by Clarence E. Stowers | Jan 13, 2009 | Communication, Current Affairs, Empowerment, Leadership, Networking, Relationships, Success
Anthropologists have found that for one person, a genuine social network – one in which you know the members and they know you is limited to about 150 people. In fact, Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point found there is a "'cognitive limit to the number of individuals with whom any one person can maintain stable relationships."
So what does all of this mean to you: DON'T NETWORK JUST TO NETWORK! Whittle down your contacts to the most fruitful ones. Then rank them according to their importance until you've created 1st, 2nd, & 3rd tier networks.
by Clarence E. Stowers | Jan 7, 2009 | Communication, Empowerment, Leadership, Networking, Relationships
While attending grad school @ The University of Missouri I joined
Toastmasters (great networking opportunity & our church has a
chapter). While there, I ran across fellow
Toastmaster Jim Nudelman’s 4-step process for writing an Elevator Pitch.
The Pitch is a 10-15 second focused introduction of your “value proposition” that
can be given in an elevator when someone asks, “tell me about yourself.”
Here’s his process:
Step 1 — Begin with an ACTION PHRASE that is NOT a noun. (”I am a
__________” but don’t use a “label” in the blank. You don’t want
people to put you in a box.)
Step 2 — Add a one sentence statement about what you DO. (”I do _____________” What do you help people or businesses do?)
Step 3 — Give a statement of the SPECIFIC IMPACT. (”People who utilize my
process find _________” list one or two things from the perspective of your
potential employer.)
Step 4 — End with a CALL TO ACTION. (”I am looking to be introduced to
_______________” be specific! If you ask for something non-specific you
are likely to get it. What good it that?)
Here’s my pitch:
“My name is Clarence Stowers. I am a master of empowering people &
growing leaders. I teach people how to how to trust God and believe in themselves to accomplish great things. People who attend our church live empowered
lives and pursue excellence in every area of their lives. Please introduce me to people who you believe
are living beneath their potential.”
Thanks!
Let me hear your pitch…
by Clarence E. Stowers | Jan 6, 2009 | Empowerment, Leadership, Networking, Relationships, Success
Think of your goal to become successful as a house you plan to build. You know that you cannot build an entire house by yourself, so you will need to enlist the help of others. This is where networking comes in. If you are the architect of your house, then the people with whom you network are the electricians, plumbers, decorators, and painters. In order to accomplish something as grand as being successful in all areas of life, going at it alone is not only difficult and unnecessary – IT'S FOOLISH!
1ST STEP:
TAP YOUR CURRENT NETWORK
Without even realizing it, it is likely that you already know many people who can help you reach your goals. Make a list of your contacts. First, list personal contacts and divide this list into family, friends, & neighbors.
Next, list other personal contacts – include your doctor, dentist, lawyer, accountant, fraternities, sororities, & other social clubs.
Then, list professional contacts such as people you have worked with, worked through, worked for, or given work to. List customers, clients, consultants, and even competitors. Tally up the names of the people in all the different categories. You will likely be surprised by the extent of your network.
For the record: I have 3256 contacts in my network…how many do you have?
by Clarence E. Stowers | Dec 30, 2008 | Empowerment, Other Stuff, Vision
The tradition of the New Year's Resolutions goes all the way back to
153 B.C. Janus, a mythical king of early Rome was placed at the head of
the calendar. With two faces, Janus could look back on past
events and forward to the future.
Janus became the ancient symbol for
resolutions and many Romans looked for forgiveness from their enemies
and also exchanged gifts before the beginning of each year. January 1 became the beginning of
the New Year in 46 B.C., when Julius Caesar developed a calendar that
would more accurately reflect the seasons than previous calendars had.
What if I suggested that you make ONLY ONE Resolution for the upcoming year and that it will CHANGE YOUR LIFE FOR THE BETTER? Interested?
***CREATE A NOT-TO-DO-LIST***
The idea is to list all the activities you are intentionally going to stop doing for the sake of greater productivity.
Here’s why this is important. As people succeed at work, they attract more and more assignments. It’s like they become a task magnet.
The problem is that people are a
finite resource. I don’t care how good you are, you only have so much
energy and so much time. It’s true for me. It’s true for you.
The
only way for these super-productive people to continue to grow
professionally without going crazy is periodically to decide what they
are not going to do.
Here’s how:
- Find a quiet place where you can think.
- Look at your previous month’s calendar activities. Write down anything you’re not sure really fits your current job description.
- Look at your upcoming appointments for the next month. Again, write
down things that are questionable in terms of your current job
description.
- Go through your to-do list(s) and do the same thing. Write down the questionable activities.
- You should now have a list of “not to-do candidates.” Good work! You’re almost done.
- Now go through the list and put an asterisk beside each item that
is significant enough that you want to add it to your official “Not
To-Do List.”
Let's share a few of our "not-to-do-list" items to help stimulate the thinking of others!
Here's My Not-To-Do-List (as of today)
- Spend time with people who complain, gossip, and are critical of others
- Book my own travel
- Travel by car to other cities unless they are less than one hour a way
- Read unfiltered e-mail
- Attend annual convention meetings unless there’s a compelling reason for me to be there
- Attend conferences for more than three days
- Engage in anything that hinders my ability to give the best to the greatest church in the world – Mars Hill Baptist Church of Chicago
by Clarence E. Stowers | Dec 4, 2008 | Book Reviews, Communication, Empowerment, Leadership
One of our members asked me for a list of my favorite business books. I thought I'd share my list here.
These are in no particular order. I may think of others, but these are the ones that come to mind first.
What are some of your favorites/recommendations that you'd like to share?
by Clarence E. Stowers | Dec 1, 2008 | College Life, Communication, Empowerment, Tools
The VisualCV makes a traditional resume come alive with video,
pictures and a portfolio of your best work samples and other supporting
documents. Informational pop-ups provide background data on the
companies you’ve worked at and the colleges you’ve attended. You can
securely share different versions with your own network of employers,
colleagues and friends, and control who sees what.
The Curriculum vitae (CV) dates back to 1902. The shortened form used in the United States and referred to as a resume was adopted shortly after World War 2. Either way, it’s a document format that
has not changed in decades, even though the Internet has revolutionized
the way in which we use and share resumes.
In a practice that continues in some professions today, job candidates used to bring to a first interview a portfolio
of compelling samples of their work, along with written references,
college transcripts, and documents detailing things like personality
tests, awards and even salary details.
Employers
typically screen candidates through phone and in-person first
interviews. Typically these interviews cover a standard set of
questions, which today can easily be captured in a video or audio file
housed on the Web.
VisualCV brings
both the CV and the resume into the modern Web 2.0 world by
transforming the way in which resume data is presented, accessed and
shared.
HERE'S MY VISUAL CV
