Everyday is a school day

This is the mindset of one of my most overachieving clients. He has moved industry, been promoted multiple times, moved country, had to adapt, and consistently achieved revenues each of the seven years I have known him. Yet he approaches each day as if it’s the same; it’s a school day, where he applies an open, curious mindset, connecting with others. Each day is an opportunity to learn…

·???????More about his customers’ needs

·???????More about his team and their needs

·???????More about his mentors and sponsors

·???????More about the tech solutions that solve business challenges

·???????More about how he can impact on wider diversity initiatives

When I was a teenager, a friend of mine who had been down on his luck and involved in a road traffic accident, told me that his luck had changed. “I have just met the owner of one of fastest growing companies in south Wales and he has offered me a job,” he said.

“Ade, it’s not what you know in this world, it’s who you know.”

I was thrilled for him, yet felt a bit excluded as I had no network. I was deeply committed to studying and working on building what I knew; I valued a good education. I had always negatively associated networking with the ‘old boy’ network from English public schools, something I still struggle to relate to now, as we see the consequences of unfounded confidence over competence.

Many years later I met the same person who was now moaning about not having the network that could create the right next job opportunity. He said to me, “If you and I had gone to public school, we would have a ready-made network – where’s ours?”; as if networks fall from the sky!

At the time I was working in London and had spent over four years connecting and building a new network, having been given the difficult task of rebuilding a business post 9/11. I knew that building a network is far more to do with the desire to consistently help others, making an effort and creating genuine human connect than expecting it gift-wrapped.

As many of you know, I love my job and career - helping fellow humans realise their potential. One of my goals is to end career misery, so people end up doing the jobs they are good at and enjoy. The unfortunate truth is that over the last twenty-seven years, I have witnessed so many examples of highly competent and able people who spend all of their work time – working.

Not thinking about where they are heading ‘next’ and certainly not their ‘next next’. When they received the dreaded call or email, and are surplus to company requirements, it can turn life into a tailspin, or at the least become very uncomfortable. I have observed it can take 12 months plus to learn how to network if it is not part of someone’s day job skillset. Unfortunately, during this time, the impact on one’s health, wealth and self-esteem can be dramatic.

I have developed a proven methodology of 14 steps to access the hidden job market, as I love helping people future-proof their careers:

Is it an effort? Yes.

Is it difficult? Yes.

Will people let you down? Yes.

It is always worthwhile? Yes.

I recommend chunking this process down into separate time buckets, whom will you connect with by:

September 2022?

January 2023?

May 2023?

In a recent interview, Keith Douglas EVP International Open Banking at Mastercard, emphasised the power of a network to become a better version of yourself and to open up new job opportunities. See below for the full insightful interview.

He also agreed that “Building time to make connections, is time never wasted, as it is the way to ensure that your career is future-proofed...”

This was brought home to me when I asked one of my former colleagues when he was going to return to the UK. He said, “I can’t afford to.” I asked him why not? “Because of my network. It has taken me over ten years to build this up and I have not got the time and don’t want to take the earnings hit to start from scratch.”

My challenge for you this week is: Can you make every day a school day?

Can you make what and whom you know matter? Can you make a deeper connection?

I am thrilled to be returning to Henley Business School this week to enhance my ‘What’. Henley is a learning spa, the ideal place to learn and grow.

Forever grateful for the opportunity, thank you for the recommendation, Lisa Akesson.

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Our purpose at Enterprise Sales Club is to enable SaaS Sales Professionals to achieve their potential through the power of life-enhancing connections, shared experiences, and collaborative learnings.

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