Networking our way....

???? Introducing the NOW Philosophy! ??

I wrote this article on the first of April, as the fiscal year took its baby steps and we all either feel relieved to leave Tax behind for 11 months or so, or we all feel rather tense as we are yet to begin our submissions and the usual pressure is mounting! ????

The tax year aside, as I wrote the date it struck me as ‘of interest’ business dates may not seemingly hold the same significance as some of the dates we focus on in our social or cultural calendar like Christmas and of course on the chocolate laden tip of our tongue Easter, the queens birthday, Waitangi and many other significant dates that interpose the year with added significance to the day or week. ???????

Yet oddly to me April 1st jumped out as something defining new beginnings perhaps chiefly in the world of productivity, which is a little interesting as, according to biblical scholars and Jewish tradition we celebrate Easter when actually it may be more calendrically appropriate to celebrate Christmas or New Year. According to Jewish wisdom regarding the historical record, the tales of the shepherds flocking by night would far more likely be placed in April than December. Due to the timing of winter in the Middle East some scholars suppose this time may be a time of new beginnings right back to AD-1 and well beyond. In other news, April fools day is known as such because when The King of France, Charles IX, instituted a switch in 1564 to January 1st as the ‘new’ New Years day while those who remained loyal to the old ways were seen as, you guessed it, fools. They were mocked for their defiance and stubbornness and history has really worked at making them a mockery. Yet the very existence of the persistent April fools day perhaps speaks to the impact of those rebellious souls. ????

For me however, I merely mention it as the timing seemed synchronous while writing in the following context as I embody more outwardly a new role, in a venture I have been part of for 2 plus years but am now helping take more shape and predicting an excleration becoming of a new year fiscal or otherwise! ????

So here’s to new beginnings!

As quarter one rolls out, it certainly feels like a new beginning for me. This article itself is a first in a series focused on Networking and how to do it well and perhaps who with? It marks my tenure as a leader in the space of Networking groups. While perhaps laying a minor subtext of disruption or rebelliousness to a popular and core tenet in the small business landscape that has perhaps become, by some degree, stagnant. Dominated by self governance, dated energy and methods, a fresh look at networking could be just what we need to move business in New Zealand forward into the 21st Century. So in the spirit of the April fool, hopefully this article will show respect for the tradition of networking, whilst describing how we are stretching into somewhere new together, in a community I am lucky to be centred in. ????

So although this article is not targeting directly challenge the old guard of networking, it may begin to tease a little revivifying energy in a space I am hugely passionate about. ????

NOW Networking, a philosophy

So where next for culture? In 2024, businesses have flirted heavily with the importance and value of values themselves for perhaps 30-40 years. That is to say the ‘culture statement’ has become the modus operandi or the literal defining statement that governs the context of any business environment. In the business world it seems most people understand ‘they need a culture’ but not all exactly sure ‘WHY?’ However, as I’ve frequented multiple businesses, from multiple perspectives it seems having a culture and successfully embodying it are not precisely the same thing. So a statement of culture in a networking environment has the potential to influence multiple businesses concurrently, so we have communicated this regularly to our members and work to personify at every opportunity.

Now, I can’t claim to be an expert in culture but I have studied it well along with the psychology that undergirds it. Which in all honesty is strangely simple (almost eloquently) considering its capacity to impact how we behave. A culture is essentially a construct that lays out where values, behaviours and beliefs overlap, in a given population. They create a form of container that is not strictly physical but is social in its architecture. Put simply, it's a series of principles that you can rely on when connecting in a given community. For that to work all members of the community need to ascribe the culture to their personal value system when in interactions with other members, with every effort made to filter in these values over or alongside their own.

A big ask, but a necessary one.

Business communities can be successful, powerful and highly influential, so the way they structure their foundations has the potential to create vast and long lasting impact. So as we set out, myself and my colleagues, to grow 'Networking Our Way' we took the time to identify the values, mission and vision that we felt best defined our shared values and goals. We hoped to create something that could support NZ businesses to expand while creating a home grown Networking system that had enough value within it, that it could stretch beyond our shores.

Just a small ambition.

So with that preamble defined, I’d like to introduce our Philosophy and Mission Statement, then unpack the first two philosophy statements in in this article and return with others as the year progresses and eventually unpack our full: Vision, Values and Mission Statement

The NOW Group Vision:

"Providing a rich, resilient community for Lifestyle Business owners to grow within, alongside a tribe of impassioned professionals who genuinely love what they do."

VALUES - The NOW Philosophy

Our values are the driving force behind everything we do at NOW Networking, the assembly format, added value features, eye to eyes, social events everything falls back to these principles. The following has specified how we are developing the container and will continue to do so as we evolve. We hope they make for inspiring reading:

Business Freedom: We champion the idea of business freedom, promoting a remote service and product mindset that encourages businesses to thrive nationally and beyond, fostering collaboration and resilience. But most of all facilitating a lifestyle that you design.

Trust: Trust is the cornerstone of all successful businesses, both internally and externally. We coach our members to prioritise building trust in business to business, business to client and professional to professional relationships and encourage transparent communication and connection. Reciprocity: We believe in the power of giving without expecting immediate returns. Reciprocity is the key to building strong, supportive relationships within our community. True giving encourages the reception process.

Collaboration: We encourage collaboration even in the face of competition and the trends toward convention as we understand that together, we achieve more. We encourage our members to get their niche clear and look for the gaps and overlaps with other professionals even in their industry class. We actively facilitate these relationships to bring added value to all our members. Think abundance mindset.

Strategic Mindset: We approach networking with a sharp strategic edge, leveraging the weight of our combined profiles and creating an enjoyable networking experience for all, whilst incorporating fundamental principles like efficiency and effectiveness.

Agility: We remain open to change and development, fostering an innovation mindset not only within our organisation but also among our members. We have set up our Networking systems to deliver some of the most cutting edge elements available in modern business and enveloping them into our architecture and user experience. While eyeing future evolutions, we encourage you to do the same.

Client-Centred: Putting you first is at the heart of our service. We position and support our membership to help you maximise your investment and achieve your goals. All of our IP and collateral is designed with your business success in mind traversing territory that will seriously drive new growth.

Coaching & Growth Mindset: We provide support and coaching to help you assimilate into our network successfully. We are committed to developing mentors as an integral part of our values and strategy.

So that's our Philosophy. Today I’ll spend a little time opening up further into our first two values which are not specifically in order of priority but ultimately are certainly outstanding in terms of their baseline import in the business setting.

Business Freedom:

We understand at NOW that so many Entrepreneurs and business owners start out in business to increase freedom, only to find that the opposite becomes their reality. Long hours, heaps of responsibility and ties to assets and client bases that can be highly physically limiting leave many business owners burnt out and feeling regretful even resentful of the beast they have birthed so to speak.

At NOW, all of our leaders have experienced this reality and have pushed back against the status quo to find ways to free themselves from the ranks of our business, so they can balance out life and manifest the inherent quality we set out to create when our business journeys began. So we aim to support businesses of all kinds while really focusing on providing a solution that allows those that can deploy remote or regional capability to develop their national (even international) reach efficiently and effectively. Our growing diverse and diffuse network could be advantageous to their businesses' resilience and as a result their personal freedom.

NOW we can’t solve all of the obstacles preventing more freedom in and around your business, but we can definitely support the client acquisition and maintenance while keeping you tuned into a network that travels with you. One that doesn’t mind if you’re on holiday in Fiji or moonlighting in Japan (one of our directors direct past and contemporary experience) You are supported wherever you are in NZ and even abroad!

That's what business freedom means in our context, so we can be a piece of the puzzle that brings some balance back to your commitments.

Trust:

A philosophy is never complete without some nod to integrity or reliability, some ode to conscientiousness and or the value of commitment to values. However we want to ensure in ‘Networking Our Way’ that we assert the value of approaching business with the currency of trust as the fundamental exchange that sets up for long term relationships to help your business thrive.

So to hopefully stand above cliches and lay out what trust really means to us I’d posit some simple maxims that will stand anyone in good stead in a networking ecosystem.

Say what you are going to do and do it well (or better) This isn’t always easy and I believe most business owners inherently want to follow through and with gusto as they understand the power of a good reputation in the world of instant feedback and endless research capability, that is the modern business landscape. Alas, sometimes our priorities go to war and a relationship can suffer as a result. So to support that statement or maxim I would say

Communicate openly! Being transparent with partners about your capability, a front (or facade) in business is not the right way to create lasting connections, honesty and humility will lead to trust far more quickly and comprehensively. Be clear about your business maturity and try to be as clear as possible about products and services so as not to cause confusion or a loss of credibility. This process or approach will not only transform your relationships it will likely do the same for your business.

Be selective!

- and I’ve learnt this one the hard way,

Only take on clients you know you can serve and serve well! Whether you're early in business or a seasoned operator the temptation to be overly willing to take on any client to keep cash flow high, or make a target, even just simply because the prospect is nosy and insists on trialing your product. I would counsel prudence, stay loyal to your intuition or a good system. If you feel a client isn’t a good fit and you don't feel positioned to this particular challenge, let it go! Perhaps you just simply know there’s a better fit person to support them, thats OK. Some would say this is folly in business but I would suggest that matching your product to your client properly is the basis of self reliance in business. That is to say, building trust in your own delivery will be built on this policy of deep business integrity, it takes courage and conviction to say ‘NO’ which in and of itself can act as a qualifying sentiment that it's the right way to go. So protect your long term interests and serve those you were meant to, do this in a networking community and you will create amazing ambassadors and fast!

So there you have it readers, I hope today's article has grabbed your attention and got you thinking about networking and how it could be done..??

The above is not an exhaustive expression of the NOW Ecosystems philosophy but it explores some of our most important values and how we ‘set the filter’ as we engage in our community. Now I am no preacher, I'm just a Business owner trying to do things right in as many dimensions as I can, while hopefully supporting others to do the same based on my experience and the values that have been etched throughout my business story so far.

If you found reading this engaging and felt a pang of inspiration when walking through our Vision and Values please hit me up via direct message and ask about NOW group. We meet every week on a Wednesday. Our Prime group is centred around Auckland currently and our Excelerate group is South Island focused with Christchurch acting as the fulcrum thanks to majority membership in the region. They meet online over zoom so you can most certainly get there, 7:30am and 12:30pm start times respectively.

We are looking to add new richness to NZ’s networking landscape and maybe even stretch our value system into Australia (at least) so come and support us and your business goals with a group of approachable, integrous and determined individuals. Stop going it alone and stretch your marketing team by 30+ people before the end of the month. ????

**For more info on NOW Group right away, check out our visitor guide on my LinkedIn featured section

#Networking #Business #Freedom #Mindset #community