Deck 16: Networking and Mentoring

Question 1

The opening quote in this chapter is, "It's not what you know, it's who you know." Discuss what this means from both an organizational and individual perspective.

Answer 1

•         Networking, or building and nurturing relationships with others, helps increase your contacts.  Hiring decisions tend to be biased towards individuals personally recommended as opposed to "strangers"-a principal utilized to minimize uncertainty.  (Recruiting and retaining good workers is both tough and expensive to do!)   Who employees know and recommend may be worth more (all things equal) than what is known by those they recommend.
•         In the same way organizations provide incentives to current employees to provide referrals, individuals use referrals to "get a leg up" on their competition in the job market.  Based on one's connections to members of a firm, an individual may move ahead of the competition in getting an interview or the proverbial foot in the door.

Question 2

What are some other benefits that can be obtained from networking?

Answer 2

Networking refers to the process of building and nurturing professional and personal relationship which creates a system or a chain of contact, information and support. In the world of business, it is very important to develop and maintain relationship with the colleagues who can be very beneficial for you in the future.
When person Y proves himself that he is an effective coach, others have helped him to move up and out of his organization because person Y wanted to seek career advancement. Person Y has always focused on building and cultivating networks with the current industry's trend and expedited his career advancements from one position to another while moving from one organization to another. Person Y has been constantly moving up and out of their organization to enhance his knowledge, moving towards career development, achieving higher rank and position which would have not been possible without networking. No, someone wouldn't prefer keeping outstanding performers as opposed to helping them leave. Opposing someone to help him leave might put his Carter advancements at hold, he might not be able to do justice with his talents and reach the heights of his personal growth. Therefore, one should not oppose on helping others to leave.

Question 3

If networking is so beneficial, why do some not engage in it?

Answer 3

Networking refers to the process of building and nurturing professional and personal relationship which creates a system or a chain of contact, information and support. In the world of business, it is very important to develop and maintain relationship with the colleagues who can be very beneficial for you in the future.
The benefits of networking are as follows:
• Shared knowledge: Networking is very useful for sharing knowledge and ideas. Whether you discuss a point of view or ask for a feedback, it always helpful to increase your knowledge. It also provides you with the opportunity to avoid and learn some of the common mistakes they have experienced.
• Opportunities: A good and healthy network connection will result in providing more opportunities. Networking will enable you with referrals, partnerships or even request you for a service or a product.
• Raising your profile: One of the biggest benefits of networking is that your profile becomes visible and gets noticed. By regular socializing and attending business events, people will start recognizing you which will ultimately result in raising your profile as a most knowledgeable and a high-profile person.
• Build confidence: When you start putting yourself out and meet with new people while building network, you are gradually getting out of your comfort zone and build social skills and self-confidence. The more you network, the more grow and learn the art of making connections lasting.

Question 4

We contend that mentoring has benefits not only for the protégé but for the mentor as well. Discuss these benefits.

Question 5

If you are involved in a "virtual" meeting where the participants don't meet face-to-face, how can you ensure the meeting is effective?