One Answer per Day will Bring People Your Way

You know, people with great connections don’t have them by accident.

Indeed, when you come across another person who has lots of connections in different places, that asset of “human capital” was built at a price. Someone had to work to build that asset.

This perspective was shared with me recently over a coffee visit with Frank Agin, founder of AmSpririt Business Connections and co-author (with Lewis Howes) of the FANTASTIC book LinkedWorking: Generating Success on the World’s Largest Professional Networking Website. If you are new to LinkedIn, this concise, easy read is exactly what you are looking for. Get it now.

“One of the things people tend to forget about networking is that it is work,” Frank asserts. “That’s why we call it networking…hence also the title of our book.”

Networking is not—nor should it be—a low priority activity. The beauty of LinkedWorking is that it shows how timeless fundamentals in “face-to-face” networking apply equally to connecting online.

For example, one of these timeless tenets is the notion of being a giver. Share your expertise. Share your knowledge. Give advice when appropriate. It’s a networking fundamental, and where better can you do this than on LinkedIn by answering questions posted by other members?

This feature is not unique to LinkedIn…it is found on countless sites, including another one I contribute to, CollegeRecruiter.com. Yet it is the personal stories that Frank and Lewis uncover in their book I find compelling…other people just like you and me who have built worldwide brands by simply paying it forward once per day.

That’s the “nugget” I took from my first reading of this great book—not entirely new to me, but “relearned” with greater emphasis and a personal admission that it is one simple activity I should improve upon.

Want to be a giver? Is the thought of writing an article too overwhelming? Then don’t. Answer a question, and improve someone else’s life. One answer per day will bring people your way…

Keith F. Luscher (Google Search) is the author of five books, including Prospect & Flourish and Don’t Wait Until You Graduate. He is also a recruiting director for The Money Foundation /H. Beck, Inc. Prior to this work, he served professionals in the insurance and financial services industries as a management consultant. In that role, he advised producers on issues related to marketing and prospecting, and developed groundbreaking educational curriculum. Luscher previously worked in capital fund raising for eleven years, serving nonprofit organizations around the country. In addition, he is also a nationally known author, speaker, and expert in media, interpersonal communication and marketing.