You guys are leaving great comments! First off when I blogged about networking while waiting in the iPhone line, Ryan Fehr said...It's more useful for job search to have a lot of weak ties (people you know only a little) than a strong redundant network where everyone knows each other, since weak ties provide you with access to new people, jobs, etc.
And...Promotions are predicted by forming ties with people in the dominant coalitions of organizations, not just anyone who happens to be around.
I can't agree more with both points. Your regular crew does not really provide any new opportunities, since you already know everyone they know! The weak network is where it's at. Spend time expanding your weak network instead of solidifying already strong relationships. Remember, switching jobs is the name of the game when your 20Something, because with every job hop comes a raise!
Just like in High School, there is the cool crowd and the losers. And, just like high school, you want to be in the cool crowd.
When I blogged about the Naysayer, Jeff Yang said...In a previous post you say to seek out the Naysayer, but in this post you say not to be the Naysayer. I agree with both actually. The Naysayer is beneficial, but can hurt their careers by doing so.
I wonder if there's an area in the middle where you can get the positives but not the negatives. Maybe it should be something like "be willing to give frank advice and opinions, but only if the recipient wants you to"?
Terrific point. I would add that their are much better ways to give negative feedback without being the Naysayer. You should never be the naysayer, but instead be the realistic optimist. Always give feedback with "Yes, and" approach instead of the "No, but" approach. This is a topic for another post however.
I gave some tips on creating a presentation. Jenelle responded with a great tip...If you have a picture, anecdote, quote, etc. from someone in the audience that you know will be in attendance, try to add it in. When used in the correct manner this can ensure greater credibility and relatability. Find a way to relate to one audience member, especially one this is liked, well-known, or influential, and you have a better chance of gaining clout with the rest of the audience. This is especially helpful when you have to deliver a persuasive presentation.
I talked about texting as a fundamental shift in communication patterns. Yao said...
It's getting to the point where alternatives [to texting] are both cheaper and more flexible... if both parties have push email or instant messaging, there's no point to text messages!
The power of texting comes from two things, its disposable nature and its 144 character limit. The first lowers the psychological barriers to sending, because it goes away instead of being recorded 'forever' in the case of email. The second forces people to be concise. It's much harder (but much more useful) to be concise than long-winded, and being limited to 144 characters forces people to get to the point. Give people the option to type as much as they want and it looses its effectiveness.
Thats all for now. Keep the thought provoking comments coming! You can also email me at bruceyang [at] gmail [dot] com.
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