Interesting in knowing the story of “connectoring” strategies?

 

Part 1.

I’ve always been one known to be a very competent networker.  Being so has enabled me to become a very good executive recruiter and corporate staffer.  I’ll take it one step further: being a great networker has contributed to the saving of my life!!  (Much more about this later….)

Along my life’s path, several people have asked me to teach them “how you do what you do”.  One of the very first things I learned was that people everywhere detest the term “networker”.

Several years ago at a meeting I was advised that if I wanted to be successful at this endeavor (showing the “world” how to build their networks), I had better come up with new terminology!!

I took this idea very seriously.  A couple of years ago I conjured the term “connectoring strategy”, registered the trademark with the USPTO, and started to introduce the phrase into business speak (bizspeak).

Forty-Five Years Ago the World Stopped

Part 2.

Forty-five years ago today I was a relatively carefree sophomore at a private women’s college in Denver (Colorado Woman’s College).  November 22 dawned a day very much like today in Denver: bright, clear, and unusually warm for so close to the Thanksgiving vacation.

It was a Friday, however, and therefore we had classes – regular classes – to attend before the last weekend prior to going home.  (Weekend frivolity was much more important in my mind than the grind of classes. I wasn’t – at the time – terribly interested in education.  Why should I? I already knew everything!  Remember: I was 19.)

I was heading back to my dorm room after a mid-morning class (certainly boring!) prior to going over to the cafeteria for the long-for lunch.  I remember the sunshine, the movement of hundreds of (mostly) females moving over the lovely, tree-shaded campus. 

As I was making my way, some girl that knew me blurted out: “He’s been shot!”  “Who?!”, I responded – but before I had a chance to even say that, she yelled, “The President!”. 

My heart raced, I noted that people’s faces were falling in recognition of this terrible fact being spread across the campus and life.  Girls stopped to exchange information in groups, large and small. Some girls were seen with tears streaming down their cheeks, not knowing what to say, where to go.

I don’t remember that I even made it to lunch.  I don’t think that I did.  As I made my way into the comfort and safety of my dormitory, it’s residents all gathering in our large living area.  Someone had set up a television, and we all gathered – in horror, fear, and shock – to watch the proceedings.  As sense of immediate danger to us all – as individuals, as a nation – overtook us all.  We talked in hushed, frightened tones with one another. We checked in with loved ones by long distance phone service: our immediate families, our boyfriends, our best friends.  This was not a day like any other that we had ever experienced, and we needed to feel the comfort and love of our closest loved ones.

That day 45 years ago everything shifted for all of us.

That day marked for me the first breach of my own sense of safety and innocence.   Our worlds had been rocked, and it didn’t feel good.

John F. Kennedy presented an inspired sense of leadership for us all.  When he was so brutally assassinated our collective world went dark.

The CONNECTORING Strategist – Skype or GoogleTalk?

How would your world (and your business) change if you actually knew all of your first-level connections on LinkedIn?

Mine is definitely changing (and becoming enlarged), directly due to the fact that I am reaching out to those that I’ve not yet had some sort of verbal dialogue.  Thanks to this whole new world that we’re starting to enjoy (thank you, new technologies!), I’m able to execute on my feeling that I should really know the folks to whom I’m supposedly connected.  I’m reaching out and making phone appointments with people on my list, and changing the nature of the “connection” with them by the so-doing.  Obviously, I’m making it an actual connection.

My goal is to enjoy a responsive network.  And I don’t preach for nothing: IT’S NOT WHO YOU KNOW – IT’S WHO CALLS YOU BACK!

On Sunday, I had the pleasure of speaking via VOIP with a Jordanian-bred American who is doing strategic consulting in Dubai.  While talking with him, I learned much about the UAE.  I was able to pull up a map of Dubai itself and to envision what his current life might be like by “walking down some streets” (on the map, of course) with him.  Raised and schooled all over Europe and the Middle East, Raed’s home base (and family) is in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.  His view is global; his understanding of the different cultural aspects of business life is prodigious.  The Google connection was very clear, and we talked well over an hour – a fascinating hour for me! 

Count one point for GoogleTalk.

Yesterday I connected with Ashwin Bhambri, founder of Talent on Campus, now in early “alpha” launch stage.  Ashwin – he in New Delhi at 3am, and I in Denver at 2pm– VOIP’ed it using Skype.  He could apparently hear me better than I could understand him (the sound came in diminishing and enlarging “waves of volume” to me).  We managed to communicate, however, in spite of the difficulties. 

After our call, I received three personal introductions to some of his business colleagues and personal friends, all with whom I intend to establish dialogue. (These folks are in Mumbai, New Delhi, London, and Denver!)

Count minus one point for Skype.  Ashwin and I will be exchanging emails with more information, and I will thereupon be able to connect Talent on Campus to some of my own trusted connections.

So, what do you think of my adventures?  I’d love to hear.  Feel very free to comment on this blog or shoot me an email.  I’m accessible!

erika hanson brown

STELLAR Connections LLC

"connecting leaders for business"

denver, co  usa

303.780.9111

erika@stellarbiz.com

 

linkedin:www.linkedin.com/in/erikahansonbrown

the connectoring® strategist blog: http://erikahansonbrown.posterous.com

 

Posted via email from The Connectoring® Strategist

The CONNECTORING Strategist – Weekly Adventures Report

Connectoring® Adventures….. (cont’d)

Visiting with five more of my LinkedIn contacts last week was terrific!! In that group were three with whom I re-connected (Gary Gaessler, Nancy Loderick, and Drew Nygard.) , and a couple with whom I made initial contact with coffee or a phone call: Lisa Shultz and Ross Dodwell.   (This week’s conversations will be more international….UAE and India, for starters)

Gary, co-founder of Propadoo.com, is also a fellow past invitee to an annual ski trip that used to be hosted by a mutual friend: Darren Smith.  We would all meet early in the AM for a chartered bus trip up to Copper Mountain Ski Resort – a much better deal that driving up alone in all that traffic!  Abundant food and drinks would be served to all so very graciously.  We’d arrive at the mountain to be greeted by customer service folks who would have our skis and equipment ready for us, and we’d ski together all day.  At the end of that glorious day, we’d bundle back into the comfortable bus, be plied with cocktails and appetizers, and we’d giddily enjoy the trip back to Denver – knowing that we didn’t have to fight that traffic! 

Nancy Loderick – a fellow supporter of women in business – was introduced originally to me by Lars Hilse.  Imagine!  Lars – in Germany – introduces two US-based women because he “connects the dots” between us!  Now that’s networking!  Nancy and I caught up, and I discovered that she is interviewing for process improvement and change management jobs in the Boston area.  Know of anything for this very accomplished professional?

Lisa Shultz – another supporter for women – and I enjoyed a coffee introduction this past week. Lisa has been very prolific in providing Denver venues wherein women can gather for networking with one another and is rapidly becoming known “amongst women” for the so-doing.  Good going, Lisa!!

And then there’s Andrew (Drew) Nygard.  Drew was the Consultant and San Franciscan who provided my initial invitation into LinkedIn.  He and I had met during my promotion of my own women’s support group (Netgoddess.com) several years prior.  He KNEW that I’d immediately “get” what LinkedIn was all about. 

That was back in 2003 – in the days when there were just a few thousand professionals in the LI network. 

And now there are over 50M.  What an example of exponential growth!!

PS.  Drew and I had such a good time catching up last week that we’re going to talk again next Friday!! 

erika hanson brown

STELLAR Connections LLC

"connecting leaders for business"

denver, co  usa

303.780.9111

erika@stellarbiz.com

 

linkedin:www.linkedin.com/in/erikahansonbrown

the connectoring® strategist blog: http://erikahansonbrown.posterous.com

 

The ConnectoringR Strategist – Connecting with LinkedIn Friends One At A Time

It’s really, really nice to connect a face with a name!!

I’ve been having the very best time in connecting – real time and in person – with people in my LinkedIn network (those that I have not yet met).

Last Friday I had the pleasure of meeting Denverite Rick Hamrick at my favorite coffee shop in my Denver/Congress Park neighborhood – the local Daz Bog that was developed out of an old-time’y automobile service station.  (On warm days, they open up the joint by raising the garage doors; the place floods with warmth and sunshine!)

Rick – a delightful fellow and creative blogger – gave me a bit of a run-down on his professional background and his life (he met his wife online), and we really connected on the issue of “connecting”! 

Most folks don’t take the art of networking/connecting quite as seriously as I do, but I thought I’d try something a bit unusual with Rick.  (He seemed willing and open to new ideas – something l liked tremendously about him.)  So I suggested that he request LI connection with one of my newly-acquainted connections: David Phelps.

I just had a feeling that the two of them had some things in common.

Next thing I see on my perusal of happenings on my LI homepage, David Phelps and Rick Hamrick have connected.  I hope that the two of them get to know one another and discover what it is that they have in common.

Watch out!  When I finally meet you, I’ll be thinking about connecting you to someone in my network! 

erika hanson brown

STELLAR Connections LLC

"connecting leaders for business"

denver, co  usa

303.780.9111

erika@stellarbiz.com

 

linkedin:www.linkedin.com/in/erikahansonbrown

the connectoring® strategist blog: http://erikahansonbrown.posterous.com

 

 

PS.  Hope you are planning on attending the Denver Future Forum’s LOCATION INTELLIGENCE presentation tonight!  (And I’ll look forward to greeting you there!)

The ConnectoringR Strategist – LOCATION INTELLIGENCE, the Emerging Biz Science! ATTENTION, DENVER!

Please join us* as our Special Guests Tuesday evening – November 10 – in Denver for an enlightening 21st Century event!  But first – a few questions for you to ponder as a business person (and assuming that you might have a business to which you’d like to drive business):

1. Can you identify which markets delivered on your last sales promotion? (And which did not?)
2. Can you identify which stores delivered on your brand’s profit?
3. Can you determine what drives your business? Ethnicity? Demographics? Income? Weather?

 

Location intelligence is changing the way we do and think about business, public policy, the environment…everything.  It has been a niche skill for the last 20 years.  Google Earth and smart phones are making maps and geography part of your day to day business and individual life.  However, there is still a skill to be acquired in thinking spatially which is critical to competing in the 21st Century. 

 

Find out why the location dimension…the spatial dimension…the geographic dimension of information is the new competitive advantage.  The Denver Future Forum is proud to present three visionary thought leaders on the subject:

 

• Steve Hick, Director of GIS (Geographic Information Systems) at the University of Denver will talk about the history of location intelligence, where it sits in the academic curriculum, and why it needs to expand to other disciplines such as business, international affairs, public policy, real estate, and the social sciences. 

• Jim Pollock, President of aWhere, a Golden,CO-based location intelligence company, will discuss the business benefits of understanding traditional business metrics in the context of where people, factories, businesses, supplies, services, capital, etc. are located. 

• John Corbett, CEO of aWhere, will discuss how location intelligence improves public policy with examples of the impact of understanding and visualizing the correlation between human health and climate. 

 

Don’t miss this unique perspective on an emerging business sector.

Please RSVP to Erin Beatty of the Denver Future Forum, erin_beatty@hotmail.com, and let her know that you’ll be joining us.

 

Date: Tuesday, Nov. 10
Time: 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM
Location: Leo Block Alumni Center (University of Denver)
Address: 2190 E. Asbury Ave.

* You have been selected for this invitation by

   and

erika hanson brown

STELLAR Connections LLC

"connecting leaders for business"

denver, co  usa

303.780.9111

erika@stellarbiz.com

 

linkedin:www.linkedin.com/in/erikahansonbrown

the connectoring® strategist blog: http://erikahansonbrown.posterous.com

 

The Connectoring Strategist – A Special Presentation: Location Intellgence Drives Business!

Please join us* as our special guests Tuesday evening – November 10 – in Denver for an enlightening 21st Century event!  But first – a few questions for you to ponder as a business person (and assuming that you might have a business to which you’d like to drive business):

1. Can you identify which markets delivered on your last sales promotion? (And which did not?)
2. Can you identify which stores delivered on your brand’s profit?
3. Can you determine what drives your business? Ethnicity? Demographics? Income? Weather?

 

Location intelligence is changing the way we do and think about business, public policy, the environment…everything.  It has been a niche skill for the last 20 years.  Google Earth and smart phones are making maps and geography part of your day to day business and individual life.  However, there is still a skill to be acquired in thinking spatially which is critical to competing in the 21st Century. 

 

Find out why the location dimension…the spatial dimension…the geographic dimension of information is the new competitive advantage.  The Denver Future Forum is proud to present three visionary thought leaders on the subject:

 

• Steve Hick, Director of GIS (Geographic Information Systems) at the University of Denver will talk about the history of location intelligence, where it sits in the academic curriculum, and why it needs to expand to other disciplines such as business, international affairs, public policy, real estate, and the social sciences. 

 

• Jim Pollock, President of aWhere, a Golden,CO-based location intelligence company, will discuss the business benefits of understanding traditional business metrics in the context of where people, factories, businesses, supplies, services, capital, etc. are located. 

• John Corbett, CEO of aWhere, will discuss how location intelligence improves public policy with examples of the impact of understanding and visualizing the correlation between human health and climate. 

 

Don’t miss this unique perspective on an emerging business sector.

Please RSVP to Erin Beatty of the Denver Future Forum, erin_beatty@hotmail.com, and let her know that you’ll be joining us.

 

Date: Tuesday, Nov. 10
Time: 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM
Location: Leo Block Alumni Center (University of Denver)
Address: 2190 E. Asbury Ave.

* You have been selected for this invitation by    and 

erika hanson brown

STELLAR Connections LLC

"connecting leaders for business"

denver, co  usa

303.780.9111

erika@stellarbiz.com

 

linkedin:www.linkedin.com/in/erikahansonbrown

the connectoring® strategist blog: http://erikahansonbrown.posterous.com

 

The ConnectoringR Strategist – LinkedIn Experiment Cont’d: Read About Jonas Rolo!

I’m starting to get to know my “connections” on LinkedIn; yes, I am!   (Some call me “courageous”; others think I really may be crazy.)

But I honestly do want to be able to feel that I know a little something about some of these folks with whom I enjoy first-level connection on LI.

Just the other day, I sent out a list-wide invitation to those in that category to connect/reply in some way to my request for actual connection.

So far I’ve gotten a very interesting reaction from some fascinating folks.

Today I’m going to tell you a bit about Jonas Rolo, a brilliant young man who is studying for his PhD at Carnegie Mellon University in PA.  But here’s the great part: his focus of study is on networks – the structure, analytics, the “why’s”, how’s, and the “who’s”. We had a great conversation of mutual “uncover’y”.  I was thrilled to meet him and to discover the fact that he – as a Portuguese national – has been sent by his company (the telecomm of Portugal) to one of the most prestigious universities of our country.

We were able to chat somewhat as peers about the new science of network analytics (I think this is the proper name).  As I very much consider myself to be a perpetual student of networking, working the net, the effect of relationships upon the building of a solid network, etc., it did thrill me that Jonas I were able to have a discussion of such mutual respect for one another’s work.

So, thanks, Jonas!  It was a treat to create the start of another fascinating, collegial relationship. 

And without LinkedIn, this would never have happened!

erika hanson brown

STELLAR Connections LLC

"connecting leaders for business"

denver, co  usa

303.780.9111

erika@stellarbiz.com

 

linkedin:www.linkedin.com/in/erikahansonbrown

the connectoring® strategist blog: http://erikahansonbrown.posterous.com

 

the ConnectoringR Strategist – An Interesting Experiment with LinkedIn

Like most of you, I have a relatively modest list of people in my first-level contact list on LinkedIn.  The truth of the matter, though, is that there are people on my “connections” list that I do not yet know. 

Since my most basic networking premise is “It’s Not Who You Know – It’s Who Calls You Back!”, I’m not really confident – yet – that all of those good folks will really call me back if I call them.

In most of those cases, I suspect that – when my name is mentioned to them – most, at this point, will say “…who?”!

Cogitating that fact, I sent out an email to that list on LI that invited them to connect with me in some way; I proposed dialogue together so that we might really get to know one another.

The response to that email has been so very interesting.  I’ve a calendar packed with call appointments and face-to-face meetings (with those in Denver metro).

Many of you have asked about response rate (to that one invitational (non-strategic) email.  In a great conversation with David Phelps yesterday, we discovered that we both worked at Qwest at the same time.  We were able to share stories and to both shake our heads in mutual understanding of what it was really like in those early days.  I expect that we’ll have many more productive conversations with one another as time goes by.

 

In our conversation yesterday, I shared with David that my response rate to my email send-out was “around 20%”.  “Wow!” gasped David, “…that’s really good!”

Well, David, I have to revise my number.  I checked it out (rather than guessing) and my rate is actually 8%.  Not bad, but not 20% – which would have been phenomenal.

 

But you know what, gang?  I’m in the process of developing some cool relationships with folks that heretofore would have said “Who?” when I called them.

And I’m going to keep this relationship-building process up by introducing you to them as I meet them!

How ‘bout them apples?!!!!

erika hanson brown

STELLAR Connections LLC

"connecting leaders for business"

denver, co  usa

303.780.9111

erika@stellarbiz.com

 

linkedin:www.linkedin.com/in/erikahansonbrown

the connectoring® strategist blog: http://erikahansonbrown.posterous.com

 

The ConnectoringR Strategist – Definitions of “social” marketing

Thanks to that inveterate seeker – Brett Greene – I learned something new the other day about the differentiators (my favorite word!)  between types of marketing  approaches.

Marketing:  “I’m a great lover.”

PR:  “..trust me, he’s a great lover.”

Advertising:   “I’m a great lover.
                      I’m a great lover.

                      I’m a great lover.”

Personal Branding:  “I understand that you are a great lover.”

Don’t you love it!!??

erika hanson brown

STELLAR Connections LLC

"connecting leaders for business"

denver, co  usa

303.780.9111

erika@stellarbiz.com

 

linkedin:www.linkedin.com/in/erikahansonbrown

the connectoring® strategist blog: http://erikahansonbrown.posterous.com

 

the ConnectoringR Strategist – An intro to Location Intelligence!

Date: Tuesday, Nov. 10
Time: 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM
Location: Leo Block Alumni Center (University of Denver)
Address: 2190 E. Asbury Ave.

 

Location intelligence is changing the way we think about business, public policy, the environment…everything.  It has been a niche skill for the last 20 years.  Google Earth and smart phones are making maps and geography part of your day to day business and individual life.  However, there is still a skill to be acquired in thinking spatially which is critical to competing in the 21st Century. 

 

Find out why the location dimension…the spatial dimension…the geographic dimension of information is the new competitive advantage.  The Denver Future Forum is proud to present three visionary thought leaders on the subject:

 

• Steve Hick, Director of GIS (Geographic Information Systems) at the University of Denver will talk about the history of location intelligence, where it sits in the academic curriculum, and why it needs to expand to other disciplines such as business, international affairs, public policy, real estate, and the social sciences. 

• Jim Pollock, President of aWhere, a Golden-based location-intelligence company, will discuss the business benefits understanding traditional business metrics in the context of where people, factories, businesses, supplies, services, capital, etc. are located. 

• John Corbett, CEO of aWhere, will discuss how location intelligence improves public policy with examples of the impact of understanding and visualizing the correlation between human health and climate. 

 

Don’t miss this unique perspective on the Education debate. Please RSVP to Erin Beatty, erin_beatty@hotmail.com and let them know that you’ll be attending this fascinating event!

 

erika hanson brown

STELLAR Connections LLC

"we connect leaders"

denver, co  usa

303.780.9111

erika@stellarbiz.com

 

linkedin:www.linkedin.com/in/erikahansonbrown

the connectoring® strategist blog: http://erikahansonbrown.posterous.com

 

nothin’ better!

There really is nothing better than an early morning swim at the gorgeous 50M pool at the University of Denver!  I get showered and dressed after that immersion with a wonderful feeling of wellness, energy, and wealth of new ideas.  It’s always amazing to me that I somehow get to “thrash” through some of my current biz issues and ideas at the same time that I am thrashing relentlessly through the water!

Some very bright people meditate daily.  I believe strongly in the value of meditation; I just engage in that activity in more places than one!

As a kid I swam competitively. In an age when girls didn’t participate in athletic activities (except chasing boys and cheerleading!), I was a member of a small swimming team.  Our coach – the legendary David Rivenes – had scrounged up an indoor pool for us to use in the darkest of Montana winter days, and each training day I could count on the light toot of a car horn – the announcement that I should run out the door and go for that training swim for the next couple of hours.

It was during those winter days that I realized a sense of feeling better (and I already felt good!) after the training episode.  I would always feel energized, excited, relaxed, and accomplished after those workouts.  There was a major shift in self-esteem and confidence that I remember feeling and, at the same time, I had had fun!  What a great way to feel.

I quit the routine of swimming competitively at the tender age of 14 years.  I swore that I’d had “enough”, and I said that I’d not do that again.

It didn’t take me long to forget that great feeling; I didn’t even miss it for 20 years.

At age 36 I took up regular swimming again.  Wow!  There it was again!  Immediately I was able to hearken back to that mysterious feeling of health and well-being.  All I needed to do was to swim again, and I’d feel like a teenager.    

And today I know that my good fortune in rediscovering swimming is something that delivers me to very necessary introspective meditation, but it’s also an activity that may have saved my life from recurrence from cancer.  (I am today 7 years removed from diagnosis of stage iiic colon cancer.)

Anyone want to go swimming with me?

erika hanson brown

STELLAR Connections LLC

"we connect leaders"

denver, co  usa

303.780.9111

erika@stellarbiz.com

 

linkedin:www.linkedin.com/in/erikahansonbrown

the connectoring® strategist blog: http://erikahansonbrown.posterous.com