Original Spanish version published in El Comercio newspaper (Peru) on June 11, 2016
Making contacts is “the conscious and voluntary activity of establishing and maintaining genuine and long-term relationships with persons who we appreciate and respect.” It’s a part of living and interacting within a community and we do it every day.
It’s a fact that 9 out of 10 jobs are landed, whether directly or indirectly, through contacts. But networking is about making those relationships worthwhile, renewing the bond, and mutually redefining our identity, image, and reputation with each interaction. (And asking a contact for a job is a serious mistake!).
This is tantamount to saying “I remember you only when I need you.” Networking solely for your own benefit is self-centered and may be even manipulative. It’s the perfect way to destroy a relationship. We can smell manipulation miles away!
Although nothing beats face-to-face interactions to build relationships of trust and affection, digital alternatives are effective to prevent us from vanishing from the face of the earth, a deadly sin in the professional world.
Networking takes time and energy, but it is key to employability –it is the “salesforce” of our image and reputation. Without contacts, our accomplishments and progress remain unknown and our personal brand ends up being worthless.
The professional world also provides alternatives to interact with new and diverse people and expand your thinking patterns. Hanging out with the same people every day shows disregard for others, and we may end up being left behind.
Using our contact network to harm reputations or to gossip destroys our credibility and our own reputation as serious or loyal individuals, even if we only become involved by listening. Is it worth it? You never know what tomorrow may bring…
It’s a serious mistake to think that only high-level contacts are valuable, and to look down on others or to be conceited. All people are worthy regardless of what they do to make a living. There’s no such thing as a small contact!
As adults, we usually have 500 to 1,000 friends and acquaintances between school and college classmates, current and former work colleagues, people we know from our club, gym, the neighborhood, church, from our business, and the relatives and acquaintances of all of the above. Contacts include suppliers and clients, as well as former suppliers and clients; and the parents of our children’s friends… Make your list and protect it –ideally, in the cloud.
The essence of every good relationship is trust, not impressing others. Acting appropriately, and being genuinely warm and authentic opens the doors to trust and credibility. Being polite to everyone and listening to them with a real interest benefits your personal and professional image and reputation. The secret is to inspire others and always leave something valuable for them in every interaction!
View article on Strategy Driven
The new normal is complex and challenging. Our best positive attitude will be decisive for us to ...
Good leaders seek and create network with other leaders. They know they are responsible for devel...
ncertainty, urgency, or crisis does not give anyone an excuse to be abusive, or act without respe...
Care for yourself by ensuring that you keep stress and workloads at manageable levels. Pass on go...
Original Spanish version published in El Comercio newspaper on April 26, 2020 Whe...
Published in www.ypo.org on September 11, 2020 I am still fascinated by the results of ...
The concerns, motivations, or problems of each team member, as well as the challenges and obstacl...
You are the head of the corporation that is you. Take 30 minutes each quarter to review how much ...
The key is to reframe your attitude so that you don’t fall behind. Recognize your advantages and ...
I continue to work in this and we are making headway, but more respect, empathy, and, sometimes, ...
It’s important to identify our level of employability, recognize its advantages and limitations, ...
Originally published in ceoworld.biz on May 21, 2019 The world of work has changed dramatically, ...
To improve employability, we need to persistently sharpen our work skills and social intelligence...
The challenge is to thoroughly understand our personal reactions to change and immediately focus ...
And yes, we deserve to give ourselves the opportunity to find a job that awakens our enthusiasm a...
Some time ago, I made a mistake, which like all of the mistakes we make, was completely involunta...
Remember that productivity and employability are intrinsically linked –the higher the level of em...
Of course, this is a huge challenge to personal discipline, but we have to appeal to professional...
I want a leader who inspires my respect and admiration for his/her serious, legitimate, and authe...
Original Spanish version published in America Economia (Peru) on September 22, 2016 Ma...
Original Spanish version published in El Comercio newspaper (Peru) on June 11, 2016 “I don’t like...
If you were patient enough to answer these questions and if you made the effort to write the answ...
Original Spanish version published in Aptitus magazine, on May 9, 2018 It is common to see c...
¿Cuántos de nosotros nos sentimos realmente hábiles en las redes? ¿Quién tiene tiempo de calidad ...
What a pleasure it is to help groups of Peruvians to allow themselves to dream and imagine a bett...
When traveling, you remember and compare the experience you had at each hotel where you stayed. ...
The way we answer and the quality of the ideas we express will differentiate us from the others w...
Original Spanish version published in America Economia (Latin America) on March 27, 2018 We ...
Original Spanish version published in El Comercio newspaper (Peru) on March 18, 2018 Twenty-...
Original Spanish version published in El Comercio newspaper (Peru), March 4, 2018 Regardless of t...
Original Spanish version published in El Comercio newspaper (Peru) on February 17, 2018 There are...
Original Spanish version published in El Comercio newspaper (Peru) on January 20, 2018 Hacking, i...
Translation of the original article published December 21, 2017 on América Economía (Latam) Some ...
Original Spanish version published in America Economia (Latin America) on October 23, ...
Original Spanish version published in El Comercio newspaper (Peru) on September 30, 2017 Man...
Original Spanish version published in America Economia (Latin America) on September 2, 2017 There...
Original Spanish version published in El Comercio newspaper (Peru) on July 22, 2017 And when I [&...
Translation of the original article published June 24, 2017 on El Comercio (Perú) Given all the n...
Original Spanish version published in El Comercio newspaper (Peru) on January 4, 2017 We all...
Original Spanish version published in El Comercio newspaper (Peru) on March 4, 2017 As a young [&...
Original Spanish version published in the El Comercio newspaper (Peru) on February 4, 2...
1.Good leaders lead (excuse the redundancy) for the greater good, not to build up their egos, [&h...
Some time ago I wrote about this same subject and was very pleased with the comments […]
Translation of the original article published July 23, 2016 on El Comercio (Perú). Tired of so m...
Original Spanish version published in El Comercio newspaper (Peru) on May 20, 2015 Who wants...
Original Spanish version published in El Comercio newspaper (Peru) on January 1, 2017 Advers...
Being perceived as young or old is now associated more with a series of behaviors and attitudes t...
It’s important to note that our facial expressions, gestures, and posture also send those valuabl...
Original Spanish version published in El Comercio newspaper (Peru) in November 21, 2016 I h...
Original Spanish version published in America Economia (Latin America) on October 28, 2016 As har...