Forwarding Is The New Networking

Michael Schrage recently wrote a post on this site about the importance of forwarding information as a way to enhance network relationships. He's right about this, although the title — "The Disadvantage of Twitter and Facebook" — is misleading (and inaccurate, since people retweet things all the time — but sadly, editors know that anything with Facebook and Twitter in the title gets a lot of page views and retweets). Forwarding is the new networking. The fact that you can't do it easily on Facebook is about as relevant as the inability to do it over the telephone or the Dictaphone.

OK, it's not really the new networking, since it's been going on for more than a decade now. Smart networkers saw early on that forwarded email content was a way to nurture network relationships.

In 2005, Rob Cross, Sue Cantrell, and I found evidence of it in some research we did on knowledge workers in four companies. The highest performers in those companies (as identified by their performance ratings) were disproportionately good networkers. They had more people in their networks, were more likely to be sought out by others, and were more likely to exchange valued information with their network members — all compared to average performance workers. They consciously cultivated their networks — and not by handing out business cards at "networking events" or by issuing LinkedIn invitations. They offered information and other items of value to their networks.
Some of the high performers we interviewed specifically mentioned that they did large amounts of selective forwarding. That is, when they saw an online item that they knew would be interesting or useful to a member of their network, they forwarded it. It's a way of saying, "I know what you're interested in, and I'm thinking about you."

Of course, you can go too far with forwarding — as both a forwarder and a recipient of forwards. Here are a couple of things to avoid:

Don't be a mass forwarder. Many of the people who commented on Michael's post said they got too many indiscriminate forwards. I would guess that most of those are sent to lists, not individuals. Forwarding to a list (or retweeting to a list of followers, BTW) cheapens the networking value of the act. It's the online equivalent of finding a credit card offer from Capital One in your mailbox.

Don't forward items you believe are humorous to a large list. Why? Because it's a good way to offend someone — chances are good that someone won't find it funny at all. And some people don't like to waste work time on jokes, cartoons, funny videos, and so forth.
Being a recipient of forwarded information can be rewarding socially, but it's not a substitute for a personal information strategy. A number of years ago a GE executive told me, "I only read articles that other people forward to me." That seemed a haphazard way to acquire the content you need to do your job effectively.

When we found in the above-mentioned research that the best performers were the best networkers, I wondered which way the causal arrow went. Did their high performance help their networking, or did their conscientious networking help their performance? I always suspected that it was the latter.

Article by Tom Davenport - http://blogs.hbr.org/davenport/2009/09/forwarding_is_the_new_networki.html?cm_mmc=npv-_-MANAGEMENT_TIP-_-DEC_2009-_-MTOD1229

Put a B2B Face On

It looks like Facebook is definitely here to stay. As of this writing, based on Alexa site rankings, it's the second-most-visited website on the Internet. That kind of reach can pack a whale of a punch for any B2B brand that gets its Facebook presence right.

So, what's your best point of entry to this astoundingly self-promotional medium? One of your best options these days is to create a Facebook fan page.
How do you cleverly create a page for yourself if an adoring fan hasn't already done so? Mari Smith offers a step-by-step how-to for creating a "FANtastic Facebook Fan Page" in a recent article at MarketingProfs. Among her tips:
Carefully title your page. "Typically, the shorter the title, the better," Smith advises. "It could be your brand name, personal name, or business name, as well as a few descriptive words."

Choose a picture that pops. "Facebook's ideal size for a fan-page image is 200 pixels wide by 600 pixels high (it looks rather like a bookmark shape)," she notes.

Secure your user name. "As soon as you get your first 25 fans, you'll be able to register your unique username (often called a vanity URL) at http://facebook.com/username," writes Smith.

Import your blog posts. Your blog can offer ready-made copy to help keep your fan page fresh. "Using the Notes app, pull in your blog feed so that each time you make a blog post, your fan page automatically updates and your fans can read and comment on the post," she advises.

Encourage your fans to add content. Doing so will draw them in, and "when they tag themselves, that content goes out into their feeds—creating more visibility for you," Smith notes.

The Po!nt: You can find love. By following action tips like these, you may just create a B2B presence on Facebook that gets a great response. Try it out!

Taken from http://www.marketingprofs.com/

Engae Your Employees By Letting them Volunteer

Volunteering has always been viewed as good for your soul. Now it turns out that it's also good for your health and your career.

Recent research conducted by Washington, D.C.-based Corporation for National & Community Service reveals that charitable work literally makes the heart grow stronger, as reported in my book Top Talent: Keeping Performance Up When Business Is Down. Individuals with coronary artery disease who participate in volunteer activities after suffering a heart attack report a reduction in despair and depression, driving down mortality and adding years to life. It's also true that those who volunteer have fewer incidents of heart disease in the first place.

Surprisingly, you don't need to devote huge chunks of time to do-good activities to reap their health benefits. The research shows tangible positive changes by volunteering just 100 hours per year — a figure that works out to two hours a week.

In addition, volunteering can give your professional well-being a boost. Non-profits have long offered a golden opportunity to network and learn new skills in different areas, something that, in turn, will make you more valuable back in the office. The recession blew open that secret, though; according to an article in The Wall Street Journal, social enterprise organizations have been swamped with business-savvy professionals looking to burnish their resumes.
Some of the best opportunities for volunteer work that benefits your karma and your career may come from your own company. Research from the Center for Work-Life Policy shows that high-potential employees (mostly women, but also a significant percentage of men) are seriously motivated by a desire to give back to the world, and increasingly seek out employers that allow them to participate on company time. Smart employers, in turn, are linking altruism and ambition. By using community service partnerships to help valued employees fulfill their dreams and accelerate their careers, companies are betting that their A-team's enthusiasm will pay off in renewed engagement and loyalty.

Since 2003, Cisco Systems has operated an innovative program that blends career development for high-potential, senior-level employees with the company's philanthropic and community-relations goals. Cisco's Leadership Fellows Program enables "top talent leaders" — defined as self-motivated, high-performing and high-potential vice presidents and directors who are committed to their own professional development — to work with a non-profit organization for up to one year and then return to their former position, inspired, rejuvenated and with enhanced leadership skills. The Fellows are considered full-time Cisco employees and receive their salaries and benefits during their period of service.

Candidates for the program go through a rigorous selection process, and each Fellow is matched with a non-profit assignment that requires his or her specific business expertise and that will improve their management and technical skills. To date, 31 Fellows have been chosen, coming from all areas of the company, including engineering, marketing, finance and administration.

Molly Tschang recently served as temporary executive director of NetHope, a consortium of leading nongovernmental organizations, as it conducted a search for someone to permanently fill the job. Tschang helped NetHope leverage technology to build and strengthen relationships among 17 international agencies that are important players in the developing world. For Cisco, her enhanced skills in collaboration and negotiation not only will enhance her performance when she returns to work, but may also enable her to generate future business.

Ernst & Young's Corporate Responsibility Fellows Program appeals to top performers looking for a way to give back to the world through work, while exploring a new country and culture. The Fellows program sends a highly select group of high-octane talent to low-income countries for three months at full pay. They use their skills to galvanize promising local entrepreneurs at a critical point in their business — typically providing help they couldn't otherwise afford — and help jump-start growth in these emerging markets. "Fellows come back rejuvenated, transformed," reports Maria Pena, Americas leader of entrepreneurship — corporate responsibility. "They love it."

Simply giving employees access to charitable work through their job is an effective way to amp up engagement. More than a third of the 106,000 employees of BT (formerly British Telecom) already actively volunteer during their off-hours, according to a company internal survey. Another 30 percent would like to. That's why in April 2009, BT introduced its first coordinated, companywide Volunteer Program.

BT's vision is to effectively pair work teams and individual executives with productive volunteer opportunities that match their personal interests and career development needs. For example, a division that needs team building may spend a day together erasing graffiti off inner-city walls. One CEO of a BT business unit is volunteering his time mentoring the CEO of a charitable organization.

To give this new coordinated volunteer initiative the same strategic heft as BT's other operations, the company appointed Helen Simpson, a long-time BT executive with deep operational experience in bringing products to market, to head up the program. One of her first steps was to conduct "market research" on BT's employees to identify areas where the workforce wanted to dedicate its volunteering energies. By launching an enhanced, cohesive volunteer effort during this precarious economic period, BT hopes not just to satisfy its employees' desire for community service but leverage their skills to help not-for-profits struggling in the financial slump.

In other words, a positive payback all around.

Article take from the Harvard Business Blog - For more business blogs go to - http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/