Stay relevant at work with Tom Auld of Auld Consulting LLC. Career advice with a dose of pop culture references because we learn more when we are laughing.
This week we get in to the details of how to create a professional network by sharing with you the top 3 steps to take when building a “$2 million” dollar network. We have something for the extrovert, introvert, and ambivert. Join us today and get your professional network started!
Pop culture references include Elanor Roosevelt, SNL’s Coffee Talk with Mike Myers, Survivor TV show, Homer Simpson, The Hulk, Duran Duran, and books “The Power of Habit” and “Atomic Habits”.
Thomas (Tom) Auld is the founder and Chief Product Owner of Auld Consulting. Over his 25+ year career, he has helped develop products that have delivered over $500MM in revenue (and counting).
Now he focuses on building 90-day all-inclusive consulting solutions for Teams, Product Owners, and Organizational Leaders. Training, strategic consulting, coaching and delivering up to 6 product releases in 90 days, all for one fixed price.
He is one of a handful of professionals that have been are credentialed as both a Registered Scrum Trainer and Registered Scrum at Scale Trainer by Scrum Inc. He has trained over 5000 individuals as Scrum Masters, Product Owners, Agile Leaders, and Scrum at Scale Practitioners.
Contact Tom at Tom@AuldLLC.com.
Auld Consulting LLC specializes in building world-class products, teams and organizations that Customers love.
We do this two ways:
1) With 90 day consulting solutions that combine training, strategic consulting, specialized coaching, and delivering a product release every 2 weeks. We “ditch the discovery phase” and get straight to work. All for one fixed price. There is nothing else like this in the market.
2) Specialized and globally certified training events focused on Scrum, Scrum Master, Product Owner, Agile Leader, Scaling Scrum, Value Mapping, and many others. Our training is based on the scientific expertise of Dr. Jeff Sutherland, co-founder of Scrum. We combine the science of scrum with real world results based on successful implementation of scrum at dozens of world-class organizations. Our courses utilize the latest research and technology to ensure that our clients can stay ahead of their competition. Our interactive classes go way beyond the theory and help you build a personal implementation plan that you will take back to your company.
Tom has partnered with a local, legendary consulting firm, Hollstadt Consulting to host some classes in June and July. Please join us!
To learn more about our 90-day solutions, please contact me at Tom@AuldLLC.com.
To register for an upcoming training event: https://www.auldconsultingllc.com/alltraining
Any other questions please contact Info@AuldLLC.com
All our videos, posts, and articles can be found at https://www.auldconsultingllc.com/videos
#Scrum #ScrumMaster #ProductOwner #CertifiedTraining #RegisteredTraining #FOB, #FearofBecomingObsolete #ScrumMinneapolis #ScrumMinnesota #ScrumMidwest #ScrumIowa #ScrumSouthDakota #ScrumWisconsin #ScrumNorthDakota #ProductOwnerTraining #ScrumMasterTraining #AgileLeaderScrumTraining #AgileTraining #AgileLeaderTraining #AuldConsulting #AuldConsultingLLC #AuldTraining #ThomasAuldTraining #TomAuldTraining #AuldCoaching #AgileCoach #AgileCoaching #90dayconsultingsolutions #90daysolutions #DitchtheDiscoveryPhase #Ditchthediscoveryphaseandletsgettowork
Full Transcript
TITLE CARD – how to build a professional network worth $2MM.
TRANSCRIPT
Hello everybody! Thank you for joining and welcome to Episode 12 of FOBO. I am your friendly neighborhood product owner, Tom Auld.
Last week you got to fully understood the power of networking.
This week we get into the tactics of how to build a professional network.
You mean I am going to have to talk to people? Engage with them? And try to build a professional relationship?
Consider this:
The American Sociological Association found that people who are referred for a job are 15 times more likely to be hired than those who apply through a job board or career site.
So YES, it is worth it.
Come along introverts, extroverts, and ambiverts
Grab a coffee, tea, or your favorite adult beverage, and let’s talk about staying relevant at work.
INTRO SEQUENCE
“Do one thing every day that scares you.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
That seems like a perfect quote to start today’s conversation with.
Last week we set the stage by defining what a network is and why it is crucial to your career success.
This week we focus on the tactics of building a professional network.
First: Start with where you work:
Create a list:
· Who do you admire?
· Who has a role or title you would like to have one day?
· Who has a skillset that you would want to learn from?
Here is the hard part, just reach out. Tell them why you would like some of their time. Ask permission to set up a face to face meeting together. Yes, I said face to face.
Face-to-face connections are so powerful. You get to see body language. You get to hear tone and context. You have a common experience that you both share. This can help build trust and establish stronger relationships.
Let them know you are looking to expand your network and you think they would be somebody you would value spending time with and learning from.
They will be flattered. See what would work for them and their schedule and take the lead in setting up the time.
If they happen to be too busy at this time, thank them and let them know that if their time ever opens up, you would be grateful for them if they could squeeze you in.
“Now why would someone agree to help little-old-you?”
Nobody gets to where they are by themselves. Everybody has received help. Here is their chance to pay it forward. Remember this when someone asks you to network with them!
Next, are there any professional networks within your existing company?
Many of us have a fear of public speaking. But we see how important this skill is. Give TOASTMASTERS a try. Today, there are over 16,800 Toastmasters clubs in over 143 countries, with over 360,000 members worldwide.
I started by career at a bank. I joined toastmasters and found myself in a group with Managers, Directors, and VPs that I would have never had encountered. We worked on speaking assignments together and formed a relationship that is unique to people going through a new experience together. There is this “trial by fire” bonding that happens to a group when going something hard and rewarding together.
How about you are a new Certified Public Accountant. You can join the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and their 431,000 members.
At their local and global events, you can deep dive into areas of knowledge or deep dive into specific industries. You can also network with people and organizations that might be a great fit for you at some point in your career.
You can’t have too many career options!
Finally, leverage social media.
This is probably the easiest way for people that are more on the introverted side. You can engage as much, or little, as you are comfortable with. You can pick the time and the duration of the interactions.
Social media platforms like LinkedIn can be a great way to connect with other professionals in your field.
Create a professional profile and start engaging with other users by sharing industry news, commenting on posts, and joining relevant groups.
Don’t see a group that interests you, start one of your own! Build your own tribe!
Now that you have some ideas on how to build your network, you must build it into your routine. To be successful, it needs to be a habit that you exercise on a consistent basis.
And remember, networking is a reciprocal relationship. When somebody asks for help, and you are in a position to help, be the first one to volunteer.
I can assure you, that every person you help will be the first to respond when you have a request.
According to a study done by LinkedIn in 2017, 35% of participants said a casual conversation through LinkedIn Messaging led to a new opportunity.
Additionally, a study by the Harvard Business Review found that professionals who actively network with their peers earn higher salaries and are promoted more quickly than those who do not.
So, what is stopping you? Get that network going.
It will help you and people you have a relationship with stay relevant, at work.
So, how did we do today? Did you get any value from this topic?
Did we miss something? Do you have a networking success story to share? Maybe a networking horror story to share? Please drop those in the comments.
We appreciate you engaging with the FOBO community.
Come back next week when we will focus on the delicate art of self-promotion. How do you self-promote at work without appearing arrogant. I hope you will join us.
Please like and comment. Share it with a friend, share it with an enemy. You never know where your next network connection could come from.
I am Tom Auld, your friendly neighborhood product-owner, signing off. Have a VALUABLE week. Take care.
