In the last few weeks I've managed to elicit a couple of e-mails where I was told I'd made that persons day. These weren't just any old friends either. One was a VERY well known best-selling author. It struck me that it is incredibly simple to make someone's day. Each of these incidents literally took a total of 2 minutes of my time. Think about the last time somebody made your day. How much effort did it take on their part? My guess is almost none! Why not try to make someone's day every day? Here are a few ideas to get you started: Say "thank you" in a very specific way Nominate someone for an award you know they deserve Call an old friend Make an introduction Publicly praise someone (you can even do this in an e-mail... Copy their boss and others) Write an unsolicited testimonial Did I mention say "thank you?" I think you'll find that making someone's day rarely takes longer than 2 minutes. You have 2 minutes don't you? Go make someone's day RIGHT NOW! It doesn't matter who it is. Just go do it. Happy Networking! -Scott Ingram NetworkInAustin.com P.S. You may even find that making someone else's day makes your own day (it did for me). Now go DO IT!!!

For years resisted the idea of NetworkInAustin.com hosting events. I originally started the site to help people find appropriate networking events for themselves and we've built a huge calendar of business networking events in and around Austin, Texas. I always thought there were already too many things going on, why would we want to create another. After 3 years of hearing "when is your next event," and "how can I meet your members." I finally decided to listen. We started working on this several months ago. I reached out to members, newsletter subscribers and those who'd joined our LinkedIn Group and asked how we could create the most productive networking events in Austin. I honestly think we've found the answer! What started with those initial comments turned into dozens of conversations that have lead to a format that you should be incredibly excited about. My first issue was speakers. I frequently make fun of myself when I speak to organizations. I'll ask how many people attended event with one of their primary motivations being "networking." Typically 70%-90% will raise their hand. The problem is that they probably had 10-15 minutes to network before the event started. Then they're expected to sit down, shut-up and listen to me while eating some form of rubber chicken for 40 minutes to an hour. How is anybody doing any networking? Then the event ends and most run off to re-engage their incredibly busy lives. Our answer is to still have speakers, but to have those speakers present an executive overview of their topic in 20 minutes. Light on details, but heavy on concepts. Then for those people who want to learn more about that topic we'll be offering a 1 hour teleseminar with the speaker(s) the following week. This will be free to members and those who attended the event. It should also give people a chance to think of really good real world questions for the speakers, and have a chance to try out some of their suggestions before the teleseminar. Timing was also a big concern. All of the traditional networking event times seem to have issues. Austin is NOT a morning town. Making breakfast a challenge which is compounded by traffic and those who have to get kids to school etc. Lunch meetings seem to be hard as they cause you to cut your morning short and most want to bolt back to work as soon as the events is over. Then there are mixers. One person told me that if there was another mixer in Austin they might lose their liver. Not to mention those of us with families can have a tough time making too many of these. The solution? Tea Time Events! Our initial events will be held the second Monday of each month from 4pm - 5:30pm. Most people aren't super productive at 4pm anyway, so you're not losing much by leaving a few minutes early. Then if you have a family or another event to get to afterwords we'll be done early enough that this shouldn't be an issue. Finally I'm most excited about the format that we've created for the last hour of the event once the speaker is finished. It's a concept called NetStorming. I'll write a whole blog post about this, and those who register for the event will receive a special NetStorming primer to take full advantage of this format. In essence this is a model that teaches REAL networking by doing it, real time. A combination of Networking and Brainstorming I've found that it's nearly impossible not to get value from this structure. It forces people to focus on giving to each other, which also means they'll be focused on giving to YOU. It also provides a level of accountability when it comes to follow-up which is the biggest area where would be networkers fail. If you thought you knew what networking was before I hope you'll attend these events and experience what it's really about. Get the details and Register Today! Happy Networking! Scott Ingram NetworkInAustin.com

Recently I asked my network through LinkedIn: "What are the visible attributes of a 'Nasty Networker?'" Over 30 people responded through LinkedIn (others replied via e-mail, but I've not included their responses in this post). I encourage you to read the complete question and all of the answers here. A big thank you to everyone who contributed to this list. You were all incredibly helpful! I've boiled the answers down into some common categories ranked by the frequency of their appearance   Signs of a Nasty Networker Selfish. Not interested in helping others. Doesn't ask questions. Talks too much. Bashes or otherwise acts inappropriately towards competitors. Uses high pressure and other bad sales techniques. Abuses contact information. Sends spam and other unwanted communication. Ignores business card etiquette. Social climber. Always looking for somebody better to talk to. Not open. Naive and needs education (about proper networking). More interested in the quantity of connections, not their quality. Disrespectful. In the end I think that "Nasty Networking" is driven primarily by either naivete or desperation. I saw a quote recently that suggested that the selfish type of taker networking is not networking at all, but rather Needworking. My hope is that by sharing this list we can help the naive/needworkers get onto the path of true networking. As we prepare to launch the first NetworkInAustin.com events it also my intention to not allow any "Nasty Networkers" to attend. Hopefully the education provided in this post will dissuade anyone from taking these approaches so that we're not forced to ask people not to return. Here are many of the consolidated responses to my question grouped by the categories listed above. Selfish. Not interested in helping others "Doesn't try to help at all" "Selfish and self-interested"    "In short, a 'Nasty Networker' is self centered and disinterested" "Uses every opportunity to speak (including thank you's and announcements time) to give a sales pitch for themselves" "refers less than is referred to him/her (it is ALWAYS better to give than it is to receive)" "Someone who immediately asks 'who does your ....' (phone, insurance, payroll, office supplies...) instead of saying 'who are YOU?' and getting to know you." "100% self-focused -- demonstrations may include: usurping your time while at an event asking for "free" business advice; never offering anything in exchange" "Rude, disrespectful, fast-talking, is not interested in a mutually beneficial relationship, totally dis-interested in you or your needs." "My main beef regarding a nasty networker is one with the belief that it's all about them" Doesn't ask questions. Talks too much "Doesn't ask questions"  "Talk don't listen"    "Talking not listening"  "A 'Nasty Networker' keeps their own interests secret, they listen, and want to 'know', to own, and control." "talks more than listens" "Poor listeners." "Vomitous from the mouth" Bashes or otherwise acts inappropriately towards competitors "Steals from competitors" "Bashing or being condescending towards competing companies or products" "Talks down about their competition" "Some of the most memorable "nasty" networkers that I've come across made an (unfavorable) impression because they were publicly trashing a competitor" "A nasty networker is somebody that comes to an event sponsored by another company and stands next to the host the whole night scarfing their contacts." Uses high pressure and other bad sales techniques "They launch into their sales pitch as part of introducing themselves." "Asks for a one-on-one meeting to get to know you, gives you a sales presentation." "Asks for a meeting because he/she is interested in YOUR business, gives you a sales presentation." "if there is no relationship there, I'll go to the internet before I'd go to a pushy salesperson!" "people will ask you questions about your business at a networking function in a way that seems geared specifically to put you on the defensive--these sort of questions are perfectly appropriate at a pitch meeting or the presentation of a proposal, but I'm not sure a networking event is necessarily the best venue" Abuses contact information. Sends spam and other unwanted communication "Uses the majority of all communications (personal interactions, e-mail, blog, twitter etc.) to try to sell you something" "I've had a couple of nasty networkers that asked for my information and promptly signed me up for their weekly newsletters (or worse, their promotional pieces!) without even the 'great to meet you' email followup to our initial meeting." "I find especially annoying those who add you to a distribution list without asking" "Follows up with email/call that is all about the" Ignores business card etiquette "They give you extras of their business cards so you can pass it on to someone who might need their services ... the first time you meet them!" "Grabbing everyone's cards and then leaving early" "Networks like a bull in a China shop - runs up to everyone with the intro/handshake/business card routine - never listens or asks about anyone else" "Only interested in collecting business cards"  Social climber. Always looking for somebody better to talk to "The person who scans the room looking for for new targets while trying to engage you in some sort of dialogue." "The 'look past you' networkers just nodding until they can talk to someone else." "Lack of eye contact. If a person isn't focused on you, they are 'elsewhere'. They are probably looking for better alternatives vs. talking to you." Not open "They talk only to people they know at networking events." "those who aren't willing to invite new people into their ongoing conversations." "Talk to only people that they know." Naive - Needs Education "I trust that all of these attributes will either be retooled by the novice as they mature and learn ethics or they will be weeded out." "I think most people who are bad networkers are just ignorant and uneducated. I've only met one person in 5 1/2 years at the Chamber who was deliberately hateful." "I guess the 'Nasty Networker' walks the line of desperation. 'I have to make my numbers now so I am going to impose myself on each and every prospect I run across.'" Quantity vs. Quality - is out for quantity versus quality Quantity verses quality Disrespectful I also think networking gets a bad rap from people who are condescending Happy Networking! Scott Ingram NetworkInAustin.com