How to succeed? It is a question that a lot of people wake up asking themselves every morning but one that very few really know the answer to. In the highly competitive business environment where everybody is looking to get ahead of everybody else, it is essential that you have some idea of how best to get things running in your favour. Here are three networks that you need to understand and establish if you want to succeed.
Operational Network: This is your core network in that this is one that allows you to get your job done on a daily basis. In a normal business environment the people that make up this team are those that you are directly responsible for and who you manage and deal with for the most part of your week. The important thing to remember here is that your job and that of the team’s is directly connected. If you and your team are working well and producing desired results then you too as an individual within your organisation are also doing well and this will be noticed.
Strategic Network: This is the type of network that you use to in order to keep track of what is going on in the world in which you and your team are operating. By staying in close contact with this network you are able to develop a better awareness of when and where you and your team will be able to take advantage of the opportunities that will present themselves, and also the challenges and threats that you need to be prepared for. In being completely tuned into this network you and your team will be full prepared to face the future which is key to staying alive and being successful within the dynamic business filed in which you operate.
Developmental Network: Who do you need to know and have a relationship with in order to be successful? The people who make up this network are those who can directly help you achieve your aims and objectives. Who you know determines what you get to do, and what you get to do will determine who you get to know. By building this highly important network you give yourself the opportunity to use the contacts within this group to advance your own organisation. It is essential for you to understand that this takes time and that a strong developmental network is based on giving as much as taking. If you are able to help the right people at the right time, they will then be more than willing to provide you with assistance when you need it.
Across the three networks one of the key things to remember is that personal feelings should be cast aside when it comes to developing these networks. Making networks based on friendships, or because somebody is a fun guy, is not the way to get ahead. It is not necessary for you to like somebody in order to do business with them.
In order to make sure that you are on top of these networks it is essential that you continually ask yourself whether or not the networks you have developed are really the right ones for you. You might think that negotiation training workshop is a waste of time right now, but could it put you in contact with somebody who will be valuable in the future?
You also need to ask yourself the harder question which is whether the way in which you personally interact with the people within your networks is one that is engendering success. Make sure that you are not being seen as a competent jerk. Things may seem to be going well at the moment, but don’t get carried away with yourself and think all of the hard work is done. The hard work is never over. It is when you think that is has that you quickly become isolated and ultimately unsuccessful.
Guest Post by The Gap Partership AU – Negotiation Experts