Sunday, May 26, 2013

Needed: Networking Wingman

People don't believe me when I tell them I'm an introvert. Most people say, "oh, you're so outgoing and talkative" -- and, maybe when I know someone, I can appear that way.

But, compare me to any successful salesperson, and you see how much less extroverted I am; especially when it comes to talking about myself (or, more to the point, talking about something else, with the *goal* of talking about myself).

Now, this has not been an issue in my career -- in journalism, editorial and communications, the ability to ask good questions and listen (and *not* talk about yourself) is key. But, when it comes to job-seeking, there's no alternative. You can't be modest; and you can't be shy. And, when it comes to networking, it's even more important that you be skilled in small talk. And, for someone who doesn't like talking about himself, that's difficult.

So, I took out a book from the library: "Networking for People Who Hate Networking," thinking it would provide some nugget of information that would clear up this uncomfortability. Sure enough, they described the exact scenarios we all despise -- you've just walked into a cocktail hour and everyone is chatting; how do you get involved in the conversation?

The solution, according to the author? "Just Do It." Well, that's not the revolutionary concept I was hoping for.

Then, I started thinking -- what could make the situation less painful? And, I thought about one of my favorite TV shows, "How I Met Your Mother."



Now, obviously, a successful 'introduction' is usually done with a little more thought and build-up, but in truth, what is more powerful than a strong introduction done by a trusted source? And, I realized: I need a networking wingman.

One of my Three Laws of BusinessTM (a post I may make sometime in the future), is that nearly everything in life comes down to two questions:
  1. What can/will this do for me?
  2. How much will it cost me?

A job I had a while back used to say they'd never let an exceptional candidate leave without an offer, even if they didn't have a position for them at that moment. That mentality led to pretty strong growth for about five consecutive years (with the recession finally slamming the lid on both the growth and the practice); but it made a lot of sense. They evaluated each candidate based on those above questions -- and, if the net outcome made sense, they hired the person.

I've been fortunate, with my last two roles, to have had the opportunity to discuss what I can offer to a company in meetings with the company executives. In both cases, I was probably ahead of my time, unfortunately.

Not every company is ready for someone with my energy and ideas. Some prefer to keep things "the way they've always been done" because it's worked in the past. It remains to be seen if this is a wise choice, but I think the past five years have shown that "doing things the way they've always been done" more than likely ends badly. The world is littered with failed companies that once were quite successful that were incredibly resistant to change.

My suggestions are pretty liberal -- from an internal communications perspective, I'm a huge proponent of using social media/web 2.0 inside the enterprise, resulting in better knowledge management and employee engagement. I'm also equally adept from an external communications perspective. When I've been able to do things, the outcomes have been significant (including increasing the level of trust and morale in an organization by more than 10 percent in one year -- and that happened at each of my last two companies).

I don't say this to boast (as I mentioned above, I really don't enjoy talking about myself). I do this to explain who I am, for the purposes of my prospective networking wingman.

I'm looking for someone who's already accomplished in his/her line of work *and* who is well-connected *and* who also thinks I'm worth the effort -- and that is truly a powerful combination. Once I have that introduction; once they've already piqued the interest in someone, to get them  curious as to how I can help their business excel, I can speak comfortably and confidently about my abilities.


I'm currently accepting applications for this role. :)

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Guitar Tournament - The Champion

After 41 days and 13 rounds of voting, from a field of 320 songs, one has emerged triumphant in the Greatest Guitar Solo Tournament.

America has spoken -- although not quite to the tune of 30 million votes, as per American Idol ... but close!

Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall" claims the top spot.

This is incredibly surprising to me -- I don't think of the solo as being one of the best known; or one of the most technically proficient; or one of the most audacious. But, consistently, this song dispatched its competition, so convincingly, that there can be no doubt.

I had thought a Pink Floyd song would be in the finals -- although, I had thought it would be "On the Turning Away," which was eliminated earlier on. Clapton's "It's in the Way that You Use it," was another contender in my eyes, but it ran up against "My Sharona" (which, as I posted about last time, was my top choice).

In retrospect, this was *a lot* of work -- and it was overly ambitious. And, the limits placed (to make it at least manageable) didn't work the way I'd hoped (there are many, *many* amazing guitar solos in songs that never  hit #1 on a chart; but then, this survey would never be over!)

I think I'll stick to significantly smaller surveys from now on -- maybe 128 total entries (and, preferably 32 or 64) -- the sheer number wasn't even what made it so lengthy; it was also the amount of days. 41 days is a long time to hold interest -- and the tournament definitely saw voting interest wane towards the middle and pick up at the end.

Thanks again to everyone who stuck with it; and -- if you're one of those who voted in *every* round ... you may need help!

(Tomorrow, I hope, I'll be returning BACK to the focus of this blog again -- with a post on networking and the need for a wingman)

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Guitar Tournament -- the Championship

The next-to-last round of the Guitar Solo Tournament is up: The Final Four! You can access the survey now.

This round will continue through Tuesday, May 21 (in the evening), with the winner announced that night!

For me, my #1 choice was finally eliminated. The impetus for this tournament was to prove a theory to myself -- that "My Sharona" was the most underrated guitar solo ever (because for an extremely "poppy" song, it definitely has one of the most energetic solos). However, Pink Floyd (which was my #2 choice, overall -- although not this song (the "On the Turning Away") song, ousted The Knack for a spot in the finals.

The other song is Tom Petty's "Runnin' Down a Dream," which handily won its matchup against The Black Crowes.

Here is the updated bracket!



Thanks for playing. The round will end Tuesday evening, with the winner announced that night!

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Guitar Tournament - Round 7 - The Final Four

The next-to-last round of the Guitar Solo Tournament is up: The Final Four! You can access the survey now.

This round will continue through Saturday, May 18 (in the evening), and a championship matchup will be announced that night!

This has been an interesting tournament. We will definitely have one "Southern"-influenced song in the finals (as one matchup features The Black Crowes and Tom Petty). The other matchup pairs Pink Floyd (the most 'prog'-group remaining) against The Knack, with the poppiest-song in the tournament.

Van Halen, with its 11 songs in the tournament, is eliminated.

Here is the updated bracket!


Remember, this round will end Saturday evening!

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Guitar Tournament - Round 6 - Elite 8

The sixth round of the Guitar Solo Tournament is up. We're up to the Elite 8! You can access the survey now.

This round will continue through Wednesday, May 15 (in the evening).

No band has more than one song remaining. It's truly anybody's guess at this point.

Definitely, a case could be made that some of the songs have gotten this far due to some favorable match-ups. That being said, "Jump" was eliminated, which certainly indicates people aren't just voting favortes.

Here is the updated bracket!


Remember, this round will end Wednesday evening, with the Final Four posted that evening!

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Guitar Tournament - Round 5 - Sweet 16

The fifth round of the Guitar Solo Tournament is up. We're down to the Sweet 16. You can access the survey now.

This round will continue through Sunday, May 12 (in the evening).

Continuing our comparison (in the first round, there were 28 bands with 3+ songs in the tournament), here's the current list of bands with 2+ songs):

2: Van Halen

Some big surprises (to me) last round ...  Queen's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" eliminated "I'm No Angel;" "Light My Fire" eliminated "Caught Up in You" (as two big western-rock songs fell hard), and "Here I Go Again" took out "Hotel California" - which may be one of the shockers, so far.

This round is bittersweet, as my two early favorites (what I would've thought might have ended up 1-2 if they had the opportunity to play) face off against each other. Only one will continue.

Here is the updated bracket!


Remember, this round will end Sunday evening (and the Elite 8 will be posted that evening!)

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Guitar Tournament - Round 4 - Round of 32

The fourth round of the Guitar Solo Tournament is up. You can access the survey now.

This round will continue through Wednesday, May 8 (in the evening). With fewer songs (down to 32 now), the amount of time for each round is minimized, as well.

Continuing our comparison (in the first round, there were 28 bands with 3+ songs in the tournament), here's the current list of bands with 2+ songs):

3: Van Halen
2: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

And that's it -- and, Van Halen is going to lose one this round (since they're facing off against each other).

The biggest "surprise" in the tournament (to me) is Muse's Uprising, which continues to march on; but I think the 32 songs here are all solid contenders (and two of my three early favorites are still in the tournament; although they *cannot* face each other for the championship, due to the bracket setup (my third favorite was eliminated two rounds ago)).

Here is the updated bracket!


Remember - this round will end Wednesday, 5/8.