Tomorrow is our blogging course, if you haven’t registered yet – visit https://www.ekzact.com/training/index.php

Apparently with no skin in the game, ie: no paid membership fee and no paid executive, the Calgary Entrepreneur Meetup is doomed to fail. Free membership in a Calgary networking group is a route to disaster.

Does voluntary leadership really mean that there is no skin in the game.

Take a closer look at why we do it.

Why do business owners network? Why do they volunteer to co-ordinate and host networking opportunities. Why do legitimate business owners volunteer to be Presidents, VP’s and Treasurers for their weekly referral networking clubs? Quite simply, we volunteer because it helps our business. It is a way to give back to the community while expanding our social networks beyond the world of “not so personal” Tweets and “Friend lists” in our virtual worlds.

The choices and decisions made around when and where a business networks is totally open to a huge number of factors. If you are a new business owner looking for leads, then you join a networking referral club. If you are a more established business looking to build relationships, then a larger monthly forum may be a better match. It may be a matter of time, or no time. Perhaps you are available at lunch time, or only in the evening. In anycase, relationships are built (and in some cases un-built).  Who and where you choose to dine, or network with, is not a slight against the other opportunies to network in Calgary - it really is just a personal choice. At the end of the day though, no matter how you shake it up – meeting good people is good for business.

Back to the question that started this little article… do volunteer run networking groups fail to deliver?

NO. In fact, participating in the Calgary Entrepreneur Meetup (established in Nov. 2002)  is very rewarding. Just over 6 years of open networking as a volunteer run club – I’d say there is no pending disaster.  Just good old fashioned hand shaking.

Where do you network for your business? Visit the Calgary Entrepreneur site today.

Tell me your thoughts on this… I would love to see your (your constructive) comment added below.

Cheers -
David A. West

Is it just me, or do some people say things in email message that they wouldn’t dream of saying to your face?

I remember when email was just evolving. I read a note on etiquette and one of the things that the author said was that “at some point all people will send an email that they will regret”.  How many times do you reply to message that raise your hair… only to delete the response. Some email messages have me actually leave my desk and take a walk.

One thing I have noted is that when people are frustrated or feeling lost in a process they might shoot off a note that is borderline rude. It is clear that they haven’t really thought it through. More often than not, the email message is “out of character”. You know, when you think to yourself “that doesn’t sound like Mrs. X”. What is the best way to deal with it?  Ironically I think the answer is to rely on an old technology. Pick up the phone and call.

It seems apparent that people are more apt to write things in email that they quite frankly wouldn’t say to your face. Am I wrong about this?

I always remember that note about “one day regretting an email that I have sent”. I always ask myself, would I say that to a person if they were in the room with me?  If the answer is no… the email gets deleted.

The workplace has to be respectful. The respect is recipricol and has to apply equally between service provider and service receiver.  Some times written corrospondence shouldn’t replace a good old fashioned telephone call.

Tell me your thoughts on this… I would love to see your comment added below.

Cheers -
David A. West