Hi everyone:
A warm late May morning here in Hamilton. Feels more like July out there – hot, sticky and very humid. And it’s not even 12 noon yet! If you read my blog entries on a regular basis, then you know that I am not a great fan of hot weather. Winter is definitely more to my liking! On days like this I prefer not to work at home, but find some cooler surroundings. So this morning, I am sitting in the Hamilton Public Library’s central branch at a desk overlooking York Boulevard, one of the major streets of downtown Hamilton. Not a bad place to work. I can watch the world go by out on the street, access the Net via HPL’s wireless connection, and get things done in a quiet and air conditioned setting. Not bad, if you ask me. I love this laptop computer and the mobility it gives me!
I’m a passionate networker and have been for many years. Some of that comes from my involvement with HAPPEN, Canada’s largest executive network. We’ve been helping thousands of executives, senior managers and others at similar employment levels find new jobs for over 20 years. It’s primarily done by networking. People helping each other and working together in such a way that we all win. Another reason why I love networking is what many people call the “pay it forward” concept Although the concept has been around in some form for hundreds, if not thousands of years, it’s only recently come to prominence. It’s really very simple. The idea is that if someone does a good deed for you (such as buying you a coffee, letting you go ahead of them in a line-up, giving you a ride somewhere, tipping you off to a great vacation spot…), instead of returning the favour to that person, do something nice for another person. It doesn’t have to be someone you know – I think that “pay it forward” actually works best when you help out a total stranger. Especially someone that you will probably never meet again. Great concept, isn’t it? Imagine if we all practiced “pay it forward”? The world would be a much kinder, gentler and happier place.
HAPPEN isn’t the only place where I practice networking on a regular basis, and this leads me to the subject of this entry. I am also an active member of an informal organzation called the The Burlington Coffee Group. We meet on the 4th Saturday morning of every month, except for December (since the 4th Saturday tends to conflict with the Christmas/Holiday season, we replace it with a seasonally appropriate party on a weeknight in Burlington earlier in the month). Our meeting location is the Williams Fresh Cafe – 1250 Brant Street, Burlington and anyone with an interest in networking is welcome to join us. You can learn more the Group by visiting the BCG Web site link just up the page, or located at a few other places in this entry. The site offers a wealth of interesting information about our group, and you can even download a copy of our 2012 meeting schedule.
Sometimes people ask me what goes on at a BCG meeting. Good question, especially because that’s not talked about on our Web page. Let’s take a moment now to address that. Our meetings are led either by our Convenor or another member of our leadership team in case she is not able to join us. Although we usually aim for 8:30 a.m. to get underway, it is quite common for some attendees to arrive at Williams earlier than that. Once we have sufficient numbers as determined by that morning’s leader to get underway, we will get everyone together in a small section of the Cafe (our usual area is to the left of the entrance as you walk in) and get the meeting started.
Our format is very simple to follow. The person leading the meeting usually offers some opening remarks, welcoming everyone to today’s meeting, then continuing with an overview of the format. He or she then invites each person around the table in turn to present a variant of what we call at HAPPEN, the “30 second infomercial”. Although in a group setting such as the BCG , it tends to be more like the “5 minute infomercial”, the concept is the same as what we do at HAPPEN. Each person starts by introducing themselves, followed by a brief overview of their professional background (academic background, field of expertise…). Next, if that person is currently unemployed, we encourage them to tell us what kind of work they are looking for. Do they want to stay in the same profession? Perhaps find their old job but with a different company? Or do they want to try something different? To put this another way, we ask them to share this information with us so that they can tell us how we can help them. We also encourage them to tell us what things they have tried so far in their job search. This could be any number of things such as what positions they have applied for. Are they active on LinkedIn or other professional networking sites? Do they go to other networking meetings, especially those relating to their own areas of expertise/interest?
Once that person has finished their presentation/infomercial, we then throw it wide open and encourage the others in attendance to respond. And that’s where the real benefit of a group like the BCG comes from. In almost every case, people will have suggestions that the person can try. One person might have a good networking contact (perhaps at a company that the person wants to work for). Someone else may alert them to an upcoming event (e.g. an IT group is meeting in Guelph on Tuesday night). A third person might suggest that he or she connect with them on LinkedIn or similar network. And on it goes. While I’ve listed three examples of possible reactions, there are endless possibilities. The important thing to note here is that it’s networking time. We’re using our contacts to help and encourage each other. Speaking of contacts, we also encourage everyone who attends one of our meetings to bring their business cards, and to make sure they are distributed to their fellow attendees. A business card is one of the best pieces of contact information, and if nothing else it allows you to connect with others after the meeting. Especially if you met someone there for the first time and wanted to make sure you keep in touch with each other.
After the first person has done their presentation and we all feel that the rest of the gang has offered their feedback, the meeting leader will move on to the next person (usually whoever is sitting beside that first one). They do the same thing, offering their own variant on the infomercial and asking for feedback. We keep doing this again and again until each person at the meeting has had a chance to present themselves. At the end the meeting leader might also present their own infomercial, or at their discretion they may decide not to and simply offer some final remarks to wrap things up. Thanks for coming and we hope to see you next month.
Do you have to be looking for work to attend a BCG meeting? No. Although many of our members are in fact unemployed and use the BCG as an ideal forum to connect with others, anyone with an interest in networking and a genuine desire to help others is most welcome. In fact, one of our strongest “demographics” consists of people who once attended the HAPPEN networking meetings either on Tuesdays in Mississauga or Wednesdays in Burlington. Now that they are working, they can’t attend a weekday meeting but since they believe in networking and helping others, they show up at our Saturday session. It also allows them to keep in touch with friends they made when they attended HAPPEN. They are also encouraged to introduce themselves to the rest of us, but instead of telling us what kind of work they are looking for, these folks may be more likely to talk about how they can help those who are looking, and share useful contacts. It’s always good to see our “alumni” turn up on a Saturday morning and their presence can be very valuable to those who are looking for work.
Sometimes we hear from people who own home-based businesses (such as multi-level marketing operations) or others who wish to do presentations on behalf of organizations that want to recruit people to join their team. While this is understandable (especially when you consider that many folks who come to the BCG meetings are unemployed), our meetings are not the place for this type of presentation. Two main reasons for this policy. First, because the BCG is set up to be a networking forum. We want to ensure ample time for everyone to do a short presentation as outlined earlier in this blog entry. In order to keep focused and to make the best use of our time together, a presentation from a home-based business or similar operation doesn’t really work. The second reason is that just like HAPPEN or similar networking meetings, our goal at the BCG is to create an environment where everyone feels comfortable, relaxed and genuinely want to network and share their contacts with each other. Many people feel rather uncomfortable attending business presentations, especially if within that presentation they hear a sales pitch encouraging them to join (more than often perceived to be accompanied by a high pressured atmosphere). So if you are reading this and you represent companies such as Amway, Shaklee, Avon, Melaleuca or similar operations that like to recruit people to sell their products from home, we would prefer that you not do presentations at our BCG meetings. Feel free to join us, bring some business cards that you can share with the rest of us, and even take a moment to tell us about what you do and the organization you represent, but please don’t go further.
Time to wrap up this blog entry. I hope that I have offered an overview of what the Burlington Coffee Group is all about. And I hope that we will see you at one of our Saturday morning meetings. If you live in Burlington or a nearby community (such as Hamilton, Mississauga or Oakville), and have a passionate interest in networking and helping others, come and join us. And feel free to tell others about us.
Thanks for reading this blog entry – until next time!
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