4 Out-of-Box Ideas to Build Your Network (Pt. 1) Building Your Future Now

4 Out-of-Box Ideas to Build Your Network (Pt. 1) Building Your Future Now Whether you are searching for a better job or need a professional to help you out on something or simply looking to build your reputation or business you need a solid network. A network is a web of people that you have met or connected with in a host of professions. They can certainly help you out and you can return the favour. So if a network is vital to many aspects to your success how can you build one? There are tried and tested methods but here are 5 out-of-the-box ideas to build your network. 1. Dont wait for a networking eventcreate one! You want to go out there and connect with professionals in a more informal setting but you cantthere arent any networking events around you happening for a while! Instead of waiting for something like this to happenwhy dont you try making it happen! Try your hand at putting a networking event together. There is a bit of work involved but it is an amazing way to connect with people even before the event happens. 2. Create a Networking group that does it differently We know the drill: meeting other professionals at the networking event and exchange cards. Then off to meet the next person. Well, networking events dont have to be the same old song and dance! Shake it up by creating one that is different. Have a panel discussion. Focus on a topic that effects the community when trying to get guest speakers. Maybe try a very niche networking event. The sky is the limit. Brainstorm networking event ideas and create one that is different. 3. Challenge yourself to rapidly build your network Growing and nurturing your networking takes time, but that doesnt mean you have to wait to build a powerful and effective one! Challenge yourself by giving yourself benchmarks. For example, try outreaching to 10 sales pros within a week by asking if you could ask them a few questions about their successful career. Maybe for the following week you can up to 15 pros you connect with. 4. Brand yourself like no other Branding yourself has never been easier and so cost-effective in this day and age especially with the internet being such a useful part of our lives. It is also easier for a bad reputation to spread on social media. However, there are so many free tools and applications to help you create logos, build professional websites and whip up other promotional items that you can run a successful brand from the comfort of your own living room! Image: SNCR Group

Confidence boosters that work for me

Confidence boosters that work for me I woke up today with crust all over my left eye: Pinkeye. And on the way to the bathroom I stepped on edible gold-leaf dust for decorating cupcakes. And apparently sometime in the night the cat ate my sons map of Wisconsin. And threw it up. At times like this, I wish there was a morning-after type anti-depressant that you could take as sort of an immediate pick me up. I remembered my agent once told me that Advil works that way, once in a while. So I popped a couple. They did not work. I put antibiotics in my eye and tossed on an old sweatshirt and jeans that are so big they fit like sweat pants. And I headed out the door to go work. Then I turned around, and went back in the house. I think people do startups for a variety of reasons. Sometimes we are not even sure what the reasons are until after we get started. I moved to Wisconsin from New York City a year ago. It was a traumatic move, where we had to leave almost everything we own behind. And there was big culture shock in Madison when we got here. The way I dealt with the trauma was blogging every day (therapeutic structure to a crazy life) in my pajamas (a nod to the fact that I was working alone and in fundamental disarray). For the most part, when I had to show up to meet someone somewhere, I would pull things together a bit. Although when Ben Casnocha met me in Madison for breakfast his first comment was, You dont look like your photo. And when I met Rebecca Thorman, she blogged about my ratty shoes. So it was clear that I wasnt holding things together that well. And when I convinced Ryan and Ryan to move to Madison to start a new business with me, I decided I had to go back to dressing up for work. Not suit and skirt or anything like that. But not pajamas. Not ratty sneakers. And something happened immediately I felt differently because I was back to getting dressed to go to work, because there were people I had to see every day. This moment converged nicely with the blossoming of my speaking career, which is one of the most lucrative career moves Ive ever made, so I spent a lot of time at Bloomingdales, buying Joes Jeans and DKNY tops, to replace the expensive jeans and black tops that I bought six years ago, which was the last time I had to get dressed to go to work. Then I started wearing makeup. Not a lot, but enough so that I could mark the difference between cleaning up cat puke and writing a blog post. And I felt a little more organized, a little more focused. So today, I walked out of my house in ratty clothes and no makeup and I turned around. Because now I know that one way to feel better maybe the most noninvasive anti-depressant of all is to get dressed up to do work. The best days of work are those when I have the self-confidence to attack the hardest things on my to-do list with the most vigor. And one way to bolster self-confidence is to dress like someone who is self-confident.

On the Job by Anita Bruzzese This May Be the Reason Your Team Doesnt Have Enough Good Ideas

On the Job by Anita Bruzzese This May Be the Reason Your Team Doesn't Have Enough Good Ideas Its much more fun not to mention a heck of a lot less stressful to get along with your colleagues at work. Its even better when yourefriends with co-workers, because who doesnt want to work with friends, right? Well, according to a recentstudy, your companys bottom line may not like these workplacefriendships. Specifically, a study by Ryerson University published in theEuropean Management Journalfinds that despite past beliefs that group cohesion can only help a teams performance, it can have a downside: groupthink. If youre not familiar with the term, groupthink is a term coined by research psychologist Irving Janis, and is often tied to poor decisions that arise out of teams or groups. The idea is that when ideas arent challenged just simply embraced without debate then itleads to a less-desirable outcome. Sean Wise, professor of entrepreneurship at Ryerson, conducted a study that analyzed email communications for 187 teams from one company. Using digital data collection and social network analysis software, Wise found that while social connections boosted a teams performance at first, too much cohesion eventuallyled to a diminished performance. Being so friendly, he found, eventually hurt the teams performance. Ben Dattner, an industrial and organizational psychologist and adjunct professor at New York University,saysthat leaders may find groupthink leads to decisions that can have disastrous outcomes. For example, President Kennedys subordinates used groupthink to jump to the conclusion that the U.S. should invade Cuba in 1961, because they knew it was what he wanted. After the invasion failed, Kennedy tasked his younger brother, Robert, to vigorously vet any decisions that were being considered by the Executive Committee of the National Security Council. How can organizations and leaders ensure that teams get along but dont lapse into groupthink? Here are some tips from experts: Plan for it.Art Petty, founder and principal of the Art Petty Group,saysany risk plan should include a way to monitor and reduce emerging groupthink. It doesnt mean you think the group will fail but that its preferable to tackle the problem head on rather than ignore it. Encourage debate.As Dattner mentions, Kennedy learned that getting his own way with no debate might feel good for a short time but the end result can be terrible. Leaders need to speak up and let team members knowwhyits so important that ideas and opinions be challenged. Within businesses and governments, happy talk is common, but it can be countered with some version of, Now tell me (read more here) Illustration:Poponomics