MY LESSON FROM TNNW - HUMANITY IS THE KEY

Dear Readers:

Yesterday, in three separate discussions with three different colleagues, the same topic came up. I would hazard a guess that this particular topic is going to come up more frequently in conversations on a regular basis.

The crux of these discussions can be distilled into a single question and a few observations:

"What are we actually doing, and where are we actually heading with all of this "Networking" stuff?"

"It seems as if the noise level is increasing, yet I'm hearing less and less; It seems as if I am being bombarded with messages and requests, but I can't seem to focus on any single one of them; I thought that this e-media and social media networking technology was going to make my life easier -- now I literally spend hours and hours every single day just doing 'techno-chores'...reading emails, deleting spam, responding to emails, posting on a whole bunch of groups, jumping from Facebook to Linked In to Twitter, text-messaging, iPhoning, shooting out rapid-fire messages that are becoming more and more like apologies - 'I've been too busy to talk with you or meet with you. I'm booked.'

I have a rapidly growing number of contacts to keep up with, yet I know less and less about each of them personally. I don't "know them" at all; I send them emails and get autoresponder "out of office" messages back; the tiny percentage of those that I've actually spoken with on the phone with is shrinking; the even tinier percentage of those I've met is shrinking even more quickly.

The most pathetic thing is that I still do most of my business with a small number of personal, time-tested associates. They feel like friends to me. Despite all of this technology, people are getting ruder, more impersonal. What a paradox! It seems as if I'm suffocating and falling behind. It seems as if nobody has any compassion or humor left. It seems that people have lost the joy in the art of conversation.

I am on a treadmill, surrounded by strangers. I am working harder and accomplishing less. With all of this networking, it seems that I don't have time to actually close any business. I feel increasingly friendless...increasingly lost.

Please help me. I'm drowning in buzzwords, keywords, adwords and a sensorial bombardment that is destroying the quality of my life. I can't even hear my own thoughts. I can't get a grip on my own feelings. It's as if I were living in a constant state of crisis. I don't know any of my neighbors. I'm forgetting about common courtesies, like asking about people's kids, or their health.

Could we go out to the diner? Maybe we can talk about our families, or music or art, or even philosophy? Please?

*****

My friend, Adam J. Kovitz, hinted at this some time ago when he started discussing his notion of Relationship Capital. He believes, as I do, that people are beginning to crave real interpersonal bonding; real spiritual communion; real trust and meaningful friendship; deeper communication and cooperation; more of a celebration of individuality, of quirkiness, of the differences that make us special and interesting to know. WE NEED TO BRING SOME HUMANITY BACK INTO NETWORKING, OR NO BUSINESS IS GOING TO HAPPEN!

I have a few goals to share with you -- and I dedicate this to all of my family members and precious friends (whom I've been 'just too busy' to call), and to every Subscriber, Member, Sponsor, Author and Advertiser in THE NATIONAL NETWORKER (TNNW), to all of my blog readers, followers, mentors, teachers, comrades-in-arms, comrades-in-chains and ukelele players:

1. I am going to become a person again.

2. I am going to take breaks from work now and again in order to enjoy this world and this life.

3. I am re-dedicating myself to doing everything in my power, and within my ability, to make sure that THE NATIONAL NETWORKER stays HUMAN, and PERSONAL...that we make every single effort to be a community of friends, business associates and individuals -- each special. We have to listen and to help instead of simply talking and promoting.

I have discovered a secret: In these times, business success is dependent not only upon competence and mutual needs -- it is, more than ever, dependent upon our being good friends, and having good friends.

Faithfully, and extending my hand in friendship, I am

Douglas Castle

P.S. Listen to this! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptlW99wWBWY&feature=related

THE NATIONAL NETWORKER (TNNW):
PRESS OUR BUTTONS & CLICK OUR LINKS...

BE THERE WHEN IT MATTERS! - Rick Itzkowich

A RE-POST FROM RICK ITZKOWICH

In 1982, John Naisbit published his book Megatrends where he outlined eight trends that would forever change our lives. One of them was that the more technology enters our lives, the more we crave human interaction and connection. He was absolutely right.

One of the reasons why Social Networking has grown as much as it has is because people are craving connection and a sense of belonging. And yet, the paradox is that while we may have thousands of "followers" on Twitter and "friends" on Facebook, we probably have far fewer real friendships. We have no time, are overwhelmed by the volume of email and are constantly exhausted just trying to keep up with the ever-increasing volume of noise and activity in our lives.

The good news is that this presents an historically unparallelled opportunity for intelligent and innovative entrepreneurs and small business owners. This opportunity is to build individualized, interactive relationships with our clients, prospects and referral partners...to set ourselves apart from the crowd and the "information hurricane." By demonstrating that we care about contacts as people first, we can build loyalty and support that will allow us to thrive in the fast- paced world in which we live.

In this column, I will share with you the importance of staying in touch with your clients and prospects. I will introduce you a unique system that even though is highly dependent on technology, it communicates that you care. The system is called QuoteActions, and it consists of inspirational or motivational quotes that are combined with appropriate actions to bring these quotes (and the thoughts within them) to life. And because these messages contain no sales messages about you or your company nor are you asking for anything from them in exchange for this service, you are positioning yourself as someone who cares. Once you own this position in your customers' mind, they will reward you and your business handsomely.

A friend of mine who is a CPA and a sender of QuoteActions told me a story about how she had never received a single referral from one of her long-term clients. That is until her client started receiving QuoteActions. Her client enjoyed these messages so much that she started forwarding the messages to her friends and told them that they had to contact the CPA to get them. This lead to four new referrals in a short period of time.

I will be including a QuoteAction with every one of my articles. This month's QuoteAction is by an Unknown Author:

"It is nice to be important, but it is more important to be nice." Your action for today is to write a thank you card or note to someone.

Enjoy an Extraordinary Day!

Click *here* to find out more about QuoteActions and some of the other innovative products and services offered by THE NATIONAL NETWORKER.

- Rick

PRESS OUR BUTTONS!