GiveIn: How I'm using my LinkedIn network to pay it forward
Since joining LinkedIn 10 years ago, I've always, like probably many of you, looked to connect with someone that could possibly help me penetrate a market or company -- to get a sale! Do you have the word CISO or CIO in your title? Awesome! InMail or connection request and 10 mins later, can I have some time on your calendar to introduce myself and my company? Something I think we've all been the recipient of, even me, most commonly recruiters and product salespeople.
I'd be a hypocrite to say anything at all.
I remember about 16 years ago when the movie Pay It Forward came out. I remember thinking to myself, "gee, I wish I was in a position to do something that big." The mistake I made was two-fold, (1) thinking that benevolence was only meant for big things and (2) not realizing all this time that the opportunity to start a pay it forward movement was right in front of me with social media.
And then I found the book "Give and Take" by Adam Grant, which has completely transformed my thinking of who I am and who I want to be. For generations, we have focused on the individual drivers of success: passion, hard work, talent, and luck. But today, success is increasingly dependent on how we interact with others. It turns out that at work, most people operate as either takers, matchers, or givers. Whereas takers strive to get as much as possible from others and matchers aim to trade evenly, and givers are the rare breed of people who contribute to others without expecting anything in return.
Using his own pioneering research as Wharton's top-rated professor, Adam Grant shows that these styles have a surprising impact on success. Although some givers get exploited and burn out, the rest achieve extraordinary results across a wide range of industries. Combining cutting-edge evidence with captivating stories, Grant shows how one of America's best networkers developed his connections, why the creative genius behind one of the most popular shows in television history toiled for years in anonymity, how a basketball executive responsible for multiple draft busts transformed his franchise into a winner, and how we could have anticipated Enron's demise four years before the company collapsed--without ever looking at a single number.
Give and Take highlights what effective networking, collaboration, influence, negotiation, and leadership skills have in common. This book opens up an approach to success that has the power to transform not just individuals and groups, but entire organizations and communities. It's transformed me.
The fact of the matter is, I'm tired of looking to build my LinkedIn connection list simply based off of a person's current title or company they work for. Today, I'm no longer asking what can you, my connections do for me, I'm going to ask what can I do for you with no expectations of being paid back -- just that you will pass it on and do the same for your connections. This giving tree can start with me, right now with all of you.
So, for those of you wondering how I can start, here are the areas I'd like to offer any of you help in. While I don't claim to be an expert, many of you know my CV and the success I've been blessed with over these past few years since I sold my first start-up.
So if any of you are needing help in any of these areas or if you're simply out of a job and need help with circulating your resume around, please contact me.
My areas of expertise where I can offer you free guidance and offer myself as a mentor:
Business: Leadership, entrepreneurial guidance, writing proposals, Responding to RFPs, marketing, PR, project management
Personal: productivity, growth hacking, capacity building, time management
Finance: small business accounting tools, book keeping, budgeting (personal and small business), investing
Information security: penetration testing, vulnerability management, incident response, forensics
IT: cloud apps/productivity tools
Here is my kindle list of books I've read for those of you wanting recommendations for books in these areas:
The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You (10th Anniversary Edition) - John C. Maxwell
The 4-Hour Workweek, Expanded and Updated: Expanded and Updated, With Over 100 New Pages of Cutting-Edge Content - Tim Ferris
42 Rules for Building a High-Velocity Inside Sales Team: Actionable Guide to Creating Inside Sales Teams that Deliver Quantum Results - Lori L. Harmon, Debbi S. Funk
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People -Stephen R. Covey
The ABCs of Money -Natalie Pace
BackTrack 4: Assuring Security by Penetration Testing - Shakeel Ali, Tedi Heriyanto
Bookkeepers' Boot Camp: Get a Grip on Accounting Basics (101 for Small Business Series) - Angie Mohr
The Buddha's Three Jewels - Susan Brassfield Cogan
Cash Flow For Dummies - John A. Tracy, Tage Tracy
The Consultant's Manual: A Complete Guide to Building a Successful Consulting Practice -Thomas L. Greenbaum
The Consulting Bible: Everything You Need to Know to Create and Expand a Seven-Figure Consulting Practice - Alan Weiss
Delivering Project Excellence with the Statement of Work, Second Edition -Michael Martin
Dhammapada, a collection of verses; being one of the canonical books of the Buddhists-Various
An Easy Guide to Meditation -Roy Eugene Davis
Financial Statements: A Step-by-Step Guide to Understanding and Creating Financial Reports -Thomas R. Ittelson
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity -David Allen
Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In -Roger Fisher, William L. Ury, Bruce Patton
Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success -Adam M. Grant Ph.D.
A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge ( PMBOK® Guide )-Fifth Edition (ENGLISH) -Project Management Institute
Hacking Sales: The Playbook for Building a High-Velocity Sales Machine -Max Altschuler
How I Raised Myself From Failure -Frank Bettger
How to Get a Meeting with Anyone: The Untapped Selling Power of Contact Marketing -Stu Heinecke
How to Have Confidence and Power in Dealing with People -Leslie T. Giblin
How To Win Friends and Influence People -Dale Carnegie
Incident Response & Computer Forensics, Third Edition -Jason Luttgens, Matthew Pepe, Kevin Mandia
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (Collins Business Essentials) -Robert B. Cialdini PhD
Leaders Eat Last Deluxe: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't -Simon Sinek
Linux Forensics -Philip Polstra
Managing The Professional Service Firm -David H. Maister
Metasploit: The Penetration Tester's Guide -David Kennedy, Devon Kearns, Jim O'Gorman, Mati Aharoni
Persuasive Business Proposals: Writing to Win More Customers, Clients, and Contracts -Tom SANT
Professional Services Marketing: How the Best Firms Build Premier Brands, Thriving Lead Generation Engines, and Cultures of Business Development Success -Mike Schultz, John E. Doerr, Lee Frederiksen
The Profitable Consultant: Starting, Growing, and Selling Your Expertise -Jay Niblick
A Project Manager's Book of Forms: A Companion to the PMBOK Guide -Cynthia Snyder Stackpole
Relax, You're Going to Die -Tai Sheridan
The Sales Development Playbook: Build Repeatable Pipeline and Accelerate Growth with Inside Sales -Trish Bertuzzi
Secrets of True Happiness -Tai Sheridan
Security Analysis: Sixth Edition, Foreword by Warren Buffett (Security Analysis Prior Editions) -Benjamin Graham, David Dodd
Selling the Intangible Company: How to Negotiate and Capture the Value of a Growth Firm (Wiley Finance) -Thomas Metz
Shipley Business Development Lifecycle Guide -Larry Newman PPF.APMP
Smart Sales Manager -Josiane Chriqui Feigon
Smart Selling on the Phone and Online: Inside Sales That Gets Results -Josiane Chriqui Feigon
Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action -Simon Sinek
Strategic Planning Kit For Dummies -Erica Olsen
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln -Doris Kearns Goodwin
Technical Analysis For Dummies® -Barbara Rockefeller
The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness -Dave Ramsey
The Trusted Advisor -David H. Maister, Charles H. Green, Robert M. Galford
Turn the Ship Around!: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders -L. David Marquet
Up the Organization: How to Stop the Corporation from Stifling People and Strangling Profits (J-B Warren Bennis Series) -Robert C. Townsend, Warren Bennis
Value-Based Fees: How to Charge - and Get - What You're Worth -Alan Weiss
What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast: A Short Guide to Making Over Your Mornings--and Life (A Penguin Special from Por tfolio) -Laura Vanderkam