Today I had the extreme honor of delivering a custom version of my signature Sway Factor keynote for a room filled with commercial bankers right here in Chicago. And BONUS! I was also able to witness fellow NSA member and Certified Speaking Professional Mark Scharenbroich rock the stage.
It’s A Small World
{sidebar} As it always is, the “two degrees of separation” phenomenon was in full affect: I was referred to this client by a friend; I ran into an old college buddy during the cocktail reception; and Mark’s wife Susan, well I met her quite by accident waiting in line for coffee this past June at a conference in DC. When I tell you it’s a small world, I really am not exaggerating! {/sidebar}
Networking Is For Everyone
Now back to the 600+ commercial bankers in the audience today… as it turns out, you have quite a lot in common with them:
1. You share a need to build and nurture a powerful network.
2. How you show up online is often times someone’s first impression of you.
3. More often than not, your best leads – be it for a new job, promotion or client – come by way of referral from your network (see point #1).
4. Everything you aspire to achieve in your career is exponentially easier if you have a high degree of ethical influence, or what I call sway.
5. You are in charge of your personal brand, online and off… you my friend are the Chief Marketing Officer of Brand You.
Nurturing YOUR Network
Today Mark talked how we can stand out, how we can truly differentiate ourselves by acknowledging, honoring and connecting with our stakeholders… And I challenge you to do the same online.
One of the best investments you can make is to spend just a few minutes a day nurturing the members of your social networks; the dividends paid will outperform Words with Friends or Candy Crush any day.