A Networking Manifesto - Bob Allard Speaks

Regular readers of this Blog already know the name of Bob Allard. I often allude to Bob because he is a constant source of new ideas and energy. Bob, a fellow Renaissance Man, needs your assistance with a worthy effort that he is undertaking. Bob has discovered a fascinating Website called “Change This,” which is a forum for sharing new ideas and “manifestos.” (Those of us who grew up in the Cold War era tend to have a visceral reaction to the term “manifesto,” but what can you do!)

If you go to www.changethis.com/proposals/566 you will be able to read and vote for his proposal: "The Care and Feeding of your Network".

We all know that "networking" - that proverbial catch-all for meeting people and building up a list of names that somehow will help you get the next deal, job, date, whatever - is important. Bob, a philosopher-entrepreneur, who spends much of his time thinking about networks and connecting people, has applied his connector’s world view to the task of honing a definition of "networking" that is the closest thing I've found to its Platonic ideal. Basically, it comes down to "you reap what you sow", and what you are sowing is introductions. By strategically bringing together individuals who would mutually benefit from the introduction (THAT is the trick, of course!), your network becomes a living, growing extension of yourself. You've bought yourself a little piece of “mindshare” from those whom you have introduced to one another. And everyone wins! Check it out. Connect people. And please, vote for Bob by clicking on the link.

http://www.changethis.com/proposals/566

Enjoy.

Al