Is THIS is the future of networking? Is it 'pure networking', or is it something else altogether? Is it 'true collaboration'? Certainly.

I've attended networking meetings in Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Tallinn, Dallas, New York, Las Vegas...and Stoke. None were anything quite like what I experienced in Hertford (Hertfordshire) last week. Not even close. Not by a long stretch.

In fact, what happened at the BeCollaboration 'networking' meeting in Hertford was something truly special. Something genuinely heartwarming, and inspiring. Something that those who operate and attend generic, vacuous, extrinsic networking events in the aforementioned cities could only wish to replicate.

So what happened at this meeting to make my words so complimentary? Well, hopefully you've been significantly intrigued by what I've written so far, so that I can now explain that it wasn't a 'networking' meeting at all - it was something a whole lot better, something much more important than simply networking. I have had to use the word 'networking' to hold your interest until now. This was a truly collaborative experience. Something on a much higher plane than networking.

But first, the reason that I travelled 150 miles and 3 hours in the car to such an event, having not met the people behind BeCollaboration beforehand...their absolute, innate, wholesome understanding of what collaboration actually means.

Over the past four months or so, I've been really obsessive about understanding what collaboration really is about after several cringe-worthy sessions reading about, listening to, and watching so-called 'collaboration experts' really not understand the subject matter at all. Of every ten professionals I see talking about the subject, nine most definitely do not understand holistically what collaboration is, but instead have a very myopic, self-serving, commercial understanding. Here's just one example of this - there are 'collaboration experts' right now selling video conferencing hardware for you to talk to people in other locations...as long as they are using the SAME equipment. That's not collaborative - that's the opposite of collaboration - true collaboration would be allowing the people using the video equipment to talk to others on video no matter what equipment or software that they were using. How can it be collaborative if their suppliers or customers don't have the same equipment?

But I digress. Back to Hertford...

Despite being very confident speaking to a room of 10-1000 people when standing at the front, I tend to clam up at networking meetings, especially at the beginning. I was a little shy at this one at first, but everyone was really nice and polite. One thing I've never seen at a networking event was the extremely warm welcome given by Erkan to the familiar, returning attendees that arrived, with genuine hugs given and received.

First on the agenda was a talk by Colin Newlyn in what was called a 'Know & Be Known' session. But hang on...no company logo and no URL on his slide deck...and I didn't even know his company name - or indeed if he was a company. How he was introduced was almost, 'just Colin'. This was strangely intoxicating from the off.

Colin's presentation was perhaps the most genuine that I have seen in almost ever. As he proceeded, I wrote down notes that included 'vulnerability and honesty' in what was a genuinely interesting and personal presentation about his career highs and lows. Only in the penultimate slide did Colin mention his website (After the Mothership btw), and even then there was no URL shown, just the name - and at that, begrudgingly so.

There was a short paper test for us to do by Colin (again, no branding), in which we answered various questions about ourselves and where we wanted to improve. Nothing you haven't seen before, but genuinely useful. We were then asked to speak to others about our scores. This is where real, good conversations started to happen between the group. I genuinely learned quite a few things about me - and others, from this simple act of...genuine collaboration.

There was then a short break for tea and coffee - and by this time I had genuinely started to appreciate that what was happening here was quite interesting. It was like nothing else I had encountered in such settings. In a room of (presumed) business owners and senior execs, there were no business cards and no labels (other than name badges). It was refreshing and enlightening at the same time.

And then the next session was about...'Love'. WTF, right!?!? Wrong. This was a group discussion about one of BeCollaboration's core values. Out of context, to someone that has not attended a BeCollaboration event, this may seem a little bizarre, and maybe something that would frighten some away, but within the context of how the event had progressed, it was very natural, very much part of the energy of the day and became a really interesting whiteboard-based discussion, chaired very well by Carol May, in which the group were fully engaged. It was interesting to see and hear different viewpoints about the subject - and once again, it was an enlightening, great session. It was another unexpected part (for me, the newbie) of this event, but something that the regular returnees are used to.

I also had a genuine epiphany during this session - something that I will turn into another article, for sure.

"Love" is just one of the 12 BeCollaboration core values that the group discusses throughout the year. The full list of values, for reference is:

• Human Being First – Everything else comes after.
• Freedom – The power of choice.
• Fun – The joy of living and laughing.
• Innovation – Solving the unsolvable.
• Brilliance – Shining like star stuff, the universal currency.
• Genius – It’s our innate state.
• Lightness – It’s just a ride, don’t forget to smell the roses.
• Adventure – For the adventure of being alive.
• Wonder – Without it, what would childhood be?
• Integrity – Being our word, reliably.
• Collaboration – Humanity at it’s best.
• Love – Acceptance of our selves and others, it’s all you need.

After this session followed a 'Genius' session, hosted by Gill Tiney, one of the co-founders of BeCollaboration (she and Erkan Ali are founders). This was an interesting group session where people discussed various issues such as the use of plastics, Mr. Trump, neurosis of affluence and vaccinations among others. The function of this session was for people to open up a little about themselves and to inspire each person to perhaps do something positive relating to issues that affected them. For a 'perpetual learner' like myself, this kind of thing is gold dust.

At this point (a very fast three hours in) I knew nothing about the business lives of any person in the room. I knew not whether they had a business themselves, or were senior executives. But I did know that I would probably want 'do business' (collaborate) with pretty much every person in the room.

They were so nice, they even gave me an extra 'h' in my surname! :-)

Think about this for a second...no business cards seen, no "this is what I do", no "what do you do for a living?"...yet I could imagine sitting on a board with most, if not all, of the people in the room. This was something 'above' networking. In fact, using the word networking here feels a little grubby. It's better than that. It's collaborating. Collaborating IS similar/the same as networking, though, right? All of these thoughts were running through my head and still are. This event was and is the most pure form of networking that you could ever wish to encounter. It was clean, pure, free of loudmouths (although each person in the room could easily talk for hours about their skill set, I'm sure). It's based on trust, its based on zero ego, despite obviously talented and successful career people being present. Dare I say it, it's based on love. It is something truly special, that's for sure.

I would go as far to say that I doubt there is anything like BeCollaboration in the western world. Is that over the top? I'm not sure. There's definitely a cult-like, movement-like, church-like feel to it, rather than a business focus. Yet, in looking at the various websites, blogs and profiles of members of BeCollaboration, It's very obvious that an awful lot of business is done between them.

BeCollaboration is an intention, a movement, and ultimately a community who are inspired to take action. We believe collaboration is the way to make our world a better place. 

Again I will say it, this is 'pure networking'. It's what the genuine people that start networking clubs and groups wish that it could be. In fact, it's success on a level that they probably don't know exists. I would very much think that the rate of transactions between attendees and members is several notches higher than in average business networking events and groups that you know the name of and have attended. Yet business isn't really discussed all that much, if at all. The whole thing was a great piece of 'mental floss' for anyone that has experienced the opposite of this, which I certainly have.

This.is.special. This is something you have not seen before. This is something that every (and I mean every) person that I have ever discussed networking with would want to experience. When they walk into a networking event, they want to feel what I experienced. They subconsciously yearn for it, but they are never met with it.

I've spent years knowing that my vulnerability was indeed a strength, not a weakness. This event gave me validation. I felt that many things that I have thought over the years were finally shared by others, and it was not 'just me' thinking these things. I felt so at home. I continue to experience these things as I see content on the BeCollaboration site, none more so than their love for the Carl Sagan 'Pale Blue Dot' speech.

This video from a 'collaborator' (Angela Makepeace) typifies the experience. This is as genuine as it gets. PLEASE watch it (it's only 59 seconds):

It's rare for something to have such a positive impact. I knew that Erkan and Gill understood what collaboration truly is from what I had read without meeting them, but I did not know to the degree that they had built such a great framework around it. I was secretly hoping for something really good, but what I got was really special indeed.

What would the 'King of Collaboration' think?

I've spent a good few months reading tens of articles about the various clever and inspiring ways that Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, has been changing the company into an entity that understands collaboration more than almost any other. If he did 'networking' meetings, he'd do exactly what Erkan and Gill have done - and he would certainly approve if he attended.

Other 'collaborators'...

I truly believe that there are tens of thousands (if not more) of people in the United Kingdom that would WANT to attend 'networking' events that happen like this (not SUFFER them) and I have zero doubt that people in the incorrectly-titled 'modern workplace' of the future will be attending such meetings in droves. Why? Because I have first-hand experience of peeking into the thirst for collaboration that office workers/career people/business owners have - and what BeCollaboration have created is like water in the desert. I would consider my returns to the events as learning experiences, learning about various things, including how to be a better me. Stuff way more powerful than getting a quick piece of business.

In just three hours, I learned an awful lot about myself, I learned a lot about people, I learned new ways to do things, learned a better way to communicate, and more than all that, I feel inspired to do so. Those that know me well know that I live for great learning experiences, and I cannot remember one such like it. BeCollaboration is quite possibly MY church.

So, what should you do?

YOU should be meeting people in this way. This is how collaboration should be done. If you have ever thought about going to a 'networking' event (I still dislike using that term in this case), BeCollaboration is where you should be heading, no question. If you have attended hundreds of networking events, like me, you'll realise very shortly after attending that this is what you wanted to experience. You'll learn, you'll meet great people, and you'll wish you could have done it years ago. Do it. I did and I'm already a 'better me' for it.

Final note: I could have honestly written another 2000+ words on just this one event, and I still don't feel that I would've been able to fully convey just how different BeCollaboration is.

#collaboration #networking #inspiration #self-awareness #self-improvement