#129: Concentric Circles & Strategic Networking

The Communicate to Influence Blog

I once read that ex-President Bill Clinton approaches any meeting with the mindset “What can I learn from this person?” I’m not sure if it’s true however, find the concept inspiring and try to adopt the approach. 

Recently I read a book called “Your Invisible Network” written by Michael Melcher. I consider myself a good networker and the “Clinton mindset” has been a valuable tool for me, however upon reading this book, I realised how much I was missing. It became clear to me that my current network is primarily a function of my extroverted personality, and not a function of strategy, something I had never stopped to consider previously. The result is that I have probably let many possibilities unknowingly pass me by. 

Our network is an asset, a form of wealth. From the relationships we build, opportunities arise. To quote Melcher; “Relationships are bridges that connect you to knowledge, opportunities and people”. Those with strong networks are considered influential which in turn drives their perceived commercial value. 

Another way of looking at this is that when we don’t use our network effectively, we are likely missing opportunities and reducing our commercial value. I accept this is a broad-brush statement and not true for everyone (a molecular scientist probably isn’t as dependent on network as a financial advisor), however, the statement is true for most of us and definitely passes the 80/20 rule. 

So, I return to the concept of strategic networking, the key concept I have taken from the book “Your Invisible Network”, and my expanded adaptation of it. 

Using either Word or PowerPoint (or an equivalent) draw 4 concentric circles. The closer to the centre, the stronger the contact. The two outer circles represent the weakest level of contact while outside of the largest circle is an aspirational contact where there is currently no connection. 

Next draw an X and Y axis through the centre. Above the x-axis represents people you have personally met (in person or virtually) while those below the x-axis are this you have not yet had real time communication with. If you are in email communication but are yet to speak, this would be below the x-axis. To the right of the y-axis represents where the relationship is progressing while to the left of the y-axis is where there is no current progress. 

I have a keynote file (if you’re not a Mac user then use Excel) with a separate worksheet for each geography I work in. I have one worksheet for London, one for Hong Kong, another for UAE etc. This gives me immediate visibility of where my relationships are at in each geography important to me. Anything left of the y-axis needs focus. Anything to the right needs closure. I can then plan my communications with each client accordingly.

Your worksheets may be different; instead of geography they could be by sector, company or department. Wherever you need to strategically manage your relationships you can map your relationships onto concentric circles. Another adaptation is to use specific text colours to denote status (eg black = no current action required, red = urgent focus required). The applications are infinite and fully customisable, however they all achieve the same objective; greater visibility of the status of your relationships which in turn allows a more strategic approach to managing them.

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