http://www.hroptin.com/readingroom/recent-articles2 http://www.hroptin.com/readingroom/recent-articles2/your-career-advisor-finishing-the-last-piece-of-the-pie-performance-image-and-exposure By Monique A. Dearth http://www.hroptin.com/readingroom/recent-articles2/your-career-advisor-finishing-the-last-piece-of-the-pie-performance-image-and-exposure Tue, 03 Jul 2007 17:52:19 -0500 http://www.hroptin.com/readingroom/recent-articles2/hr-as-a-strategic-business-partner-clich-or-absolute By Monique Dearth As a practicing HR professional for the past 17 years, I believe I http://www.hroptin.com/readingroom/recent-articles2/hr-as-a-strategic-business-partner-clich-or-absolute Mon, 09 Jul 2007 16:22:59 -0500 http://www.hroptin.com/readingroom/recent-articles2/looking-inside-networking-internally By Monique A. Dearth A man approached me as I finished a keynote presentation on the importance of personal networking and exposure in the workplace. He told me he was living proof that people need to spend time developing their connections inside work just as much as they develop their external connections with clients and prospective customers. It turns out that he had recently been downsized from his organization, where he was a field sales leader. He prided himself on a strong work ethic and the fact that his customers loved him, but he was a virtual unknown within the walls of his own company. When he was cut, his immediate manager told him that he just didn’t have enough top-level support or sponsorship within the organization: people didn’t know who he was! Many books and articles have been written about the importance of external networking. We focus on building those “business card exchanging” opportunities where we have opportunity after opportunity to deliver our perfectly rehearsed elevator speech in hopes of making the ultimate connection with someone who turns out to be the next big client. I speak frequently about the importance of having all the pieces of the P.I.E. — Performance, Image and Exposure. Of course, exposure is your personal visibility and branding program that encompasses both external and internal networking. What about the importance of networking internally? Networking not to land your next big client and close that big sale, but networking to develop your reputation and become a known entity within your own organization. I’m talking about the kind of networking that builds your brand in an organization and develops your sponsors. I’m talking about building connections with people who will go to bat for you and always give you sage advice. I’m talking about building the kinds of relationships that will create long-term opportunities and open doors that might otherwise stay closed. We heavily focus on external networking... participating in network groups, sales groups, trade shows, associations, and the like, but are we paying so much attention to external networking to the detriment of not being networked enough internally? I challenge you to take a look at your calendar. How many times in the last month have you scheduled time to attend a lunch meeting to get to know people associated with a trade group or a networking group in which you are involved? More importantly, how much time have you dedicated to getting to know people within your own office? Are these numbers different, and if so, why? Benefits of Building an Internal Network Clearly, building your internal network and developing some sponsors has benefits beyond just keeping your name off a reduction-in-force list. Think about it. We all know the benefit of a referral. Whether it’s looking for a new restaurant, or going to see a movie, we typically prefer to act on someone else’s recommendation. Knowing that someone else vouches for a particular restaurant or movie makes us more likely to try that referral. The same is true in the people game. The more people who know you, the more internally networked you are, the better chance you have of being connected into opportunities, situations and projects that you might otherwise not be aware of. The more people who know you, the better your chances of having new opportunities and experiences brought your way. It is not simply the quantity of people with whom you are networked that is important; rather, the quality of this network is just as critical. If a large number of people know you, and they all think of you as selfish, arrogant and dishonest, then it seems obvious that your internal network will work against you. It is critical as you build your internal network — which is really building your reputation — that it is built upon a solid foundation of values. Strategies for Building an Internal Network Internal networking is also different from the proverbial brown-nosing. Internal networking must be altruistic. No one wants to feel they are being schmoozed for some other person’s gain. Just as with external networking, and perhaps even more importantly, internal networking has to be sincere. It has to occur with the intent to build a symbiotic relationship. No one appreciates feeling used, and that kind of approach is often easy to see through. Internal networking is not simply an “upstream” maneuver. With rapid change as a cornerstone in the workplace today, it is smart to network yourself across all spans — up, down and across — within your own department and across functional lines. As quickly as things change in the name game, it’s important to not become known as an individual who only manages up at the detriment of building relationships across and down. Perhaps the most important strategy for successful internal networking is to cast a wide net. In today’s turbulent economic times, it would be silly to place all of your money in a single investment. Similarly, in today’s turbulent workplace, it would be silly to rely on one or two key relationships while ignoring the nourishment and development of others. We cannot become complacent in continuing to build our network. It’s dangerous to have the mindset of being able to coast in the challenge of internal networking simply because of a comfort level with whom you are already networked. It’s amazing how many times I have seen leaders on a fast track suddenly fall off that track, leaving their network gasping for air, and trying to figure out what just happened. Their support team is gone in an instant, and suddenly they are an unknown. Their sponsorship, their inside track, has just ended. What now? The adage, “out of sight, out of mind” is true. We need to ensure that we make internal networking a key part of our work ethic. It is not something that just happens. To develop properly, it takes focus, a commitment of time, and the desire to build meaningful relationships. Five Strategies for Successful Internal Networking Both quantity and quality are important. Be meaningful and intentional. No one likes to be used. Networking down and across is as critical as networking up. Cast a wide net. Don’t limit yourself to a few key relationships. Make time for internal networking. It should be an intended action. http://www.hroptin.com/readingroom/recent-articles2/looking-inside-networking-internally Thu, 20 Mar 2008 17:30:23 -0500 http://www.hroptin.com/readingroom/recent-articles2/building-your-entrepreneurial-legacy-preparing-for-your-exit By Monique A. Dearth The On-Ramp/Off-Ramp trend is receiving quite a bit of press lately as women leave corporate jobs in droves to seek more balance and options. Many of these women cite reasons such as a desire to spend more time with their children, care for aging parents, or simply a need for more flexibility. It is many of these women who have ‘opted out’ who form the growing number of women business owners and entrepreneurs who start their own companies after leaving their corporate assignments. But, what about women who are currently entrepreneurs and successful business owners who decide to ‘opt out’ from their own enterprises? How and when do these women decide when they have reached the point where they are ready to sell their business and do other things? How do successful women business owners leverage their desire to exit their own businesses? Most women business owners know how important it is to have a solid business plan when starting a new endeavor. Experienced women entrepreneurs will tell you that it is just as important to have a plan for how to end your business, whether by selling it, closing it, or handing it off to someone else in the family to run. The RSM McGladrey 2007 Survey of Women Business Owners surveyed 650 women business owners. Interestingly, when asked about the ‘primary long-term goal’ for their business, respondents in the smallest business revenue class wanted to primarily “generate enough income to provide for a comfortable life.” However, as revenues increased, so too did the number of respondents who not only wanted to generate additional income, but furthermore also wanted to “build a business and sell it to make enough money for retirement” and “build a business to pass on to future generations.” Clearly many women business owners are thinking beyond the idea of just ‘making money to pay the bills today,’ and instead are thinking ahead to the day they step out of running the business. Yet there exists a perception that women are not as prepared as men to formally develop and implement an aggressive exit strategy. The myth exists that women who own small businesses typically don’t focus on developing an exit strategy. Two recent studies provide perspectives on this point. In a study underwritten by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance, “Exiting your Business: Serendipity or Strategy,” researchers found that most small business owners don’t have an exit strategy in place. Statistics show that 67% of small business owners surveyed had no written sales plans, and 43% had not conducted a formal valuation of their businesses. When small business owners did consider leaving their business, they most often turned to their network of entrepreneurial associates and relied on accountants and attorneys for help. The study conducted in-depth interviews with 9 women executives who sold their businesses which each generated at least $4M in annual revenues. These 9 women offered terrific advice for those considering the possibility of a sale in the future: Run a business every day as if it’s for sale. Be aware of your goals and parameters by knowing what is acceptable for you in a sale. Don’t publicize prematurely to employees or others who could be affected that you are considering a sale. When you are ready to sell, be decisive. Get buyers’ promises in writing and find a buyer who shares your vision. Include conditions of the business and the sale in the sales documents. • Develop your own investment and insurance portfolio separate from your business. In October 2006, The Center for Women’s Business Research completed a comprehensive study, “Exit Strategies of Women and Men Business Owners.” This report purported to ‘bust’ the myth that women business owners tend not to be prepared to exit their businesses. It stated that the vast majority of women business owners (83%) do have a long-term exit strategy, and like men, they rank price as the most important factor to consider when selling their business. The research suggests that women entrepreneurs prepare as well as men when deciding to exit their business. Several interesting facts emerged: Both men and women business owners believe that price is the most important factor to consider when selling their businesses, but women were more likely to also consider personal concerns about the future of their business and the well-being of their employees. Women business owners are more likely than men to consider the buyer’s identify, personality and background when looking to sell their business, and are more concerned about what the buyer intends to do with the business in the future. First time women business owners are typically less prepared to sell their businesses than women who had previously owned a business. Women business owners are nearly twice as likely as men business owners to intend to pass the business on to a daughter. The net result? Conventional wisdom dictates that women are typically more attached to their businesses, and therefore less likely to have a clearly defined exit strategy. In fact, perhaps the opposite is true. Perhaps women business owners are demonstrating a growing maturity, a deeper understanding of this last phase of their business cycle, and are increasingly likely to have long-terms plans in place for exiting their respective companies. Monique A. Dearth, J.D., is the Founder and President of Incite Strategies. Incite Strategies focuses on global Executive Assessment and Development for companies like GE, The Home Depot, StatOil, and Ventana Medical Systems, and through HR OptIn provides flexible HR project management solutions to mid- and large-size companies. Monique can be reached at 678.513.7661. More information on the reports referenced above can be found through the Center for Women’s Business Research. http://www.hroptin.com/readingroom/recent-articles2/building-your-entrepreneurial-legacy-preparing-for-your-exit Tue, 18 Mar 2008 18:04:57 -0500