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By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
In
over twenty years as a Public Speaker, time and time again, I realise
that better than half of the average person's personal productivity
and success in life is through the good cooperation of other people.
I do not mean to suggest that if one does not have the good cooperation
of other people that he or she cannot be productive and successful,
but rather, that one cannot be "AS" productive and successful.
And the sad thing about those who do not enjoy the good cooperation
of other people is that they will never know what they did not receive.
They will never know the business connections that they did not get,
the social invitations they could have had, or the helpful advice they
might have been presented with to make their lives easier.
Networking is as old as time. It is the idea that we need not do everything
ourselves and re-invent the wheel over and again. We can all mutually
benefit from the experiences and knowledge of others. It is not a new
practice to any of us. We network all the time. The question is, "how
far do you want to go with it?" Time management and personal productivity
are significantly enhanced when we use the concept seriously and methodically
practice the concept.
With six billion people now on the planet it is said that all of us
are related within no more than six levels, the "Six Degrees of Separation".
To get to the answers, the help, and the information you need to make
your life better is never far away.
My own success in the Professional Speaking Business has come to me
largely through networking and the good cooperation of other people,
although, like the cobbler's son who had no shoes, I sometimes fail
to follow my own advice. When I started my business twenty years ago
I thought I was a marketing genius. After all, I had an MBA with a concentration
in marketing. I then proceeded to do every bone-headed thing imaginable,
wasting precious resources of time and money until I began to practice
what I preached and reached out to others who were already successful
in my field.
And I got the help that I needed because the number one topic of conversation
that most people enjoy is themselves. And when people talk about themselves,
they like to talk about their successes, don't they?
I learned how to market and promote my business and how to manage it
effectively as well. Through the generous help of others, I stopped
spinning my wheels learning the errors that others had already learned.
I now spend a good amount of my time helping new speakers to succeed
sharing the information that I have received, adding in my own successes.
And that is the essence of networking because networking is not a selfish
technique, just drawing from the well. It is consistently helping to
fill the well. Not only taking but giving back. The more help you offer
others, the more you get in return.
If this article has been useful to you, we have prepared an additional
article entitled, "The Tools for Increasing Employees' Productivity".
It's free. To get yours, email your request for "tools" to:ctsem@msn.com
Would you like to receive free Timely Time Management Tips on a regular
basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every
day? Sign up now for our free "TIME MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION LIST". Just
go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select "subscribe". We welcome you aboard!
Dr. Donald
E. Wetmore - Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute - Time Management Seminars
60 Huntington St.
P.O. Box 2126
Shelton, CT 06484
USA
(800) 969-3773
(203) 929-9902
fax: (203) 929-8151
email: ctsem@msn.com
website: http://www.balancetime.com
(c) 2002 DOVICO Software
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