Networking the Taylor Swift way

A global phenomenon is sweeping across Asia, and even Prime Ministers are weighing in on the Taylor Swift effect. https://youtu.be/hLvkAzxqKpM?si=HS9Rf6GR-a49abxr

As I’m researching on Taylor Swift to understand this global phenomenon more popular than my prime minister with the Gen Alpha, I have become a swiftie. Yes, even if its a PR hype. Why wouldnt Britney Spears create such PR hype.

How might I weave in the Taylor Swift theme in my workshop on Networking, I wondered how an “outsider” made it. Her best friend being her guitar. What role did networking play in the Taylor Swift Design Your Life?

Out popped a video of Swift’s interview with 60 minutes, her mom also being interviewed. Your core team of experts, professional advice in advertising, finance mixed with genuine love and support. If you’re singing country music, then, the next step would be to surround yourself with people from the country music industry.

How can you create your own support group of advisers? Truly you and I will not be a global phenomenon but we can borrow some of the lessons.

But what came next, was a huge surprise. Swift’s mom said they moved to suburbs of Nashville to take the pressure off Taylor so she did not have to be reminded by children of country music legends of the sacrifice her family had to make. Wow. Sometimes we are narrow in our mind, that we need to network with the most important person. Meet the legends to open doors for us. Nothing of that sort. Beware. Networking with the wrong group of role models can crash your dreams. Even if they seem so right.

But networking the grounded way she did. From the people who taught her how to play guitar, to editing her music, to playing in Open Mic nights and going door to door to sell her CDs. No short cuts. Networking the traditional outsider way.

I’m listening to a video of Swift at 21 years old, saying that every singer out there is raising the next generation, so make your words count. I’m in my 50s, and I’m not even able to say that. Like Gandhi, if I can tell you to stop eating sugar because its bad for you, let me first stop eating sugar.

An entertainer who surrounds herself with a great team of professionals. Dare I say, values as well. So far, no one has come out yet to say what a bitch she is … (except for ex-boyfriends for writing about the breakup.)

I’m preparing for the concert, not by making friendship bracelets (I bot mine from Shopee) but researching on the wisdom of this daughter-mother team who have so much to teach us about the simple things in life. You’re on Your Own, Kid. Fearless.

#networking #DYL #designlife #designthinking

Prune

Today I threw away 30 years of namecards in my rolodex. I struggled as I contemplated if they will be useful.

30 years of contacts in your network if not kept in touch are not assets. Most are no longer in positions stated on the namecards.

On the way to the rubbish chute, surprisingly I felt lighter. Grateful for #Linkedin, a better way to keep in touch.

Let go of past hurts. Fixed mindsets. Old patterns of thinking for breathing space.

Is there anything you need to reinvest or let go?

Small talk topics

Photo: Coffee at Pottery Tsuboya, Naha, Okinawa, 2017

Topics:

• Art/ Apps
• Business/ Books
• Current Affairs/ Charities
• Disruptive Tech/ Dream Destinations
• Family/ Fun
• Good food – Cooking/ Restaurant
• Family
• Here and Now/ Host/ Hobbies/ Holidays
• Internet of Things
• Job

1. How are you related to the host? Are you related from the bride’s side or groom’s side? (At a wedding)
2. Does your family have any “secret” or famous recipes?
3. What’s your favorite restaurant that others don’t know about?
4. How’s the family?
5. What do you usually do on weekends?
6. I am starting a book club, any good books you recommend?
7. Any books you recommend to get into your field?
8. Do you prefer city vacations or relaxing on the beach?

Job

I am/ My (niece/son) is interested to get into this [profession]. Do you have any advice for me/ I should pass on?”

“ How did you decide to get into [X field]?”

“I read about +++++ [Y detail about job] in +++++. Has that held true in your experience?”

“Which skill do you use the most in your work? Was that what you expected?”

“What’s the stereotype of a [job title]? Does it hold up?”

“Is there anything you didn’t anticipate about this role starting out? Do you like or dislike that?”

“What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received? How about the worst?”

More tips on small talk or ice breakers for your next event:

https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/small-talk-guide

Networking at Career Talks

Career fairs are around the corner. Job search especially networking can be stressful. Why attend when we can read online company info?

Make your presence felt at these pivotal moments. Practice in small doses to acclimatise your amydala. The ability to ask insightful questions reflects an intelligent mind.

Ask not questions from available open source material such as company website, Hoover, Bloomberg etc. Demonstrate the extent of your research by asking insightful questions.

Note that timing is important when asking questions. The questions below only serve as a guide. Use your judgment as to when you should ask the questions. Pay attention to the “flow” of the conversation to avoid the conversation sounding awkward and abrupt.

Questions about the company

1. Where do the great ideas come from in your organization?
2. How will you measure success?
3. Between two equally-qualified candidates, what’s the deciding factor whom to hire?
4. How do you encourage creative thinking within your organization?
5. What do you want to see accomplished in your team/ department/ company in the next 3 to 6 months? What would be ideal outcome or key performance indicator?
6. What impact, if any, has Web 2.0 made on your organization or you personally?
7. What is the biggest challenge facing your industry today?

Questions to the speaker at a personal level

1. Can you share what insights impacted you most personally as a leader? Was there someone who was a mentor to you? In what way was this person an impact on your life?
2. Is there any way I can be of help to you right now?
3. What advice would you give someone going into this industry for the first time?
4. What do you like to do? (Instead of what do you do?)

Don’t crowd the CEO of the company. Younger company reps may have more relevant advice since they were  in your shoes, not too long ago.

News-worthy events

1. How do you read the impact of a [XXXX] on your industry?

Questions to the speaker

Michael Hyatt is one of my favourite gurus. Do check out his website and podcasts.

1. What are the most important decisions you make as a leader of your organization?
2. As an organization gets larger there can be a tendency for the “institution” to dampen the “inspiration.” How do you keep this from happening?
3. How do you or other leaders in your organization communicate the “core values”?
4. How do you encourage others in your organization to communicate the “core values”?
5. How do you help a new employee understand the culture of your organization?
6. What is one characteristic that you believe every leader should possess?
7. What is the one behavior or trait that you have seen derail more leaders’ careers?
8. What resources would you recommend to someone looking to become a better leader?
9. Could you share some of the resources you use to ensure you continue to grow and develop as a leader?
10. What are some of your go-to resources for guidance in your field of work?

What other questions would you add to the above list?  Pls comment below.

Happy Networking and career success.

Workplace Loneliness and me

The Human Capital Institute shared on a post that workplace loneliness is on the rise, citing a study conducted by Edelman and Cigna, in 2019, 45.7% of American workers reported feeling lonely at work. This is up from 44% in 2018.

In a study on Cigna US Loneliness Index, the numbers are even higher for Gen Z, workers aged 18-22, of whom 73% report sometimes or always feeling alone, up from 69% a year ago (Source: CNBC).

Ju Ming sculpture in Buona Vista, Singapore

Why is it a concern?

According to Cigna CEO David Cordani, disconnections show up in other mental health issues such as depression or stress. Many young people feel that there is no one to turn to at the workplace whether it is to have a coffee or chill.

What can I do?

Make suggestions for workplace connecting. Build trust and fun activity that colleagues can do together to break the ice. I recall my colleagues in France bring a cake to office to chill. We in Singapore took turns to bring breakfast to work. My younger colleagues brought breakfast from their culture such as putu mayam, bought from the hawker centre across the street.

Trust and connections take time to build. We are all waiting for someone to reach out and make the first move. Why not make the first move?

If you are a worplace manager, consider what you can do to improve workplace culture. Hint: Open office layout and “work from home” are not solutions to lower loneliness at work. More suggestions.

How about setting a challenge for yourself and make the first move?

Share with me your thoughts in the comments below.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/23/loneliness-is-rising-younger-workers-and-social-media-users-feel-it-most.html

30 Day networking sprints

Even as tech conferences in the US are getting cancelled because of the coronavirus, others are debating the value of in-person conferences. Their utility is not just a way to exchange information on platforms. “There’s something about meeting someone face to face, and also the serendipity that can happen, that just can’t be replicated in a remote way,” says Guilherme Rambo, an independent app developer from Brazil. “When you’re at a tech conference, you’ll meet people who work for the companies you’re a customer of, the people who make the apps you enjoy using, and sometimes business deals . . . are made. [Quote from Fast Company]

What can I do with the downtime? Pause and rebrand. Are you ready to join me for a 30 day Networking Sprint?

Day 1: Come up with positive adjectives, strengths and weakness that describe me
Day 2: Draft my personal brand statement. Update my Linkedin account.

Day 3: Come up with 5 ice breakers. Identify an area of professional interest.

Day 4: Bring my closest friends to lunch and ask positive adjectives that describe me. Likewise, compliment them. Ideas Party.

Day 5: Start my daily list of 10 thanksgiving items. Creative positive energy. List causes* I may contribute to. (UN 17 SDG for 2030)

Day 6: List my rewards or motivators on challenge. (Positive energy)

Day 7: Rest Day, Reflection

Day 8: Write home call home (parents, siblings), plan next family gathering. If not convenient, send positive thoughts and thank them in mind. Send postcard. Show you care.

Day 9: Start my project of saying hello to a different colleague or classmate everyday for 30 days. Ask: what are you working on? What’s a trend that may bother you? What’s a skill you wish you had time to pick up?

Day 10: Update my Linkedin account.

Day 11: Join a public speaking group such as toastmasters in my area.

Day 12: Join a group in my professional interest. Bring someone.

Day 13: Deep Dive: Attend a class to learn new skill (physical or virtual). Bring someone.

Day 14: Rest Day, Reflection

Day 15: Identify a new person to start a personal friendship group. What help can I offer? Show you care.

Day 16: Deep Dive: Borrow and Read 5 latest books affecting my areas of interest, be it Professional/ Personal. (One new book a month)

Day 17: Coffee with former internship supervisor or colleagues. Thank them for helping you in the past. Show you care.

Day 18: Keep in touch with (one) classmate from past. Reminisce the happy moments. Repeat with different person next cycle.

Day 19: Sign up for a talk in area of interest.

Day 20: Join a group of personal interest, faith or hobby, eg. Mahjong or tennis

Day 21: Rest Day, Reflection – list 10 topics I have collected from conversations.

Day 22: Start a blog, write my first article. Share.

Day 23: Volunteer for a cause*. Teach a class probono.

Day 24: Congratulate a friend. Show you care.

Day 25: Rest Day, Reflection

Day 26: Publish my first post on social media.

Day 27: Celebrate friend’s birthday or anything worth celebrating!

Day 28: Compliment a service staff (stranger). Post it on company website.

Day 29: Celebrate with loved one! Care for self.

Day 30: Repeat cycle for next 30 days.

Share:

What’s your favourite app to locate networking events?

Our focus?

Some months back, I asked Mr L if he would join me for a lunch catch up with a mutual ex-colleague, Mr T. We have not met in 14 years. Mr L was busy being angry about everything, his former employer, his PHd application being rejected by XYZ University.

Fast forward to June, I found out that if Mr L had joined me for lunch with Mr T, he could have walked his way into a job vacancy in Mr T’s company.

Is this how Krumboltz’s Happenstance works? Sometimes opportunities whiz by and miss us because we are engrossed in the past.

Lesson learnt today.

As an IJ, unplanned meetings drain me. But think of the exciting future that awaits you from the little step you take.

4 Steps “iStartups” can take in their career journey

One of the things I missed about being self employed is not having colleagues to try out new lunch venues or chill at tea, “whatsup” catching up with office gossip, and especially the learning workshops we were forced to attend. And the travelling. Which was quite fun, since it was only 10%, in my work – no budget. The free newspapers, so essential to keeping up with research and client information.

While I enjoy managing my own time, minimal department meetings, no office politics (I still have a boss. My clients are my boss.), there is a downside to being a free lancer/ gig economy worker/ self employed. Lonely. Iron sharpens iron. (Confessions of an introvert.)

How do freelancers thrive in the future of work?

NTUC has set up a chapter for Free lancers and self employed, check out their facebook.

There will be an upcoming 2 day workshop to equip free lancers with digital skills, considering that coaches can still be paid through cash, app, and internet banking.

Step One: Company Name and type of work

First, think of a name for your company and register it with the government. Set up an ACRA account. Its not difficult. https://www.acra.gov.sg/

How do you use your time wisely as a tennis coach, if classes are cancelled on a rainy day?

Today, many of the younger generation prefer to be self employed. Digital tools have made it possible.

Step Two: Join NTUC FSE

Join a community. Why? Social, getting ideas, learn something. Example, how to pitch yourself?

There are a number of associations to join:

Singapore Association of Motion Picture Professionals
Screenwriters Association (Singapore)
IoTalents for online and IT workforce
Caregiver Asia
Creatives at Work (CAW) for media freelancers
Tueetoer (for free lance tutors)

Step three: Market yourself

Get a professionally done photograph, nothing fancy, but very presentable @ caregivers asia. You can check out the photographs done for their freelance caregivers. Joel Tam.

You can start a Facebook, Instagram or even Blog. Register with a number of providers like Fiverr, Upwork, Tueetor etc.

82 Best Freelance Jobs Websites to Get Remote Freelance Work (Fast) in 2023

You can create a podcast with your mobile or a youtube video.

For a lady who does storytelling for children. She was articulating the benefits of her course. Learning while playing. Joel articulated that her blog could include a simple Powtoons tip of the day for parents, “Three things your child can play while learning without realising.”

Even creating Infographics. I especially like the tip of how Joel broke into writing reviews for cars. He took a photograph of his own car and sent it to major automotive brands. Wow. Such a simple and impactful idea. Sometimes, just talking to someone who has done it, helps break down the “barriers in our head”.

Many of the self employed entrepreneurs I discovered, wear multiple hats and have multiple streams of income. Joel is Marketing Director at Caregivers as well as Care review etc.

Recognise that you need T-shaped skills. Deep expertise, applied to different businesses.

An important tip he shared was, if you have 70,000 followers on your Instagram account, but they are not in your target market, then you may want to start afresh. Localise your content. Especially for freelancers working towards a local clientele.

Step 4: How do you hook clients with a strong pitch?

In your self introduction, dont just talk about ideas. Talk about yourself as an idea. Your transformational journey, eg from a chemical engineer to a muay thai instructor, and how those little bits of you are combined to make you who you are today.

Not just another mindfulness instructor, but a sports coach who combines mindfulness in the journey.

What are three superhero characteristics you bring, from your life journey?

I was a _________. (Painpoint: A conflict I felt _________. I decided to ________. The pivot helped me _____________.

So what are you waiting for?

Ideas come from unexpected places -where do you get yours?

Close to my Chinese roots, my mother put in a lot of effort to find my Chinese name, it means the bell that rings at dawn because I was born pre-dawn. Embeded in my name is my mother’s hope for me. Wisdom, riches, beauty, fame, peace are the typical aspirations. Every Chinese knows this tradition, and in some families, we even choose characters that reveal your position in the family tree.

Yet when it comes to getting an English name, many Chinese/ Taiwanese / Hong Kong Chinese would choose names like Noodle, Rock etc and we puzzle at the quirkiness.

Not so, a young British girl. Beau Jessup. She is making more than $300,000 and funding her way through college by naming Chinese babies. As founder and CEO of Special Name, a website designed to provide Chinese parents with culturally appropriate English names for their babies.

How did she come up with the idea?

Jessup was inspired to start the business in 2015, when she was just 15. She has since named a total of 677,900.

Empathise- A chance encounter

Jessup was traveling with her father in China, when a business contact, a Mrs. Wang, asked for help in naming her three-year-old daughter.

Where are the pain-points?Constraints can be opportunities

“Due to language barriers and internet censorship in China, the ability to research English names can be limited, often resulting in unfortunate and sometimes comical selections”, Jessup noted.(Source: http://flip.it/BN0YJM)

Prototype: A minimally viable Idea

Back home, Jessup hired a freelance web developer to build a Chinese language website for the Chinese community. Meanwhile, in her spare time, she filled a database with more than 4,000 boys and girls names, attributing five characteristics that best represented that name, such as honesty and optimistism.

Ideate – create choices

The website uses algorithm to generate the names. It also allows collective decision making by encouraging users to share the three name suggestions with their friends and family via a direct link to Chinese messaging app WeChat on the site — to help them settle on their favorite and avoid any “cultural mistakes.”

Travel, Empathise, Talk to locals

Beau Jessup’s idea came about because she is a bridge to a diverse network. How many English speaking Chinese can do what she did? Many.

Sometimes, a simple idea is waiting to be discovered.

Go out and talk to people. Empathise with their constraints and see if you can help solve their problems in a win-win way.

Network for ideas

University of Chicago sociologist Ron Burt has referred to this sort of networking as bridging a gap between different social networks.

Burt studied 673 managers in a large U.S. electronics firm and found that those managers who had a broader network of contacts were consistently rated as generating more highly valued ideas.

Their access to diverse, often contradictory information and interpretations gives them an edge when it comes to spotting and developing good ideas.

30 Day Sprint to find your niche

To develop our personal brand, many of us struggle to find our niche. What is an area that can define my expertise?

The best way to find out is to Ask!
1. Who is the person in the mirror? Ask yourself, do a personal reflection.
2. What is my preferred style?
3. Am Iikeable? Do I like myself? (Many people would rather do business with people they like, rather than with a jerk.)
4. Do I have access to people who need my services or products?

For anyone who is feeling a little lethargic after the New Year Break, here is a networking challenge for the brave hearted.

Let’s start your networking challenge

Day 1: come up with positive adjectives, strengths and weakness that describe me
Day 2: draft my personal brand statement
Day 3: come up with 5 ice breakers
Day 4: Bring my closest friends to lunch and ask positive adjectives describe me.
Day 5: start my daily list of 10 thanksgiving items. Creative positive energy.
Day 6: list my rewards or motivators on challenge. (Positive energy)
Day 7: Rest Day, Reflection
Day 8: write home call home (parents, siblings), plan next family gathering. If not convenient, send positive thoughts and thank them in mind. Send postcard.
Day 9: start my project of saying hello to a different colleague or classmate everyday for 30 days. Ask: what are you working on? What’s a trend that may bother you? What’s a skill you wish you had time to pick up?
Day 10: create a Linkedin account
Day 11: join a public speaking group such as toastmasters in your area
Day 12: identify an area of professional interest
Day 13: join a group in professional interest
Day 14: Rest Day, Reflection
Day 15: identify a person to start a personal friendship group
Day 16: List 5 latest books affecting your area.
Day 17: Arrange to have coffee with former internship supervisor or colleagues
Day 18: Keep in touch with (one) classmate from past. Repeat with different person next cycle.
Day 19: Sign up for a talk in area of interest
Day 20: join a group of personal interest, faith or hobby, eg. Mahjong or tennis
Day 21: Rest Day, Reflection – list 10 topics you have collected from conversations.
Day 22: Start a blog, write your first article
Day 23: List of social causes, pick one Volunteer for a social cause
Day 24: Congratulate a friend
Day 25: Rest Day, Reflection
Day 26: Update my Linkedin. Write my first post
Day 27: Celebrate friend’s birthday or anything worth celebrating!
Day 28: Compliment a service staff (stranger).
Day 29: Send postcard to relative
Day 30: Celebrate with loved one!

Repeat cycle!!

Photo: Visit to Adecco Singapore office with RMIT (HRM) students.