Tweet

Always Have a Winning Hand!

Written by: Donna Messer

Article Overview: Think about a deck of cards when it comes to networking. Using the analogy of a full deck it is easy to recognize that there are plenty of ways to win. Effective networking is much easier when you play by a recognized set of rules. One of the most important rules of any game is that you have to use a little strategy. You don’t just show up, and expect to win. You need to think about the kind of cards you have to play, and what you really want to accomplish at the event. As a networking expert, I know the value of playing my cards in sequence. I also know that sometimes I have to play off, in order to stay in the game. Winning often isn’t about the cards I hold in my hand, rather how they fit with the cards others hold.

Always Have a Winning Hand!

Are You Playing With A Full Deck?
By: Donna Messer

Think about a deck of cards when it comes to networking. Using the analogy of a full deck it is easy to recognize that there are plenty of ways to win. Effective networking is much easier when you play by a recognized set of rules.

Imagine you have a full deck of cards in your pocket and you have the opportunity to play one card with everyone you meet. You want to maximize the meeting, so you want to find a card that has some relevance to the other person.

You meet someone with a Queen of Clubs, and you quickly pull a card out of your deck – it’s another Club – you have something in common and you are on you way to a flush. Your card is a ten of clubs……..you might even be moving towards a Straight Flush, or if you play your cards correctly you might even end up with a Royal Flush..

Networking is simply about making profitable connections where there is always a benefit to both parties, and to be a winning hand it should include more than just two people.

Using the playing card scenario, it makes sense for you to try and find other people with something in common with your current card. If it’s another Club, you are on your way to a winning hand, if it’s another 10, you can still win.

What happens when the next person you meet is a Queen of Spades – do you recognize that not only do you have something in common – you are both Black, but you can introduce that person to someone you just met who has a Queen of Clubs. This card may not fit into your winning hand, but it’s definitely a good connection. Once you have found your common ground, you make the introduction to the first person you met who had the Queen of Clubs. You have just helped someone win at this game called Networking! They have one pair and could go for a Full House. You ask that you new connection remember you are a Ten of Clubs and are hoping to find other cards with something in common. You haven’t lost out with either introduction, both can be part of a winning hand as you move forward in the Networking Game. .

One of the most important rules of any game is that you have to use a little strategy. You don’t just show up, and expect to win. You need to think about the kind of cards you have to play, and what you really want to accomplish at the event. If you are satisfied with a pair – you don’t have to work very hard to find someone just like you. If on the other hand you want to expand your horizons, you might want to go for someone in the same suit, or in sequence.

Wherever I go, I never go without a full deck, making sure that everyone I meet adds value to my hand and to the hands of those I meet.

Remember to play your networking card, wherever you are. People like people who are like themselves, they buy from them, sell to them and refer them – by playing with a full deck, you will never be at a loss when it comes to having a winning hand.

Whenever I speak to a large group, the first thing I do is give everyone a playing card and ask them to find something in common with the card I hold up. Often times it’s difficult, because they don’t see the infinite possibilities with the card they hold in their hand.

Let’s be hypothetical – I’m holding an Ace of Hearts – the first person in the audience has another Ace – it’s easy to see the fit. The next person has a 6 of Diamonds – again not too difficult, we are both Red, The third person is a King of Clubs – okay the cards are in sequence. The next person has a 3 of Hearts and we again can see we are the same suit. All of a sudden we have a 9 of Clubs and there is no common denominator that we can find – we stretch ourselves and we turn the card over and we have our match! There on the back of the card is a Canadian Flag!

Are you playing the networking game with a full deck? Are you bringing with you all the people you know who might be part of a winning hand for someone you meet?

Networking is not just for you to win – it is for everyone in your network that might just be part of a possible Royal Flush!

As a networking expert, I know the value of playing my cards in sequence. I also know that sometimes I have to play off, in order to stay in the game. Winning often isn’t about the cards I hold in my hand, rather how they fit with the cards others hold.

Don’t break the rules, learn to adapt, adjust and form alliances – often a winning hand comes from people you’ve yet to meet. And unless you show your cards to everyone you know – how can they help you win?

Donna Messer is a speaker, author and journalist. She is a Master at the “Game of Networking”. She plays her cards well, and most often everyone wins! To learn to play the game go to www.connectuscanada.com


Royal Flush:
Five card sequence from 10 to the Ace in the same suit
Straight Flush:
Any five card sequence in the same suit.
Four of a Kind: All four cards of the same index
Full House:
Three of a kind combined with a pair
Flush:
Any five cards of the same suit, but not in sequence.
Straight:
Five cards in sequence, but not in the same suit.
Three of a Kind:
Three cards of the same value.
Two Pair:
Two separate pairs .
Pair:
One pair of two equal value cards constitutes a pair.
High Card:
If no one has any of the above winning hands, the tie is determined by the highest value card in the hand.

Related Articles
  Losing vs. Not Winning the Sale
  Winning Business the Right Way
  An Apprentice Lesson in Leadership
  People with Goals and Dreams
  Winning is for Wimps and Losers

Article Tags: deck of cards, full deck, full deck, networking game, Queen of Clubs, Royal Flush Networking



Related Forum Posts
Re: THE SECRET TO SUCCESS IS ALL IN YOUR HEAD...RIGHT NOW!!! - Success = Thinking (Head) + Heart (Feeling / Interest) + Hand (doing/ action). Success - H3 Robert
Elevator Pitch in 10 Words - "Winning Business Design For Aspiring Entrepreneurs Based On Their Idea"
Napoleon on Project Management - Why do I include this in a list of books aimed at female entrepreneurs? Well...in the expectation that there are as many female history buffs as male ones, and in the belief that anyone interested in history will find this book fascinating, while those interested in project management will learn a thing or two. I think this was the first "gimmick" book - an author using a historical figure (usually a male, military figure, it must be admitted) to talk about modern day business management. I refuse to read any of the kind that advocates - even obliquely - the techniques of the Sopranos or the Mossad - but these military ones are pretty fun. Anyway: Only in the understanding of history, Napoleon might say, do we gain an understanding of strategy in the present. In the same spirit, Napoleon on Project Management offers the recipe for successfully managing your commitments using the strategies, tactics and priorities that propelled Napoleon himself to victory. [The book doesn't gloss over how Napolean eventually fell in defeat, of course, and there's lessons to be learned there as well. TOC Foreword by Douglas James Allan (Napoleanic Society of America) 1. The Rise to Power -The Skills to Succeed -A Compelling Vision -Diplomacy and Networking -Lessons from the Great Campaigns 2. Napoleon's 6 Winning Principles -Introduction -Exactitude -Speed -Flexibility -Simplicity -Character -Moral Force 3. The Downfall -What Went Wrong -Lessons from the Russian Invasion and Waterloo -The Four Critical Warning Signs -Napoleon's Legacy
Books for Women Entrepreneurs - There's a thread for good books in the Resources folder, but it doesn't target books for businesswomen particularly, so I figured I'd start such a thread here. It doesn't matter how successful you are in your business - it's always possible to learn something new. In subsequent posts I give Table of Contents and brief descriptions for various titles - most of them devoted to the businesswoman - and sometimes a review. If anyone else has read a review, or has read the book and found it useful, please comment! 1. The Old Girl's Network 2. Mother's Work 3. The 7 Greatest Truths About Successful Women 4. Pitch Like A Girl 5. Workplace Warrior 6. Treasure Hunt: Inside the Mind of the Modern Consumer 7. Contingency Planning & Disaster Recovery 8. She Wins, You Win 9. Napoleon On Project Management 10. Why Good Girls Dont' Get Ahead, But Gutsy Girls Do 11. Comeback Moms: How to Leave Work, Raise Children, and Restart your Career even If you Haven't Had a Job in Years 12. The One Minute Millionaire 13. Talking From 9 to 5 14. Soloing: Realizing Your Life's Ambitions 15. 101 Best Home Based Businesses for Women: Everything You Need to Know About Getting Started on the Road To Success 16. Work With Passion: How to Do What You Love for a Living. Revised and Expanded 17. Fail-Proof Your Business: Beat the Odds and be Successful 18. Confidence: How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End 19. Women Don't Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide 20. Millionaire Women Next Door: The Many Journeys of Successful American Businesswomen 21. Start Small, Finish Big: Fifteen Key Lessons to Start - and Run - Your Own Successful Business 22. Rewired, Rehired or Retired: A Global Guide for the Experienced Worker 23. The Martha Rules: 10 essentials for achieving success as you start, build or manage a business 24. The Essentials of Entrepreneurship: What it takes to create Successful Enterprises 25. Net Ready: Strategies for Success in the E-conomy 26. The Promotable Woman 27. Leave The Office Earlier: The Productivity Pro shows you how to do more in less time and feel great about it 28. The Work At Home Balancing Act: The professional resource guide for managing yourself, your work, and your family at home 29. Secrets of Six-Figure Women
Meet Kim Kleeman - Shakespeare Squared: Named one of Inc.'s - THIS IS PRETTY INTERESTING. WISH I'D THOUGHT OF IT FIRST!!!! Meet Kim Kleeman: Shakespeare Squared: Named one of Inc.'s 500 Fastest Growing Private Companies in America. Recognized as one of Working Mother magazine's 25 Best Small Companies. Awarded the title of Illinois Family Business of the Year. Lofty accomplishments for company founder Kim Kleeman, a woman who just a few short years ago swore she would never own her own business! Having grown up the child of business-owner parents, Kleeman knew well the stresses and demands that entrepreneurial life can place upon a family. She met her husband, Jay, on the first day of college, and together they earned their teaching degrees and started making plans for a modest but happy life. When Jay's stint as a student teacher strained the family budget, though, they both started doing subcontract work proofing elementary school textbooks. Before long, they were taking on bigger jobs and hiring other teachers to freelance on various projects, and from that point on, they never looked back. In 2003, the couple founded Shakespeare Squared, an educational development company that employs an army of freelancers to write and edit materials such as textbooks, lesson plans, teacher guides, activity workbooks, and test-preparation materials. Initially a home-based business managed by Kim while Jay continued his work as a high school teacher, the company now has a full-time staff of 20 and is branching out in new directions, publishing its own materials and offering an educational editing certification process. In three years' time, the company has grown by an incredible 815 percent, bringing in $2.3 million in revenue last year. What we learned from Kim: That the most incredible resource for launching might very well be your own friends and family. Kim started this business with her husband; her best friend since high school is her director of human resources; her sister is a remote project coordinator; her lawyer brother weighs in on various matters; her mom is a managing editor; and her parents are her de facto advisory board, with whom she meets every morning to share a cup of tea and conversation in their backyard. Words of Wisdom "Trust your instincts and empower your people." From Teacher to Tycoon "I don't know if I had a big 'aha' moment about starting a business; our growth was really organic. After my second child I immediately got pregnant with my third and there was no turning back, because we weren't going to be able to afford day care for two babies on two teachers' salaries. I had been working from home and continuously had one or two projects going, and I set a goal of having 10 projects running simultaneously. So after my son was born, I enacted my own guerilla marketing plan and e-mailed every editorial director at the big publishing companies, looking for projects. We soon landed our first big client, HarperCollins Children's Books." Not About the Money "I just wanted to make the best company that I could and be happy doing it. If that included millions of dollars, great, but that wasn't really the goal. I didn't know at first how much work we would end up getting, but I think the extensive classroom experience of our people sets us apart in this field. As teachers ourselves, we understand the needs of our clients and we deliver on that." It Takes a Village "We employ over 400 freelance writers. Most are former teachers but we pull from publishing, journalism, and other fields as well. We developed a writing test that covers everything from copyrighting to educational taboos, and prospective freelancers must earn at least a B+. A nice plus with our business is the opportunity we can offer teachers for life beyond teaching. I really promote teachers in the classroom, but if the classroom just isn't your thing and you're still passionate about education, there is a place for you here." Those Who Can, Teach "Educators in this country are getting a bad rap. We ask them to perform many roles and yet we're not supporting them as a society. Prospective teachers must student teach to become certified and are expected to not work while doing so, but there are so many people from diverse backgrounds who would love to teach-and who would be great teachers-who can't afford to do that. The Shakespeare Squared Foundation helps pay for prospective teachers to student teach. My passion is to get the right teachers in place, because that makes all the difference for students." The Best and the Brightest "It is definitely a challenge to find and retain the best talent, because I am up against large publishers. I have to provide a different culture and be creative in the way I offer benefits. We really believe in the work/life balance and offer such things as flex hours, remote work capabilities, and a working-parents room in the office. We've been recognized for these efforts, and because of them, our turnover is very low." Networking 101 "You have to go into a networking situation with the idea in mind that there will be one person in the crowd who can make a difference to you, and you have to find that person. You may be talking to someone who makes shoelaces and has nothing in common with your business, but she may know someone in your field or know about an interesting business practice that could translate to your own. But the bottom line is that if it's not the right conversation, you politely cut it short and move on." Strength in Numbers "There is so much value in the process of incubating an idea with other women. I am always looking for women who are coming together creatively and collaboratively because things flow from it that you would never dream. When women support other women, we empower each other to take charge of our lives, whether by owning our own businesses or making a career change or making decisions about our families." Best Advice "I read in Working Mother magazine that women CEOs need to take the ability that they have in their work life to delegate responsibility and create a management team and apply that to their home life as well. So I really try to think of running my household the same way I run my business; whether it's cleaning ladies or repairmen, I find people I trust and have them take care of tasks that I don't need to spend time on. This has relieved a lot of guilt and allowed me to focus on the things that are really important." Most Rewarding Moments "Winning the Working Mother award as one of the 25 Best Small Companies felt pretty great because it showed that having a unique workplace does pay off. But even better is realizing that your message is getting across to your people. I love seeing quotes at my team's desks about goals and achieving your dreams, all of the exact things I say to empower them. It's cool to realize that there isn't a lot of cynicism, and that people are really buying into these ideas and making them their own." Parting Thoughts ... "My secret weapon is the news articles that I send to my team." "I will retire when I have no more dreams to accomplish." "I will always think of myself as a teacher." "My greatest strength is my enthusiasm." This featured lady was profiled by Noelle Pechar Hale, a freelance writer living in Los Angeles.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Effective Leadership

The five pillars of internet marketing strategy

Leading from Authenticity is a Beautiful Thing

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.