Networking for CEOs

As a CEO nothing is more valuable than the quality of your relationships. Whether you realize it or not your success in business (and in life in general) will largely be dependant upon your ability to not only establish key relationships, but in your ability to leverage, influence and add value to your relationships. We have all known executives that have been smarter, more affable, better looking, possess a better CV or are more talented yet they never seem to rise to their full potential. These professionals that seem to have the whole package yet can’t reach the brass ring have failed to understand the power of relationships. Even more regrettable is the CEO who has the rolodex to die for and doesn’t do anything with it. In the text that follows I’ll discuss how to build a powerful sphere of influence.

Let me begin by defining what I like to call the relationship value chain. We all have a personal network, but as I’m sure you’ve come to realize many people within your network are for lack of better definition inactive contacts or acquaintances. The majority of people in your network are people that while known to you are not perceived to be high value contacts and you therefore don’t invest yourself heavily in building relationships among that group. Moving up the food chain from inactive contacts you’ll find your active contacts are perceived to be of higher value such that you have taken the time and investment to build a relationship. Then at the top of the food chain are your power contacts. These contacts comprise the contacts that can create influence, open doors and generally make things happen. I actually prefer the term personal sphere of influence over network as it is a more action oriented descriptor and helps to keep me focused.

Lest you think I’m overly mercenary in my approach and only view people as pawns in a chess game let me introduce you to Myatt’s golden rule of relationship management: ”Give, give, give some more, give until it hurts and then when you have nothing left to give, you guessed it…give even more”. The best relationships are built by helping others succeed. It is through assisting others in reaching their goals and objectives that you will find success. Reflect back upon your own experience and contrast the responses you’ve received when you ask for help from someone that you’ve previously provided assistance to vs. asking the same favor from a casual acquaintance that you’ve never lifted a finger to help.

Generally speaking there are two types of spheres of influence…those that just evolve over time by default and those that are strategically engineered. I have spent years developing relationships spanning geographies, industries and practice areas that I have invested both time and money developing to a high level of mutual benefit. People in my network benefit from my active pursuit of helping them achieve their objectives and I in turn benefit from their reciprocal treatment. Don’t confuse a database with a sphere of influence. A database consists of information records and a sphere of influence consists of meaningful relationships…a point of distinction lost upon many.

In addition to my operating duties at N2growth I maintain a select consulting practice in which I serve as the closest personal advisor to CEOs, entrepreneurs and politicians. You’re probably saying to yourself “what does this guy know about networking? He only has a small consulting practice.” Fair question…What you may not know is that I’ve developed an active network of 40,000 relationships in order to serve my small number of clients. I have built a reputation that I can reach just about anyone with a few phone calls and do it with credibility and influence. My reputation is therefore synonymous with the quality of my network for I am usually retained to accomplish what others have failed to do based upon the influence of my network. My network is my business.

The problem is that most CEOs even if they intellectually understand the benefits of what I’m espousing just don’t do the work it takes to build a powerful network. Great networks take great amounts of effort. Think of the most successful people you’ve ever known and they will always seem to know the right person to call on in any given situation to influence or decision the needed outcome. This type of influence doesn’t just happen, rather it has taken years of painstaking effort. If you want to create a powerful sphere of influence start by taking the following five steps:

1. Take pause and examine where you are currently in your professional career as contrasted with where you want to go. Think about the people who could help you reach your destination more quickly and efficiently. Don’t put any artificial ceilings on your thinking…If knowing Richard Branson, Bill Gates, Michael Dell, etc. would be of benefit take note of this and remember that almost anyone on the planet is only a few degrees of separation away from you.



2. Once you have a clear vision of where you want to go take a personal inventory of your contact database. See who it is that you know, but also pay attention to who they know. Review in detail each and every contact in your database and rank them on a scale from 1 to 5 with 5 being the contacts perceived to be of the greatest value to you. Make a detailed relationship plan for each of your contacts that rank 3 or higher. Take a personal interest in rekindling those relationships and finding out how you can help them succeed.



3. Develop a strong core competency and then give freely of your time and knowledge. Be visible and accessible and don’t approach business solely based on a “what’s in it for me” attitude. Don’t be a joiner unless you can be a contributor. I belong to a number of organizations that I will likely never see a paying client from, but it is through these groups that I build relationships and connections that will help me serve my clients. These relationships are built upon the back of the time I invest in them. Relationships don’t get built overnight and are not built without active participation.



4. Your network is your business…The core value of your business is not actually steeped in the conventional thinking imparted to you in business school. The reality is that the true intrinsic value of a business is in the network that adds value to your products, services, brand, stakeholders etc. A strong network = sustainability in that it is your network that will provide you much needed resources and leverage in both good times and bad.



5. Don’t waste time with those that only see problems and flaws, but cannot ever seem to create solutions. The world is full of bitter people, small thinkers, naysayers and those that just get their kicks out of sniping from a safe distance. Remove these people from your network. Associate with energy gainers and not energy drainers.



Bottom line…Engineer a relationship development plan and work the plan. Before you whine about how much time this will take think about the potential rewards at stake and ask yourself if you can afford not to do this.



To learn more about this author, visit Mike Myatt's Website.

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