Remain Relevant in Changing Times

Business Week floats idea of YouTube for wanna-be moguls

Business Week says it wants to start its own version of YouTube. Essentially, people who are looking for money for their business venture would get an opportunity to develop a video pitch with the intent of receiving funds to back their idea or new company.

The magazine's Executive Editor John Byrne, even envisions a contest in which wanna-be moguls can participate in an online contest to for the chance to win a cool half-million bucks. Visitors to the portal would vote on the pitch they think is worthy of funding.

When I first read the story, I thought, "What a cool idea!" It's a sure-fire way to keep people coming to the Business Week web site. All print publications are seeking to drive more online traffic as interest in print continues to slide. But then my second thought was, "Wait a minute! Voting for the best video is hardly a way to demonstrate good journalism, which is one reason Business Week is one of my favorite magazines."

As I've mulled the idea, though, I'm liking it better and better. After all, daily newspapers have been involving their audiences through blogs. In fact, USA Today's subscription rate has skyrocked since revamping its online presence and asking people to exchange views on stories. Even CNN encourages its viewers to send in their own potential news clip to iReport for the chance to have it selected for an actual broadcast.

I think Business Week is on to something. Before joining Edelman, I ran my own consulting practice for nine years. During that time, I helped numerous small companies put together their presentations for pitches to venture capitalists. Many entrepreneurs really struggled with the idea of telling their story in five minutes, which was the typical timeframe they were given at VC pitch-a-thons. The most common complaint I heard was, "I can't possibly relay how passionate I am about this through slides!" This BW video idea helps to solve that problem because now pitches can be anything from a talking head to an office tour to a person writing on a white board to a fancy PPT presentation with a voiceover narrative, along with dozens of other ideas.

If Business Week does move to this new format and you decide to "go for it," take my advice and work with a professional to ensure you have the best video possible. Remember, this isn't YouTube, where most of the videos are slapped together with little thought or creativity.

There are no "do-overs" or "let's put it out there and see what happens" when the world is watching - and voting - for you to get money.

Are you a relevant networker?

Are you a relevant networker? How do you know? I've always thought I was pretty good at purposeful networking, but it never hurts to occasionally review what I'm doing to make sure I'm being as effective as possible.

That's why I was delighted to have the opportunity to hear Andrew Dietz of Creative Growth Group in
Atlanta last week. He offered some terrific reminders of what we need to do to remain relevant as networkers so that we can build our businesses in an effective way. Here's the bottom line: it all comes down to  who you know and who knows and likes you.

He said there were three keys to client development survival:

1. Mine relationship assets. Take a total inventory of who you know. There are four essential affinity groups to consider: Community, Work/Career, Family and Friends, and Educational Institutions. We all know people from each of these life categories but often forget to harness the power they represent. When we reach out to others in a way that proves we want to help them as much they help us, we increase the likelihood of a positive experience.

2. Connect with content. Make sure you've earned the right to connect. There are many ways we can make meaningful connections, from providing information to introducing people to one another who can help each other. Andrew offered a matrix of Ideas, Information, Introductions and Income, and how we can make connections with others we identified in the four mining categories.

3. Navigating likeability. It may seem like a big "duh," but aren't all the basics that really work? Here's a quote Andrew offered from the June 2005 Harvard Business Review: "When people need help getting a job done, they'll choose a congenial colleague over a more capable one... if someone is liked, his colleagues will seek out every bit of competence he has to offer." Andrew echoed this, noting that people want to help people they like, so make sure you really think through what you can do to show how likeable you are by seeking common ground, fostering familiarity, and showing genuine appreciation for others' efforts.

Andrew's primary focus in the meeting I attended was face-to-face networking, but the principles he described can certainly be applied to the online world. I'm a big fan of www.LinkedIn.com because of the incredible opportunity it offers to apply networking skills on a larger scale. Of course, good networkers don't depend on a single vehicle for networking. The most powerful networking occurs though a combination of good, old-fashioned palm pumping, combined with the efficiency online tools offer.

The main takeaway was simple, but powerful: if you aren't maintaining your network on a regular basis, you're risking becoming irrelevant. It will take a lot more effort to become relevant with your network again than it takes to just maintain it.