The Network Chain™ And Making Networking Connections

One of the best ways to learn new things and to connect to even more people, is to connect with people in the first place. That is why networking is going to be one of the key aspects of the 100 Days of Business. It also happens to be one of the things I hate the most.

One networking idea I will be employing is inspired by the “coffee meeting” method, where you have a cup of coffee with 50, 100, 200, 500 people and then a month later you make a billion dollars. Ok, it isn’t designed to make you a billionaire, but many people swear by the coffee method.

One of my friends is currently at over 150 “coffee dates”. (We’ll maker her one of my connections and find out how that is going later).

coffee.jpg

I’m not too keen on the coffee idea, and the happy hour version might be a little distracting, so for now, I’m going to meet the first round of people in an office setting.

I’m calling it the Network Chain™. The goal is that each person I meet introduces me to a new person, and that person introduces me to a new person and so on.

Network Chain.jpg

Here is what I’m looking for:

  1. Starter Link: Online introduction to someone new (or reconnecting with someone I know).

  2. Connection: Meeting Them Face To Face With A Scheduled Purpose.

  3. Re-Link: Having the connection link me to someone new.

  4. Repeat #2 & #3: See How Far The Chain Can Go (Chain Score = # Of People)

For each connection, I also want to continue to develop key takeaways and create action items, but I also want to find out two other things, inspired by this quote by motivational speaker Charlie “Tremendous” Jones:

“You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.”

So, for each of these connections, I want to ask the following questions:

1. Who is the NEXT person I should meet?

2. What is the NEXT book I should read?

And this question from the book “The One Thing” by Gary Keller inspired a 3rd question.

Chains Can Go Multiple Ways If People Suggest More Than 1 New Link. Score = # Of People

Chains Can Go Multiple Ways If People Suggest More Than 1 New Link. Score = # Of People

“What is the ONE Thing I can do such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?”

3. What is the NEXT action I should take?

And the final customer service approach:

4. How can I help you?

I’m going to get multiple answers for each question, especially the book one. So I’m also expecting to have a long list of people to meet, books to read, and things to do (good problems).

I’m not exactly sure where these chains will lead, but I’m excited to find out. So let’s get started with my first Connection, Bob Dillard!