Early in my career, back when I was consulting on AIX to help IBM development organizations transition to UNIX, I got to the point where my two most hated words were "paradigm shift." I got so sick and tired of hearing everything under the sun claimed as the next great "paradigm shift" that the term had lost all meaning. Unless you thought you had broad perspective and a new development radically alters it, then it can't be a "paradigm shift."
I'm writing this post for those of us that are a bit "over the hill" - the old dogs who [as the saying goes] are very slow to pick up new tricks. If you're in your mid to late 30's, chances are you might have missed the boat on social networking. If you're in your late 40's or your 50's like me and you have children, then your kids have grown up with MySpace and Facebook and you probably at least know that social networking is out there and that your kids spend a lot of time on it.
As "old timers" whether we've been involved in business, academia, social causes or political action; we know the value of building a network. We're familiar with terms like a "golden rolodex." We've been told since young adulthood just how important your reputation is and how you need to constantly work to "build that network" because you never know when it will provide you with a much needed opportunity or connection. Going back to the Preppy Handbook (Amazon) - all roads lead to Henderson Cram in the Old Boy Network.
Back in the 70's and 80's building a network and a rolodex meant a lot of time spent talking, pressing the flesh and getting to know people. The cycle time to build a circle of trust was months and years of effort. People actually typed out correspondence and picked up the phone. By the 90's email had taken over and some of us posted questions and answers on newsgroups. Within a matter of weeks or months, you could find people in your industry and establish meaningful business or personal relationships.
That gets me up to this week. Up until now I've watched from the sidelines as my wife generated global connections regarding our Gordon Setters on Facebook; I've had a Plaxo account (sorry Plaxo guys, but I never really got that much out of it); and I've gotten addicted to AIM to even resolve simple "sidebar" business questions between colleagues across the table during a customer conference call. But a task like marketing to the top 500 business in Florida or Fortune 5000 seemed like an impossible task that would take years of effort. Not so any more....
I received a LinkedIn invitation from a long time colleague asking me to join his network. That was just three days ago. LinkedIn has over 19 million active accounts. Establishing a connection with another individual potentially allows you to view contact information through 3 degrees of separation (friend of a friend of a friend). Within 1 day I had tons of possible contacts with 6 of the top 10 public companies in Florida - current, live, correct information that used to cost me a bundle in the 90's. It's been an exciting week: I have just started getting acceptances and loading my contacts in, but I already have access to a Rolodex of over 90K people. Thousands of people in my industry segment are now friends of friends.
This has truly been amazing. I have connected with long lost high school and college friends. I have learned much more about my peers than I would have ever expected. I have seen some of my peers leverage social networking to greatly expand their business and personal lives. I am left speechless at how I could have missed this, and eager to spread the word to my friends and colleagues who are still "old school." Whether you network for business, mentoring or just friendship; this stuff works great and it works really fast.
Don't get me wrong, trust is still built by reputation and over time - lots of time. But opportunity is born from wide perspective and having access to enough information to synthesize valuable connections. That is what LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace and hundreds of other social networking sites make infinitely easier: putting the pieces together.
My company, V2E Group Inc, is all about helping businesses navigate the journey from Vision to Execution by helping them maximize performance, productivity and return on investment through Finance, Operations and Technology services and solutions. Jumping into social networking provided a true "paradigm shift" in my approach to business and personal life. I'd have to be crazy to not heavily recommend such a simple, quick, easy and powerful tool as part of our standard corporate guidance practice.
Everyone benefits from broad social networks based on trust. That has been a constant throughout human civilization. What has now changed for us "old dogs" is how we should go about generating these networks most efficiently. My suggestion is to take two or three hours to invest in LinkedIn, Facebook or another appropriate social networking site. The dividends will likely quickly appear. Get better connected to your current and old contacts. Reach out to your kids. Find some long lost friends and co-workers. If your current and old contacts are not in LinkedIn, Facebook, etc; then email them an invitation and point them to this blog as a testimonial. Why not leverage who and what you know? As I said, everyone benefits - and benefits quickly.
Even an "old dog" can learn new tricks. Give social networking a spin.
About the Author: Bill Franklin is founder and partner of V2E Group Inc, a management consulting firm helping it's clients with Vision, Strategy, Management and Execution through Finance, Operations and Technology Services. Everyone is glad to find a helpful partner along the way - who doesn't want another "Star" on their team? V2E Group is a helpful partner - talk to us about adding another "Star" to your team.
Bill's LinkedIn Public Profile is: http://www.linkedin.com/in/wnfranklin (feel free to add him to your network).
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