I don’t go to networking events to win new business by giving out business cards and connecting with new people on LinkedIn.
I sense there are still some employers who send their people to events just to do this. That’s not a criticism.
It just doesn’t work for me and goes against my way of winning new business. Yes, it’s why I’m there and I can do brazen but I reckon there are better ways.
I actually go there first and foremost to connect with other humans. And that often provides for positive self reflection at some point afterwards and lends well to winning new business.
That self-reflection might be to do with how I performed, the responses I received or just what I learned from others. It could be about their business or a personal anecdote they shared that brought us a bit closer.
Yesterday was a case in point. Guest speaker Paul Garrigan has presence…and a track record of changing lives. Some of his clients are CEO’s of highly successful businesses. He commands respect without ever asking for it. He’s too humble for that but also knows his worth.
That point was a subject of focus in his 15 minute talk on power, awareness, compassion, and transformation.
Paul challenged everyone in the room to score themselves from 0 to 10 on the above four key pillars of life, based upon their own lives.
For example, under ‘power’ he asked how people were showing up every day within their power, i.e. their discipline, motivation, boundaries, structure, and taking meaningful action.
On ‘awareness’, Paul asked guests to think about their mindset, mental resilience, and their belief system of what they believed they could achieve and what was possible in their life? “What is your mental fitness in the world? Are you strong, an overthinker, anxious and full of self-doubt?”
For the pillar of compassion – your ability in life to have fun, be playful, emotionally attuned to you and other people – Paul’s comments reminded me why networking is emotional and personal. Some of the best networkers have emotional mastery. They have fun, gratitude, sensuality, plus they enjoy a romantic and open view of life.
Paul asked on the last pillar of transformation, how inspired people were in the room? “How purposeful and meaningful is your life and its social impact? Are you able to self-govern or are you struggling to spin all the plates? Are you taking control of your own kingdom? How aligned are you with your purpose in the world?”
Finally, Paul spoke about the importance of ‘capacity’ and “if we can’t hold our own existing lives, grow your capacity! How? Nervous system regulation by mastering your breath, mastering your routine, mastering your habits, mastering your structure, and mastering your sleep.”
Paul maintained that it’s not a magic pill that will do this. “There is no magic. You are the magic. You need structure, routine and to put things in place in order to achieve your goals.”
Inspiring, powerful stuff that hit home with many people in the room including Simply Castle Street organiser Jane Reid from Maxwell Hodge.
Thank you Jane, thank you Paul and thank you Kristina Stoddern for your insights and advice on medical negligence too. A great morning.
Yesterday had the feel of what the best networking events represent captured by much of the emotional and personal content Paul spoke about.
