Using Your Network To Further Your Business!

Hollywood producer Jerry Weintraub recently published a great memoir called When I Stop Talking, You’ll Know I’m Dead that illustrates the power of the network. In it, he tells story after story about how a relationship, properly maintained, brought him further along in his business than anything else.

But people rarely tell you how to build a network, or how to maintain relationships, or what will matter on the way up. And they don’t give you any shortcuts that you can follow, either. Me? I’m all about the shortcuts and the help.

Understand Dunbar’s number
British anthropologist Robin Dunbar said you can maintain only 150 close social connections. This isn’t a software limitation–it’s a number culled from research that says we humans have a hard time keeping everyone top of mind. With technology, we are able to stretch that number, but it requires consideration and tuning to maintain your 150 and to grow.

10 Strategies In a Down Economy!

First, the big question: How have the markets and economic conditions impacted most firms? The answers are quite varied. Generally, there has been impact, sometimes significant, with volume dropping as much as 25 percent. However, some have seen their sales increase appreciably by focusing on new markets, and introducing new products and services.
From a global perspective, companies that are well positioned internationally are not experiencing the same level of decline. One company did ask all of its employees to take a cut in pay, but that is the exception.

The following represents a synthesis of the key strategies these senior executives communicated. While no one in the group is doing all of them, they do reflect where effort is being applied. We suggest you study them and reflect on them, but more importantly, act on those that are most relevant to your business. (More)