7/29/2019 BFHubbel

1/4

The Hub Factor: The Art of Influence through Powerful Networking Skills

Julia E. HubbelThe Hubbel Group/The Hub Factor

720.221.7335; jhubbel@principlednetworking.com

92nd Annual International Supply Management Conference, May 2007

Abstract. Supply Chain Management is beset with change from every direction: demands forgreater speed, innovation, streamlining of processes; the demand for better communication andmore efficiency of networks across traditional and nontraditional lines; intense competition bothinternally and externally. You are required to think faster and more creatively, to have more andbetter answers, to come up with better solutions than ever before and to have them faster thanever before. Youre required to do this with fewer resources, in less time, and with greateraccuracy. In a highly competitive environment, how do you not only survive, but thrive in such arapidly changing and demanding world?

Definition. Networking as a term didnt enter our vernacular until 1966. It means the passing

along of information, ideas and contacts from one person to another, and then possibly to morepeople, according to Donna Fisher, in Professional Networking for Dummies. She adds, Everytime someone shares an idea or contact with you, you are on the receiving end of networking.Every time you give someone support, encouragement, or a recommendation, you are on thegiving end of networking. For many people, however, networking got its reputation in the 1980swhere it became known as a pushy, its all about me exercise, a hard sell where only theaggressive sales types could win at the game. Networking got a bad reputation. Also,networking involves the risk of rejection. A New York Times article described 75% of theAmerican public as more afraid to enter a room full of strangers than they were to speak inpublic. More people are afraid of death than they are of speaking in public. Networking, whichinvolves reaching out to others and offering up ourselves to be accepted and liked, is risky

business, and for many, just too scary a proposition. Thats why, when it comes to socialoccasions, many people stick with standing with friends, acquaintances, even people they dontparticularly like in order to avoid having to mix with strangers!

The future of Supply Chain Management is the development of powerful relationships, built ontrust and collaboration, which are earned by how you treat people right from the start. How youapproach people based on your intention is expressed by your body language, your facialexpression and the first words out of your mouth. Are you here to get or to give? To take or tomake a difference? Are you here to create value only for yourself or for others as well? Thosewho are here only for themselves will quickly find themselves left out in a world that isincreasingly savvy about selfishness. The more fast-paced and demanding Supply Chain

becomes, the more humanity is required of us to get the job done. As the world around youchanges the shifts, its the relationships that survive. Those relationships cannot be assumed;they have to be earned, developed, nurtured and protected with care and attention over time.How you start them is the heart of networking, how you maintain them is the soul of networking.

Networking as an activity has evolved over the years to mean something different to eachperson according to personality, capacity and motivation. For most, it has been limited only to

7/29/2019 BFHubbel

2/4

social activities. You network only when you go to a social event or a conference where thereare specific times set aside for networking. And for many people, these times are personallychallenging. You may perhaps feel as though you have to put on your networking game face,have an additional glass of wine or another drink to get you through the crowd, or bolsteryourself by taking along a buddy as a support system. Sometimes you may find yourselfhanging on to someone youve met a little too long because theyve been friendly to you, or youtalk for hours to just one person and miss the signals that theyd like to move on. For others, itslike a sports game, where theyre out to get as many cards as possible so they can brag abouthow many contacts theyve made, which is an empty achievement. At the end of the night,theyll have a handful of cards from a great many people about whom they remember nothing,and those people wont recall anything about them, either. Nothing ventured and nothinggained. Networking doesnt have to be about managing your fear, and it also isnt aboutmanaging people as though it was a points system.

Networking for the 21st century is fundamentally different. Its about creating and leaving alegacy of value. It recognizes differences in gender and race. Networking for this era reachesacross personality style and business cards and gets to the heart of who people are andcreates genuine connections. Especially during times of rapid change, when people are more

likely to draw into themselves, it is important to reach out to others in ways that create genuine,heartfelt relationships.

Traditional networking has always depended upon the business card, which offers a snapshotof who you are, but a limited snapshot. In a millisecond, you are summed up by a title, acompany affiliation, gender and race. Men generally exchange cards to establish pecking order,to see who has the greater authority, the larger playing field, the bigger title, the more importantcompany affiliation, the larger budget, much like in the military where rank and powerestablishes who salutes whom. The business card quickly establishes where men stand withone another and allow them to proceed with an implicit understand of rank and power. Theconversation also follows a similar line, usually about business or sports, which allow

connection along comfortable lines of familiarity but within a set of boundaries, establishing aconnection along transactional lines. Men generally prefer to discuss business first, alongtransactional lines: What have you got for me? What do you bring to the deal? The personalrelationship is earned on the basis of how well business is conducted.

Women, and many people of color, generally network quite differently. Their preferred approachis along relational lines. Instead of exchanging business cards right away and getting down tobusiness, they would prefer to talk about you: your family, your life, your world, your children,even your clothes, the food, to get a feel for who you are and how you treat the people in yourworld. Theyre interested in the context around you, your history, your background, what makesyou who you are. They are whole person observers; they will watch your face closely, observe

body language, catch nuances in tonal changes in voice and be much more observant of slightchanges in attention and mood. Women and many people of color look to establish therelationship first and then create business opportunities later as a result of the personalconnection.

There are exceptions to these rules but these are general trends which are recognizable amongmen, women and people of color, especially in the rest of the world. Internationally, with rare

7/29/2019 BFHubbel

3/4

exceptions such as Israel where it is business first and foremost, the relationship creates theconnection first.

How do you navigate these relationship potholes? How can you reach across differences andconnect? First, by recognizing and honoring gender and racial differences and not expectingwomen and people of color to respond to white male style networking styles or vice versa. A bitof adaptation on both sides goes a long way towards making connecting go more smoothly.

Second, networking for the 21st century requires that we take a bit of a risk and sharesomething personal about ourselves that allows us to get past the business card connection,especially for white males, for whom this is a big step. The revelation creates the relationship-especially when its something funny or revealing, and it allows others to see us as human andhumane, and creates a conversation about who we are. Often its the very thing that creates thepersonal connection with someone else, the connective tissue with another human being thatnever could have happened only with a business card which is otherwise cold and impersonal.True, we can have professional connections, but the glue of life is the personal experiences weshare.

Third, our ability to ask good questions is the key to creating excellent connections. For most ofus, networking is agonizing because we feel it is all about us, that we are on the spot and weare supposed to be entertaining and witty. That is hardly the case. Networking is never aboutyou, never was about you and never will be about you. Ask people what they think, how theyfeel about ideas, interview them as though you were going to write a story about them for amagazine. Make them talk about themselves. Ask open-ended questions and delve deeper.Listen with the intention to learn. And as you listen, listen with the intention make a difference-to pay a compliment, to make a referral to them to help them out, to give them an idea, to dosomething good for them in some way. Always be looking for a way to leave someone withsomething of value. Have your internal Rolodex spinning to give this person someone to meetwho will further their career.

Networking is how you will leave other people feeling about themselves, how you will leave alegacy of value, how you leave other people feeling supported. In this way, we build a networkof friends and confidants who are our biggest fans and who will be there when we need them,because we have already supported them first. When we connect with other people with anattitude of service and are looking for a way to leave them with something of value, like a greatidea or a referral or a compliment, it is a powerful way to build a legacy for ourselves.

Fourth, pay it forward. Mentor, give ideas, suggestions, support, recommendations, open doorsfor people. Do favors, help make deals happen. Help people find jobs. Help your vendors out bycoaching them or advising them. This builds loyalty and friendship. Boost your MWBE vendors

by providing training and coaching on collaboration. Build closer alliances with peers atconferences such as this one to build your professional knowledge and your informationsources. The more you do for others, the more you find others will do for you. Youll find moreinformation coming your way, more tips, more inside skinny, more calls, more job referrals.Youll keep up to date on the latest in the industry from industry leaders because you knowthem personally, not because you read about them- youve met them and gotten on theirmailing lists because youve networked with them at the conferences where theyve spoken.

7/29/2019 BFHubbel

4/4

You have built a network of connections, now you have to stay in touch. Traditionally, peoplefollow up only 10% of the connections they make at a conference. Dont become a typicalstatistic! Some of these people may represent your future, and you, theirs! Follow up within aweek with at least an email, at best a personal note. There is nothing so powerful as a handwritten note in a world of electronic communications, simply because they are so rare. You wantto be remembered, so do what most people dont do- follow up, and do it quickly enough so thatyou wont be relegated to foggy memory.

Use a contact management system like ACT or Outlook to manage your connections. Youllhave those youll identify as your inner circle whom you have contact with every day whom youdont need to tag because theyre already part of your everyday life. Then youll have a circle ofpeople who are high priority whom you need to ping weekly, people you need to call monthly,every other month and so on, based on their importance to you. Use a system that will allowyou to manage these calls and remind you to send out a holiday card that isnt during a normalholiday- say birthdays or a non-typical holiday, like St. Patricks Day where yours wont get lostin the masses at Christmas. However you decide to keep in touch, do it regularly so that yournetwork is fed and it feeds you.

Summary. Ultimately, networking is an expression of who you are as a human being. It is anextension of your humanity, how you treat others, your relationship with everyone around you.Your ability to connect with others determines your success in everything you do. The world ofthe 21st century demands greater connectedness now more than any other time. The greaterthe rate of change, the greater the demand for deeply grounded human relationships. Startingwith this conference, its time to make connections count like they never have before. ,

REFERENCES:

Fisher, Donna, Professional Networking for Dummies, Hungry Minds Inc., New York 2001