154. Networking
The Bright Method Podcast: Realistic Time Management and Productivity for Working Women & Working Moms
Host Kelly Nolan redefines networking from a dreaded chore into a manageable, social-style practice for professional women. She argues that
Key takeaways
- Redefine networking as socializing by focusing on small groups, coffee chats, or walks instead of large, intimidating events.
- Build a list of connections starting with people you already know, such as internal colleagues, former coworkers, and old school friends.
Main topics
- Redefining Networking
- Professional Goodwill
Notable quotes
I keep thinking of more and more ways my life has improved since using the system.
Conclusion
By treating networking as a scheduled, social activity rather than a h
Transcript preview
Speaker 1 (0:00) Before we dive in, I wanted to share something from a client who recently went through the 10-week Bright Method program. In her feedback form, she shared about wins at work, that she was delegating more, her team was getting more done, work travel was easier, and even the holidays went smoother. She said, and I quote, I keep thinking of more and more ways my life has improved since using the system. Even though on the day-to-day, the system has lost its sexiness that I typically feel when starting a new program or new organization method. Sticking with it has been a game changer for my life. I'm excited to see what else I can do. I can tell this has changed my life in more ways than I realize. My next group of incredible women learning this method kicks off on October 1st. I hope to see you in there. Go to kellynolan.com slash bright. All right, let's dig in. Speaker 1 (0:48) Welcome to the Bright Method podcast, where we'll discuss practical time management strategies designed for the professional working woman. I'm Kelly Nolan, a former patent litigator who now works with women to set up the Bright Method in their lives. The Bright Method is a realistic time management system that helps you manage it all personally and professionally. Let's get you falling asleep proud of what you got done today and calm about what's on tap tomorrow. All right, let's dig in. Speaker 1 (1:13) Hey, hey, and welcome back. All right. Today, we're going to talk about something that might not sound exciting. And maybe it is, maybe it's not. But it is really important. And as much as we dread it, as much as we let it go, all that kind of stuff, I do think it's really important. And so we're going to talk about it today. And that is networking. Now, before you roll your eyes and feel your stomach sink and think that this is not for you, I think it is. It is one of those things that future you will likely be grateful you did in some regard. I am not like doom and gloom, layoffs, all that. But in some regard, I think you will appreciate that you did this, even if it never comes to that doom and gloom type scenario. And so first, let's talk about the why. Because once we figure out the why and you actually feel enthusiastic and motivated about this, I think doing it is a lot easier. The hard part is it feels like eating vegetables and not in a good way. And I think that we just need to get over that and take a different approach than we might have to networking in the past. At least this is the journey with networking that I have been on. So you can come join me. The reality is networking very easily falls by the wayside. Almost every woman I talk to right now is like, I need connections and I've really let it go. And it is very fair. When you see how full our calendars are, especially once everything is in the calendar, it makes complete sense why you have let it go. You don't have a lot of time for it. You have a lot of other things that you want to and need to prioritize over it. And you're tired. And often socializing, even for extroverts, you know, by the end of the day, after all the work, all the kids, if you have kids, all of that, it's hard to motivate to reach out to other people. You're like, I don't even talk to my friends enough right now. I can't talk to random people. And I very much get that. And so that's what we're going to talk about today. First of all, obvious reason. doom and gloom reason is if you were laid off from your job, it is very helpful to have a safety network to catch you. And I hear about this a fair amount right now from clients, from other women, just generally that by the time they hit the job posting, there's either an internal candidate or it's being filled by someone who knows someone. We could argue about whether that's fair or not. I'm just a realist and I want you to be in the position where you are the person in the network who hears about the job even before it hits the job boards. And so that is obvious reason number one, smart to do it. We never want it to come to that. I hope it doesn't come to that. If it does, you will be glad you did some of this networking stuff. But I also want to talk about that even if you're like, I feel pretty good in my job. I got some good job security. I'm feeling pretty safe here. Great. I also think that networking can mean a lot of different things. So just stick with me on what it actually means. But basically what we want to do is create connections for you within your company, within your organization and outside of it that just are connections, friendships, people that you know who you can reach out to. They know who you are and there's some goodwill. That's really what I'm going after with networking. And even if you never are in a layoff situation, what I think is really valuable is that we so often in our day-to-day life live like kind of in a little tunnel. I'm taking my hands and like putting them above my eyes and then like looking down is open. And we just like live in this kind of tunnel of our own lives because we're so busy, as I talked about. And we're really focused on our own work, maybe the broader picture of the marketplace, but as it relates to our own work and then our family. Speaker 1 (4:45) Sometimes talking to people outside of our organization, learning about their jobs, their markets, their industries, their families, their experiences of life helps open the aperture a bit so that we start seeing a little bit more. And I think knowing that the world is a bit bigger than what we might normally see can only benefit us. It helps us understand, you know, what are my options here in terms of jobs? What are other opportunities for me out there? That could be a different job, but that could also be a client base. That could be, you know, speaking opportunities. I mean, you could take it wherever. But to get there, we kind of have to know there's a bigger world out there. And so I think that's a huge benefit. In addition, there are some more obvious ones that I just kind of mentioned of like meeting other clients. If you're a lawyer, like getting connected to people in different fields could be really valuable. Even different lawyers who specialize in something else could be valuable for you to know because if someone they know reaches out for them for something and you're the specialist and they're not, they will refer you business. You know, relationships can hold a lot of value. And if you are seen as someone with a lot of relationships, you have, for lack of a better word, like a little more power than you would have without those relationships. And so I share all of