This week’s quotation will be more of an exercise from an unlikely source – a book with the unpromising title of Mrs. Moneypenny’s Career Advice for Ambitious Women.
Mrs. Moneypenny is a pseudonym for a London Times columnist and the book has a distinctly British flavor. Although the author insists women are “different,” some Amazon reviewers agree with me that it’s got good advice for men as well.
Mrs M presents this exercise to reveal quickly the strength of your network.
Take a moment to write down the names of people “with whom you exchange views and opinions (outside purely work-related contexts):
Every day
Every week
Every month
Less than once a month but at least once a year
Now make a list of their names on a single sheet of paper and draw arrows to connect those who know each other.
If they’re mostly interconnected, Mrs M says bluntly, “your network is too ‘closed’ to be of much use to you.”
To grow your network at mid-career, she suggests you
— list the top five best-connected people you know. Ask each one to help you extend your network by one, two or more people.
— serve on board or committees of non-profits
— set a goal to meet someone new at least once a month and maintain the contact for at least 30 days.
Some mid-career professionals might like her tip for early-career networking. Invite ten people at your level to a dinner and ask each to bring a friend who meets certain criteria.
What do you think? Do you find these ideas realistic or off the wall? Click on the comment section to share your views and tips of your own.
And don’t forget tonight’s teleseminar:
Why Most Midlife Career Change Fails And Why **Yours** Will Succeed
9 PM Eastern/NY – Recording available for 72 hours
http://budurl.com/careerchangecall
If you’ve got a question or would like some laser coaching on the call, just reply to this message or go to the Q&A section after you sign up.
http://budurl.com/careerchangecall