ACET, Inc. Blog

ACET’s blog has discussed the importance of networking and professional development in the past, but today we’d like to look at what comes next, once a person has established networking relationships. How do you determine if your network is working for you? Are you getting as much value as you can from your networking efforts?

Beckstrom’s Law: Assessing costs and benefits

In 2009, Bill Gates reported to a New Delhi business forum that he’d quit Facebook. Why? Because the number of friend requests that he had been receiving was overwhelming. For him, having as many networking contacts as possible was actually a detracting factor, which may seem to contradict common sense: if it’s all about who you know, then you should know as many people as possible, right? This contradiction can be seen through Beckstrom’s Law. Originally applied to economics, it states that a network’s value is equal to the benefits minus the costs of using or interacting with it. For Bill Gates, the potential benefits of interacting with Facebook users were outweighed by the hassles.

Consider how this plays out with your own networking efforts. Is your network is so large, spread out, or unwieldy as to make maintaining it more time consuming than rewarding? Take the time to reassess these relationships and how you engage them.

Metcalfe’s Law: Maximizing connection potential

If you were to describe your relationships with your professional network, would it look more like a wheel or a spider’s web? That is, are you alone interacting with each of your contacts, or are your contacts also interacting with each other? Creating a spider’s web of contacts strengthens the network as a whole because it gives each of your contacts access to the same minds and talents that you have, and it encourages more people to join in and add their knowledge and expertise. Metcalfe’s Law, originally formulated for the telecommunications industry, states that the value of a network is based on how many people can potentially be connected to all of the others in the network.

Without even acknowledging a need for it, two people in your professional network right now may benefit from meeting each other. Some have addressed the need for these connections by starting professional groups to read and discuss papers or collaborate on projects, or by joining advisory boards to share their expertise with others. Consider making introductions through casual, small group meetings like coffee or lunches.

The Band of Brothers: Fostering a culture of support

Value isn’t just about human assets and what they have to offer. A network is also about concern and care for each of its members. Networks, like groups of friends, form because there is some shared similarity of experience or purpose among its members, and there is value in being able to discuss your fears and disappointments with people who uniquely understand what you are going through. Being able to talk about the emotions engendered by your work with your professional contacts can help you brainstorm solutions, build trust, and stave off burnout. A supportive network can help its members to overcome their respective difficulties.

These are just some factors that inspired us. How do you assess your professional network?

ACET Staff

How does an evaluator decide what software packages to try and to take on for regular use? From database maintenance to note-taking to report production, evaluators use a wide variety of software packages in their daily work. Software makes handling large amounts of data and presenting them in interesting ways efficient and easy, and allows evaluators to share the information with clients in dynamic ways. There are many, many different packages to choose from, and it seems like there’s a new one appearing all the time. ACET evaluators were asked this week to talk about the factors that help them select new software solutions.

Cost. It’s an obvious factor, but the price of software does not necessarily prevent ACET evaluators from pursuing it as an option, internally or for a client. The functionality of the software was generally given greater weight by ACET staff rather than cost. In addition, when cost may be a concern there are many licensed and free, open source packages alike that ACET utilizes on a regular basis.

Learning, Training, and Sharing. New software packages take time to learn how to use, as well as teach to a client who may need the features. As a result, time needed to become proficient with software is a consideration for ACET when selecting new software. Everyone who needs access to the software to view, edit, add, or retrieve data (both inside and outside of the office) should be able to do so with a minimum amount of difficulty.

Usability. For more than one ACET evaluator, choosing between software packages came down to a simple question: “Does it do what I need it to do?” If a software package is similar to a program currently used in the office, or if there wasn’t a specific, preexisting need for another type of software package, assessing a new package wasn’t even a consideration.

What do you consider when looking at a new software package? We’d love to hear from you in the comments.

ACET Staff

Business coaches and educators alike agree that listening is a crucial, yet critically under-practiced skill. We can all benefit from becoming more attentive and receptive listeners. True listening is difficult, and it can be hard to break old habits, but the result is better relationships with the people around you. Good listening can help you to be a better supervisor, colleague, or friend. Here are some things to consider in creating better listening habits.

Allow others to complete their thoughts. Listening first begins with emptying our heads of what we want to say and allowing others to express themselves, allowing for pauses between ideas, before speaking. When we interrupt others, we send the message that what we have to say is more important and more valuable than that of the people talking.

Be an empathetic listener. Listening is something that is not just done with the ears, but with the eyes (watching body language) and with the heart (what emotions do you sense?). In his book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey explains that highly effective people “seek first to understand.” Covey refers to this practice as “empathetic listening.”

Practice. Developing creative responses and stronger listening skills takes time and can be awkward at first, but the reward is a better understanding of the people around you and stronger relationships everywhere.

How do you practice listening? What sorts of things do you do to be a better listener? Let us know in the comments.

Mary

Networking is one of the most important professional skills that people can utilize today to build relationships and business, and if done well, can yield mutual benefits that last a lifetime. Likewise, too many networkers could be accused of giving the “milk” away for free, thus making the sale of the “cow” meaningless. If your networking produces too many short-lived interactions and not enough lasting ones, take a look at these tips for maintaining networking contacts with an eye toward the long term.

Keep in touch. Keeping in touch with people that you wish to develop as networking contacts on a regular basis is very important. Immediately following the initial contact, start with an email to thank your contact for their time. Don’t stop there, however. Make a point of checking in with this person again, should no immediate plans for one-on-one conversation surface, after a set period of time. Rather than limiting all contact to email, do this by phone, if possible. Regular contact, both online and off, needs to be maintained to remain in the minds of your contacts. Taking time to express your thanks for your contacts’ time and attention is not only socially polite but also functions as another point of contact.

Be ready to help. It has been said that networking has more to do with what you can do for others than what others can do for you. One way to practice this with a professional contact is by passing along an interesting article or news of note that you may come across. This not only shows that you are thinking about them, but also about what is important to them in their work. When you communicate with your contacts, ask the question, “How can I help you?” and don’t worry about who helps who more. Concerned about giving too much of yourself? Consider your advice to be free, but anything that requires your unique expertise to be worth charging for.

Take note. Starting with the initial conversation and exchange of business cards, networking contacts are sending out a steady stream of information about their lives. Asking questions and taking notes about these interactions can both enrich your own personal searches for information or business as well as your ability to remain relevant to your contact. An expressed frustration about dry cleaners or joy over a child’s progress in school can be as much of a call to action as a casual musing about a potential future project, if only to show that you listen and care (“So, how is your son doing in school?”).

Provide introductions. When you meet people in a variety of spaces, you invariably begin to see commonalities between them. Introducing people, whether on the basis of their shared work or a mutual interest in a TV show, can help strengthen your network and your image in your contacts’ minds as a valuable source of helpful connections. Be sure to ask first (“I know someone who is involved in X. Can I introduce you to them?”) and then leave it up to them to decide where to take the relationship next. The next person to receive an important introduction might be you.

Share parts of yourself with others. You don’t have to turn your LinkedIn account into a public diary! Consider simple, upbeat personal updates like life change announcements or updates about long-term projects (“I’m 20,000 words into my novel!”) to stay in your contacts’ minds. Holiday greetings can also be a fun way to reach out and stay in touch.

Good networking, like training a bonsai or cultivating vegetables, is about many regular activities performed periodically over time. Likewise, it is not about a massive single overture or making a big score that may only impress and produce results for the short term.

There are many facets of networking and I pulled just a couple of pages about them from the Internet. What networking tips have brought you success?

Mary

Email is such an important part of business communications that everyone can afford to be more effective at writing them. If you are frustrated with lack of responses to your emails, these tips may help.

Be brief. Everyone is busy; many people struggle to respond to the unending tide of emails that break upon their inboxes day after day. The better that your entire message fits into the preview window of your preferred email application, the better chance you have of receiving a response. Get to the point as quickly as you can.

Give your readers clear, actionable tasks. Probably without even realizing it, one of my coworkers has trained me on this. If you are writing your email because you need the reader to take action in some way – by completing a task or answering a question, for example – make sure that it is obvious in the body of the email.

Spelling, grammar, and clarity still matter. It is very easy to dash off emails quickly and have critical information be lost in the process due to grammar and spelling issues. Take a moment to read what you’ve written in an email to make sure that your intentions are clear, even for internal emails.

Utilize your subject line. Titling emails with single words like “Meeting” or “Today” is vague and often not effective. At ACET, we employ a specific method of titling emails that details exactly what aspect of internal or client business is being addressed within, including dates and times. “Client Meeting Today at 12:30” and “Focus Group Script Due 10-25-12” are far more descriptive and let readers know just what to expect in the body of the message.

Be an email role model. The easiest way to start receiving better email responses is by responding in a brief, informative, timely manner to the emails that you receive right now.

I pulled these ideas from a couple of sources, but this is by no means an exhaustive list. If you have any tips of your own for better email writing, we’d love to hear them in the comments.

Mary

ACET is buzzing with activity this summer, particularly due to a series of trips to our nation’s capital. Recently, Kirsten and Stella attended an advisory board meeting with a program funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. The meeting gave ACET an opportunity to present last year’s findings and to participate in discussions with project leadership. “It’s nice to have a chance to debrief together and also be part of the planning process,” Stella reflected about the event. June also marked another DC trip for Kirsten, where she attended an annual meeting with the Children’s Bureau.

In July, Joseph Curiel will arrive for the National Council for Community and Education Partnership (NCCEP)/GEAR UP annual conference. Joseph is looking forward to both networking with attendees and taking in the sights of the city. The 4-day conference, entitled “The E4 Revolution: Education, Empowerment, Equity & Economics,” will mark Joseph’s first visit to DC. The trip to DC also includes a pre-conference discussion about moving forward with the multi-state consortium of GEAR UP programs for the purposes of cross-program evaluation and research.

Finally, Mary Burns is traveling to the DC area for a slightly different event at the end of July: she will be co-directing a workshop with her sister at Baltimore, Maryland’s Otakon, a convention dedicated to Japanese media and culture and one of the largest of its kind in the country. The workshop subject is the traditional Japanese card game hanafuda, and will both teach attendees to play the game as well as examine its history, symbolism, and appearances in modern culture, in and outside of Japan. Both Mary and her sister are very excited to have been accepted to present at Otakon.

ACET Staff

ACET, Inc. has a staff of 7 employees, which makes us one of the millions of small businesses operating in America today, according to the United States Census Bureau. At a time when a great deal of attention is being paid to the hiring practices of American industries and the effect of joblessness can be felt everywhere, some people believe that the way out is through a greater commitment to the support of small local businesses. Why is this support important, and even beneficial, right now?

Purchasing goods and services from small local businesses ensures that that much more of one’s dollar stays in the local economy as that business in turn invests in other local businesses. Small businesses are much more likely to be in tune with the specific needs of the communities and neighborhoods where they operate, as well as to changes within those communities, and they are more agile with regard to innovation.

At the signing of the 2010 Small Business Jobs Act, President Barack Obama commented that small businesses “are the anchors of our main streets. Small businesses are part of the promise of America. The idea that if you’ve got a dream and willing to work hard, you can succeed… it’s this promise that has drawn millions to our shores and made our economy the envy of the world.” ACET is just such a local promise, founded by New American Stella SiWan Zimmerman, who herself invests in local businesses and employs a diverse work force who are all equally dedicated and willing to work hard for clients. ACET is devoted to community engagement through the development of quality evaluation products and partnerships with the local and state initiatives working to improve outcomes for children, families, seniors, and schools.

ACET Staff

Have you ever been asked to attend a meeting and you were unclear about the meeting purpose? What about a meeting or conference call with more people than the subject or time could accommodate? How about a meeting that was called at the last minute and was not well planned? Or one in which the technology would not function?

Often, it’s easy to spot what makes a ‘bad’ meeting, but what makes a ‘good’ meeting is often more difficult to determine. A substantial part of a good meeting occurs behind the scenes with the facilitator’s pre-meeting preparation. When facilitators’ take the time to carefully prepare, the meeting is usually smoother, more productive, and less stressful for everyone involved. So what should a facilitator focus on during preparation? In my experience, and review of articles on conducting successful meetings, I have found that to conduct the most effective meeting the facilitator should:

• Have a clear objective for the meeting. Meet for a purpose, not just “because you can” or “think you should.”
• Have an agenda for the meeting. Know what goals or objectives you would like to achieve and share that information ahead of time with the meeting participants.
• Be mindful of the number of participants you invite when feedback is required. With too many people, it is difficult for all participants to share their thoughts and for decisions to be made. Although many contextual factors (amount of necessary feedback, interpersonal relationships, time allocation, etc.) will contribute to how many people you should invite, some of the literature has suggested that no more than 12 people make for a good environment for everyone to be heard.
• Send electronic copies of meeting documents to members beforehand. This will allow all participants to adequately prepare themselves for the meeting and to contribute to achieving the meeting’s goals.
• Give everyone enough time to prepare for the meeting. For a meeting that lasts at least one-hour, anticipate 3-5 business days for preparation.
• Ensure technology is working appropriately. Test the technology prior to the meeting to make certain it will work the way you want.

If you are interested in successful meeting facilitation and would like to learn more, try these websites:

• http://www.arma.org/bookstore/files/Francisco.pdf
• http://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/RunningMeetings.htm
• http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/conducting-effective-business-meetings.html

Are there any keys or strategies you have found particularly effective? If so, please share!

Dan

You may be familiar with policy memos, those one-to-two page documents often delivered by policy analysts to inform decision makers. Policy memos are a remarkably useful tool for all sorts of information exchange. In many ways they are similar to executive summaries. Both policy memos and executive summaries:

• Effectively communicate key messages in a succinct manner;
• Present evidence from both sides of a debate (pros and cons or strengths and weaknesses); and
• Synthesize much information into one  easy to use document.

But there’s one key distinction between executive summaries and policy memos: Policy memos contain a call to action of some sort. Often, this takes the form of a recommendation to follow one course of action over another. Or, it may be a simple set of action steps.

At ACET we often use policy-type memos to communicate with clients, highlighting key findings, strengths, challenges, and next steps. You might want to consider whether this document style could be a similar useful tool in your organization.

Do you remember your first interview? How about your last interview? Although almost everyone in the workforce has had to complete an interview to gain their position, employers have many different interviewing formats and styles. Last month, I had the opportunity to perform mock interviews with graduate students at my alma mater. The mock interviewing experience gave students the opportunity to practice their interviewing skills and provided an opportunity to gain feedback on their performance without the consequences of a ‘real’ interview. Reflecting upon my own experiences as a student completing the mock interview process last year, I can truly say that the experience was beneficial for students – they received feedback in order to be more successful during their next interview. From the viewpoint of the interviewer, I gained insight into elements that lead to a good interview. Throughout the process, I observed three behaviors that I felt made the difference between a successful and not-so-successful interview. Here are the behaviors that I feel contributed to the success of the interviews.

Take a few seconds to think through your answer before you respond

After a question was asked, interviewees who were successful took a few seconds to think about their response. After a few seconds to think, they were also able to provide greater detail about specific events and were able to better articulate their discussion points. It was more apparent when an interviewee did not think through their response because they often stumbled through their words and their response did not make as much logical sense.

Provide specific examples that demonstrate your experience related to the position

For many of the interview questions, providing specific examples was beneficial by adding evidence to interviewee’s claims. Interviewees who provided specific examples demonstrated their experience and, in some cases, were able to connect their experience to a future work environment. In contrast, interviewees who did not provide examples were less successful because they were unable to back up their claim with evidence.

Be aware of your nonverbal actions that you may not normally notice

During the interviews, some interviewees provided great eye contact, were attentive, and did not fidget; their attentiveness and poise contributed to a successful interview. However, other interviewees performed distracting behaviors like pencil clicking or foot tapping. For these interviewees their distracting nonverbal behaviors led to a less successful interview.

Do you have any strategies for successful interviewing? If so, please share!

Dan