So, here are a few ideas / questions about networking to push the thinking into some of the mechanics and principles of the activity:

Who is in your network?

Think broadly about this. Not just people who are close friends or colleagues. Improve your skills at collecting contact details for people. To get you started, use a mind map (or spider diagram) to set out the people who you are in contact with. Each arm of the map reaching out from you at the centre can be a domain or area of your life e.g. family, friends, work colleagues, people with common interests etc. Work on this for at least 30 minutes. If there aren’t at least a hundred people on this mind map you haven’t thought deeply enough!

Do you have an effective network planning tool? Is it backed up effectively?

There are many ways of managing a network. I use Microsoft Outlook’s Contact Database to capture my network contacts. It means that I have details with me at all times as I use a blackberry. It’s a great way to capture people’s contact details as well as snippets of useful information about them if like me you have a poor memory. The database should be backed up so that system failure (i.e. your computer dies) doesn’t mean that you lose all your contacts.

Do you review your network regularly?

I go through my network at least once a month, looking for people who I need to get in touch with to ensure that I am keeping regular contact. It takes maybe five minutes to just skim through all of the names A-Z and check for anything that jumps out at me. I usually come away from this with a few people I should drop an email to, or phone. And I may see someone in there whose details need updating.

Do you archive dormant contacts, and do you capture all contacts no matter how fleeting?

A network needs to be up to date.  The regular review helps you to keep it current. It’s also worth looking for people in the network who you haven’t been in contact with for some time. If there is no good reason to make contact now, archive the contact. Don’t delete it – you don’t know what is just into the future. You may have a reason to contact them which you are not aware of now. Try to capture contact details whenever you can. A business card, a phone number or email address. I input them into the database as soon as I can. If possible, follow this up with a quick contact if that is appropriate.

Who else should be in your network?

Take regular opportunities to review your network and think about potential gaps. Then take proactive steps to fill those gaps.

Do you have a worthwhile contact to make?

As I implied in the opening paragraph, effective networking is not about what you can get out of people, it is about what you can give. People are naturally suspicious of the “salesman” type approach to marketing where there is a pitch either explicitly there or implied. For effective networking it helps to begin by thinking about what you have to offer before you make the contact. That helps to maintain integrity in relationship building.

A key skill

It’s difficult to overstate the importance of networking. Relationships between us is what makes the world go round. The process of networking is at the heart of this. The first step of making the initial contact is something I used to find really difficult, particularly at networking events, conferences, seminars etc. I found a way round this by introducing myself and asking a quick question about the other person to get them talking about themselves. After a few goes at this it felt more and more natural. It has helped me to really enjoy the networking event.

So far so good! Problems arise with this though, when we come to realise that sometimes patterns do not serve us. These patterns, for example, can help to build phobias. Thus, an unpleasant experience whilst at a height at a young age can contribute to a fear of heights in the future.

I am laying this out in a simplistic way to illustrate the point. We build patterns over time and these can be incredibly useful or they can develop inhibiting loops which are not so helpful.

In our relationships with others we form all sorts of assumptions based on information. Thus, when someone tells us what they do for a job we will make judgements about their character based on that information. Sometimes this helps, often it doesn’t. We will also sometimes form judgements based on the way someone looks. If they resemble someone we already know we may think at a sub-conscious level that they will be similar. This is clearly bad logic!

When the pattern formed is unhelpful, or leads to bad logic we need to introduce pattern disruptors to dislodge the loop so that we think afresh and are able to start with new sets of assumptions. There are a number of ways we can do this. Examples would be:

• Renaissance as a strategy (see earlier blog post)
• Proactive steps and actions to disrupt the pattern
• Encouraging reflection – time spent considering the pattern will help to unpick bad logic
• Distraction techniques – designed to stop the brain from following the loop
• Physical connection such as tapping or pressing fingers together to distract thinking and disengage an existing loop

Many of these techniques can also be adapted more broadly to tackle wider issues of organisational change where groups of people are working within patterns. Peter Senge’s work in this field (The Fifth Discipline), which looked at loop patterns and disruptors, is particularly useful.

PART ONE – Plotting the Stars

1. What kind of human being do you want to be? Describe the kinds of skills, abilities, qualities, disposition, character and understanding you want to have.

2. What do you want to do with your life? Think in large as well as small ways of achievements, actions and important issues for you.

PART TWO – Mapping the Journey

3. Where are you? Describe fully your current stage, both personal and career.

4. How did you get there? Look back in your life and trace all the elements, happenings and people who have influenced your life path.

5. Where do you want to go? Using the material from 1 and 2 begin to describe your real intentions.

6. How will you get there? Refer to the information you have gained about your journey in life so far and consider new ways.

7. What will you do when you arrive? Begin to sketch in your intentions and actions.

8. Where to next? Life is a continuous process, so begin to look beyond your immediate horizons.

9. How do you begin?

PART THREE – Starting Out

10. Plan of action

The inbox isn’t our work

For those of us who spend a lot of time working with email it is easy to become caught up in the illusion that the inbox is the workplace. It is true that a lot of our work may come to us through this medium, but that does not mean that work is equal to and captured by the email inbox. There are other places for us, other media which we should be adopting. When we become a slave to the inbox, we lose our sense of perspective and can often not see what is important (especially if it doesn’t show up in email!)

I’m more productive than I think I am

I now do a weekly and monthly review process. This gives me an opportunity to look back over a meaningful timeframe and see what I have done. I look through the diary, email, personal and work journals. I capture a summary of what I have done that week or month, and give myself a mini-report (it doesn’t have to be written). These reviews invariably dig up a volume of work beyond what I would expect. They are a pleasant surprise.

So – by taking myself out of the inbox, and ensuring that I don’t spend too much time each day on email, and regularly reviewing what I have achieved – it is possible to shift perspective and escape the ‘busy’ trap.

Doing this on a regular basis is key, writing it down is also a fundamental part of the learning process. The act of writing ensures that the points are captured for future reference, but it also ensures a level of objectivity through the writing act. Seeing the words on the page helps to detach me from the points that are being made so that I can reflect on them, look at what they mean and take action based on them.

Key questions for this reflective practise would be:

• What was good about today?
• What 3 things worked really well?
• What didn’t go so well?
• What have I learnt from this?

Not too many questions – this isn’t meant to be a major exercise. And the questions are just pointers to prompt thinking.

If we are to move habits and behaviours, embedding those which are productive and doing something about habits which don’t serve us, we need reflective practise to act as a prompt to move us forward.

What did you do today? What were you proud of? Can you point to something and appreciate it, so that tomorrow you begin the day from a positive place and continue to build?

Commit to this new practise for 30 days and see where it takes you. New habits take this long to become embedded. Work with this as a form of self appreciation, and see how it builds a sense of direction and esteem. Good luck.

Ice breaking - ice breakers at work

 What it does

 This is a great warm-up exercise for the beginning of a group meeting. It can also be used in a one-to-one situation.

 In a group, it will change the atmosphere in the room and create a co-operative energy to prepare for the business of the meeting.

 How to play it

 The exercise is done in two rounds. For the first round, each person takes it in turns to describe something which is really annoying, something which ‘bugs’ them. It can be in any context, although it is helpful if it is in the relevant to the context. There is no judgement of that ‘bug’ – but the rest of the group has the opportunity to contribute with comments or suggestions for overcoming the ‘bug’.

 In the second round of the exercise, each person describes something which gives them a real ‘buzz’. Again, others can contribute and add comments.

 How it works

 The first round gives each person an opportunity to describe something which is causing problems in the daily work. There is also an opportunity to create a shared approach to problem solving. It also gives air-space to issues which might otherwise be considered too trivial to raise.

 In the second round, the focus on positive things which make each of us buzz, helps to create an environment of appreciative involvement.

Well, over recent months I have been revisiting the GTD book and have found myself stepping up to the next level with this approach.

I’ve been listening to a lot of podcasts from the GTD community (try here and here) over the last few days. It’s helping me to get GTD to the next level. David Allen talks about GTD in the same way as Aikido and other martial arts, so he adopts the belt model in the same way that processes like Six Sigma have. In that context, I am just moving up a belt as I get to grips with more of the key principles of GTD. I have to say, I think this only takes me from White Belt to Yellow. There’s still so much to learn!

One particularly interesting idea which I came across on several of the podcasts is the ‘Pomodoro Technique’ which is essentially a focus tool, using a timer to ensure that you stay to task for 25 minutes. I also like the idea of seeing specific tasks in units of pomodoro. Interesting idea! I’m going to try it out for some of the tasks that I have trouble getting to.

In progressing from White Belt to Yellow as I grapple with some of the key concepts of GTD, I would summarise these as follows:

•  Weekly Review – not doing this at all regularly yet. See the need, and am aiming for a set time each week
• 6 Level Model for Review – not really got this at all. The idea of the different altitudes of perspective. Needs more study. It captures the idea that we need to see our life from different levels all the way from the ‘runway’ i.e. day to day actions, up to a view of our life’s purpose.
• Inbox to Zero – must have only achieved this a couple of times in the last few years. I am conscious that the reason I don’t get there often is indecisiveness in the moment.
• @Context – finally getting my head around this now. I’ve found the division of lists makes sure that I push my focus where it needs to go at the appropriate time. This is all about not having the complete list of tasks in front of me at any time – only the tasks that fit the context I am in right now.

So much to work on, but the payback in terms of both productivity and what Allen calls a ‘Mind like Water’ is huge.

The issue then is not the lack of knowledge alone. There is also the issue of attitude taken to work. As is often the case, humility is an important characteristic to display in work (and in many other contexts too).

The dangerous mix is that of lack of knowledge (ignorance) together with ambition. The ambitious person will crash around in a new job, without thinking through the wider political context in which they are working. This is a dangerous mix – inadvertantly the new member of staff can crash around the system only aware of quick wins they are achieving with no idea of the broader implications of their actions.

So  – the lesson: avoid the volatility of mixing ignorance and ambition. Where possible encourage humility and the ability to see that asking for help and advice is a strength, not a weakness.

• which ones shine the brightest
• which ones are dying
• which ones are new born
• which ones are nurturing life with their brightness
• which ones need more focus with the telescope to see them clearly

I’m talking about ideas and stars here – it’s an interesting way to look at ideas and decide what to do with them.

The idea as it formed was remarkably simple. I wanted to be part of a Learning Set to share thinking on creative leadership. The subject of ‘creative leadership’ was taken from some online research I had done in the mid-90s looking at applications of creativity in leadership. 

There was a clear time limit to the learning sets – six sessions – so that participants could make an explicit commitment.

The idea was tested out with an informal group of colleagues in the first instance. This was well received. Several people suggested to me that the learning sets would be stronger if they involved people who were not already known to each other. With this in mind I approached the Head of Human Resources for help. She agreed to send out the ‘flier’ to Human Resource leads in NHS organisations in the North West of England.

The letter seeking expressions of interest was intended to solicit sufficient interest to form one learning set. In the event there were well over 100 responses within two weeks. An untapped need had been identified. The challenge was one of determining how best to meet that need.

I was keen to develop an organic structure fit to the needs of each particular group. However, I lacked the confidence to challenge the advice I was being given. The traditional model of a Learning Set requires a facilitator to lead the process – this was the approach which was adopted. It took time to locate eight facilitators, but this was achieved and the Learning Sets began to meet.

From the outset there was an issue within the group of which I was a member. Was our group leader a facilitator or someone in control? It felt as though the role of facilitator took away from the autonomy of the group. I was keen to take the group into dynamic territory where it would develop its own agenda. I wanted to see what the archetypes would create. The facilitator, who set out a clear set of issues to be covered over the six sessions, resisted this approach.

The pitfalls of the approach then, were related to this tension over the existence of a facilitator and whether this was beneficial to the process.

From the outset, there was immense scope for building a sense of community, but this was not really progressed due to an overwhelming sense of over-dependence on one person. That person (me) had a full time job to fulfil, and was therefore not able to pursue newsletters and other communications channels to create a sense of a ‘movement’ being developed. This would have been the real strength of this initiative if it had been possible. As it was, there was no opportunity to communicate across the learning sets, other than through the facilitators.

This problem was one that I raised at a meeting of the facilitators half way through the six months set for the initiative. We agreed that a shared event would be useful to bring all the participants together and share experiences. It took some time to arrange this event, so it happened when most of the learning sets had reached the end of their time allocation. Nonetheless, it was an opportunity to experience some of the magic of the group event.

Although the various learning sets had each gone about things their own way, they had all seen the need for greater communication between the sets. Some felt that the sets would be a useful way to overcome the feelings of isolation often felt by managers within organisations. There was a general view that peer group support from outside the immediate environment was really helpful.

The shared event day had a feeling of celebration about it. There was a remarkably positive response to the process. The lack of focussed content did not appear to have been a problem – many of those involved suspected that this had been a deliberate decision (as it was). Some even queried whether it had been a conspiracy to see how those involved would react to the lack of structure.

In retrospect, there was clearly much scope for building on the model which was developed here. At the one-day event there was an expectation of magic, which became self-fulfilling to an extent. If a similar exercise were to be attempted, more focus would be given to the need for a clear strategy for communication and specific assignment of roles. It would also be critical to follow through the requirement that the groups should be self-managed (see ‘Maverick’ by Ricardo Semler, 1993) as this would have generated a significantly different community (see ‘Different Drum’ by M Scott Peck, 1987).