Not Long, Now

We've had a good dog in our family for fourteen years now. Gable is our noble yellow Lab. He has always been above it all. Especially those two stupid Springers that also live here. He is also a wonderful friend, rubbing his head against my leg.

I know that his time is near. He has been losing weight for several months now and I must admit that he looks quite skeletal now. I made Steve take him to the vet yesterday, because as of Tuesday night, he had stopped eating. I even tried to give him ice cream last night.

We love our vet, because they are what I call country vets. They will do everything possible to save an animal, but they don't treat it like a human. That is our philosophy, too.

Yesterday the verdict was, "He's fourteen years old. We could put him through blood work and X-rays, but we'll find nothing good." Of course then Steve got called out of town on an emergency for one of his clients. So I'm dealing with the failing dog all by myself.

It breaks my heart.

Even the two Springers know that something is wrong. They are not barking at him trying to take over as top dog.

I will keep you posted.

But now I have to go put on a happy face and do a session for 18 folks that want to know how to network better.

Is it a One or a One 2 One?

This week I was asked to give a short presentation to the WEN West group and they asked me to speak about one to one etiquette. (A one to one is a meeting with two people finding out about each other.)

I shared the story about a friend of mine having a "one" recently, where the person she was meeting with did ALL the talking for 90 minutes.

So I gave some rules for one to ones.

1) While the conversation does not need to be 50/50 exactly, there should be some information shared about each person. I explained that some good sales people like to control the conversation by asking questions and that being in a one to one with that type of person might mean that you're talking 90% of the time. But in that instance, it is because that person continues to ask you questions.

2) Take notes. If you're making commitments of introductions you will make or information you will share later, not doing so affects your credibility.

3) Do be thinking about who you can introduce the person to while you're getting to know them. Being a connector is a good thing!

It was rather funny after this short presentation. Several people came up to me and said, "Whew! That was really good. It felt like you might be talking about me." or "Thank you so much, I was in one of those conversations just the other day."

What's the best one to one you've ever had with someone and why?

A Reason to Celebrate

Last week Davis College celebrated their 150th anniversary with a day long festival in their parking lot. Davis always brings a lot of creativity to whatever they do -- they are longtime "FISH" devotees.

To everyone's surprise, many of the faculty (at left is Diane Brunner, president of Davis College) were dressed in the fashion from 1858. It was a hot day and I felt so badly for them. Their red faces told the story of how hot those costumes were. I can't imagine living in those days and having to wear ALL those clothes ALL the time!

Additionally, Davis is donating $1858.00 each month to various charities. The charities for July will be announced from the voting boxes that were set up at the festival. There were five charities to choose from, I voted for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. The ballot boxes were wooden affairs, probably much like the ones use 150 years ago for elections.

Davis College is a huge supporter of the Certified Networker program both by providing a classroom for the "public" class and also adding it as course in their curriculum for their registered students.

Davis is a small college, only about 450 students, but they are big on delivery. I bought a royal blue sweatshirt at the festival to wear later this fall. I will be proud to let the world know that I am involved with such an innovative institution.

Another Deep Mystery

People who don't call back drive me crazy.

Now I'm not talkin' about the people who get a cold call. First of all I don't make cold calls. And when I get them I don't call those people back either. (Most of them don't feel rejected because it is just a recording.)

What I'm talking about is when I meet someone; we chat; agree that we want to meet later. More times than not, they don't have their calendar with them. We agree that I will call them later. They give me their card to do so.

I call them to initiate the setting of the "chat" appointment. Usually I have to leave a message. Or I email them. Or I do both.

SILENCE

Heck, if they don't want to meet, it's OK with me.

Please, just call me back and tell me to get lost.

I'll even give them a line to use. "I'm really busy right now, why don't I call you back at the end of the month?"

Why is this so hard?

What Makes a Culture

I have been thinking a lot about culture lately. It comes some from the type of reading I've been doing but also the experiences I've had recently.
I've come to the realization that standards of a culture are what is accepted by a majority of the people as business or life as usual.
Whether it be a location, a group of people, a time in history or an industry.

I had this aha when I was helping out at the Women's Council of Realtor's golf outing. I am an affiliate member of this group.

The culture of this industry is that a cell phone attached to the ear is status quo for most -- the majority. Now I certainly realize that Realtors or their vendors need to be closely connected to their clients, but personally, I think the culture has taken it too far. I know that I am in the minority!

I was paired with another person at the betting hole. That person spent most of the time on not one, but two phones. Not all of it was business. So this person let the opportunity to get to know me better (I guess that tells me where I stand with this person) go by all the while keeping the phones humming. Conversely, it kept me from getting to know her better, too. As foursomes drove up to our hole, it was not unusual to the three or four of the people on their phones. That is the accepted culture.

What are you accepting that you might want to change in your life.

The Business Card Shove

At a networking event this week, after the formal part was done, I was chatting with the woman I had sat next to. While our conversation was not earth-shaking, we were square-on facing each other. All of a sudden another networker interrupted us to give us his card.

Now I tell ya'.

That doesn't get you anywhere with me.

The message this person delivered, was, "I am so important that what you're saying to each other absolutely is beneath me."

Listen up.

People who obnoxiously shove their business cards under my nose are wasting those cards. If they go home at all, they are tossed into the trash.

I know, I know! Someone is going to get on my case about this and say that I should be more gracious.

Maybe so.

Maybe not.

So there.

WiN Meeting - Thursday, July 10th

Hello Ladies!

**Important information for our July meeting** (Full Details Below)

The Queen Street United Church is closed for the month of July. I have booked our meeting at the newly located Bonfire Restaurant located at the Admiral Inn on Hwy#7 to be held on Thursday, July 10th.

Our guest speaker will be Collette Yvonne of Panic House Inc. If you get a chance please visit her website at http://www.panichouse.ca
I am sure she will have some of her books available for purchase at the meeting.

Please let me know as soon as possible if you are able to attend and pass this on to anyone you think might be interested in coming along. Everyone welcome!

Warm regards,
Heather