Embarrassment is within us all to varying degrees but, when you are networking, you have to find a way of putting it behind you. The same goes for ‘terror’, namely the terror of networking that almost overpowers some people. The other week I was in a room of 20 business types in the fair city of York, when I met a somewhat inebriated man; put bluntly he was p***** as a fart and it was still only 7pm.
He was a really bright computer guy but confided that he was utterly terrified by the prospect of having to talk to strangers; clearly he was hiding behind a bottle of red wine. Until recently he had worked for a large plc and was charged out at £1,000 a day. He’d looked in the mirror and suddenly concluded that he would be so much richer working for himself. It was only when he’d made the leap that he began to appreciate the true value of the plc ‘machine’ that had enabled him to be charged out at £1,000 a day! Gone were all the physical and mental supports and in their place was a drunken insecure boffin who no one was speaking to.
First lesson, never forget that it takes many people to make you successful so, before you run off to buy the notepaper and get the business cards printed, take a few moments to think about what you are doing. I remember when a member of my family joined my company for 12 months after a decade with one of America’s largest healthcare firms. The comparative lack of structure (read here ‘small’ rather than disorganised) nearly killed him. When the computer failed no one fixed it unless he made the call; when the stationery ran out the cupboard remained bare unless he rang the supplier. In his plc world the man in question was a £100,000 pa supremo, however, moved to a small business environment and the stakes suddenly changed. Look around you and you will see great people. Some of them are geniuses and some will die forgotten. But always remember those that reach their pinnacle – and we can’t all be Einstein’s – will probably have a team behind them pushing them on. Correct me if I’m wrong but Jenson Button didn’t win the World Champion on his own. Yes, he sat in the car alone but that’s about the only time he was alone! Night night
‘Jenson Button didn’t win the World Champion on his own. Yes, he sat in the car alone but that’s about the only time he was alone!’
Great example! yes, it’s all about the teamwork! every leader needs a team of professionals. and this is a two-way street again: leader pushes his team, but the team does the same thing to the leader!