have ties with those people who are not connected to each other.  If you've got a network like that, you're more likely to hear about unique ideas--ideas that don't echo around in others' networks. 

How Does Who You Know Affect What You Decide?

Bad decisions are a big drain on personal time--and they often waste precious resources. But why do these failures happen? Early on researchers focused especially on problems inherent to small groups, including bad chemistry, ineffective leadership and groupthink. Then there was a strong suggestion that bad decisions were the result of "cognitive biases." That included overconfidence and the tendency to overlook or ignore alternative viewpoints.

Although all of the above are definitely a part of the problem, Cross, Thomas and Light seem to have a better resolution of the issue. In an intriguing piece of research reported in the Sloan Management Review, they focused on how informal networks affect the decisioning of leaders. They've found the most significant answer to the question of bad decisions: network bias.  

Two conclusions are very significant:

--Leaders often try to rectify inefficient and ineffective decision making by increasing collaboration.  Cross found that engineers and scientists looking for information were more than five times as likely to turn to friends or colleagues than to a different network or research.

--Leaders are often blind to the way ...

To the Givers Go the Spoils: The Hidden Dimension of Networking Success

Shift your networking orientation from getting to giving and your long term success is assured.

It’s a proven fact that those with the best networks usually get the most job opportunities, the fastest promotions and the top salaries. Yet building a great personal network is not as easy as many think. Recent research confirms what I’ve found to be true in my own business: effective networking is more about giving than getting. 

The Next Phase in Social Media: $$$$

Whoever thought Wall Street would be willing to pay for a Rolodex? And at $3,000 a shot? Though Andrew Ross Sorkin didn’t label the database of contacts (Relationship Science, LLC) the next phase in social media, its creators deserve kudos for their smarts.

What they’ve done is create an online Rolodex that is a lot more than a list of millionaires and billionaires. It shows the connections among the 1 percent: two million deal makers, power brokers and business executives. So it’s the connections and the subscriber’s unique ability to connect with connections that are the be-all, end-all, not the stand-alone list.

Looking closer at the online Rolodex, I wondered what different approaches might exist that the 99% might be willing to fork over some small change to purchase? After thinking a bit, I found the answer for $30 (see below).

Relationship Science LLC
But unlike Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media, Relationship Science doesn’t add user-generated content. It researches the web, lists the top 1% of deal-makers, power brokers and business execs, and adds in all the connections from the top 1%. In short, it compiles who knows whom, shows how the searcher is connected with, say a friend, friend of a friend, or charitable board, and then grades the quality of the connections with “strong,” “good,” or “poor.” Talk about status oriented—there are no phone numbers or emails. None of these people want to be cold-called, so unless you have a connection, you’re out of luck. But I’ll bet the finance people with the money to buy the service are sure to have a contact within the connections.

The online brand page reports the following for Relationship Science: COMPUTER SOFTWARE FOR CREATING, MANAGING, AND SEARCHING PROFILE INFORMATION.  The result is a highly valuable program that makes it possible for the Wall Streeter to insert his name into the connection list to find out who he already knows to lead him to relevant potential clients. It’s a godsend for Wall Street.

Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon
My own experience is that industry folk have all kinds of connections, many--or most of whom they are unaware. Several years ago when I started working on networking, I played the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon for myself over a period of two weeks. When I got to several thousand connections, I quit. I could guess the quality of the connection, but had no algorithm. I’m a free-lancer, but many of my 300 plus (at that time in the early ‘nineties) managers and executives were well-placed throughout the nation. And I had a lot of really superb connections that have paid off through the years since.

$3,000 or $30
However, you don’t have to put out $3,000 to create your own highly relevant connected rolodex. Besides, unless you’ve got business for the big boys, that specific software won’t be of value to you. If you’re willing to shell out $30 for Wayne Baker’s Achieving Success Through Social Capital, you’ll find how to build, evaluate and use your own network of relationships, connections and/or potential clients. Baker has laid it out in an easy format that you can put on Excel or PowerPoint.

The key lesson here is simple: if you want to grow your business (personal or otherwise), build and use a connected network. And, as the research reveals in spades, it’ll need, eventually, to be face-to-face, not merely Facebook, LinkedIn or etc. 

Flickr photo: AndreAlmond

It's Still Not What You Know, But Who You Know

“Even in a digital age, word of mouth is the best way to find a job,” says Businessweek's Chris Farrell in the June 18 issue. That's still true for recent grads. I’ve been thinking for some time that I was wrong-headedly beating a dead horse on the issue of face-to-face networking. Especially with the all-present digital networking buzz. Turns out, says the research, I wasn’t off the mark.

The online networks are trying to replicate the word-of-mouth, face-to-face networking. But with limited success. A large body of research reveals that 50% or more of all new jobs are gotten through informal channels such as family or friends. And that’s still true today. Indeed, even Charles Purdy, the senior editor at Monster Worldwide, reinforces the fact that “Hiring has always been based on reputation and who you know.” 

Social networking tools, says Chris Farrell, allow people to build up a network. Ummmm. Not quite. What Farrell and many others fail to emphasize is that the ultimate key to success is a high quality network. The potential for a high quality network built solely on the web is seriously limited. 

Really effective networks provide information about jobs, work, organizational culture and useful company contacts. McKinsey’s James Manyika says that for recent grads, a quality informational network is difficult to come by. And as Wharton’s Peter Capelli has emphasized, employers control everything about the process. “They define the job, they create the requirements for the job, then they decide how the word gets out to people, recruiting-wise. They set the rate of pay, which helps determine how the attractive the job is, and then they handle the selection part where they look at the applicants and sort them out.” That makes for very poor odds unless you’ve got an internal company contact or just happen to be the purple squirrel a company is looking for.

On top of all that, the recent study by Capelli emphasizes that the hiring software really sucks. And further, companies tend to be looking for someone who has the exact experience they’re looking for—the so-called purple squirrel. That’s a very unique person. This means that you’re going to have to figure out how to get around the hiring software. So the best advice is to see whether you can get to a real person where you can make the case about why you’re the employee they’re looking for. Of course, once again, you need that quality contact or two.

Who you know: the “quality contact”
One route to the quality contact is through internships. It’s new and even tough for students to be thinking about internships early in their college career, but using summers for those internships is one route to quality contacts. Strategic thinking about an internship is a must. If at all possible, it’s important to intern at medium and larger firms with people in the know. Make certain you do your best and get to know the knowledgeable folk.

The second route is often overlooked: temp jobs. Temporary grunt jobs at middle-sized or major corporations can help with your finances, but also provide contacts who can recommend you based on your observed performance. Temp firms also provide a great deal of free training, what other companies are less willing to do. More and more, people who’ve been out of work for a long period of time are finding that temp jobs can offer a lot more than a few bucks: training and contacts.

The third route to quality contact is through volunteer work with strategic non-profits. Non-profits are always looking for free helpers. Non-profits inevitably have a few people in the know in the work community. They’re good for contacts—if you’ve performed well for the firm.

My little network secret
Few seem to be aware that the best networked folk are non-profit fundraisers. If a fundraiser has been in the business for a few years, she or he knows everybody of substance. "They know somebody who knows somebody."  But you’ll probably need a good contact to get to that fundraiser. They’re going to be very cautious about recommending someone.

Networking rule number one
Networking is all about giving, not getting. So before you start making those contacts, figure out what you can bring to that person. That’ll require some creative thinking and the insights of experienced folk. But you’re not going to get very much help unless you’ve got something to give. Networks are like banks: You can’t withdraw unless you’ve made some deposits.

But keep this on the front lobe: It's not what you know, but who you know.

Flickr photo: malbordesign