Local area network
(2001) It's a chilly Wednesday night in late October 2001 when more than 100 people crowd in to the Fountain Blue conference center in Des Plaines, Illinois, for a fund-raising event to help victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
It's a noble event organized by Chicago-based author and consultant Melissa Giovagnoli but as the night progresses, its emphasis shifts.
On the dais, attendees turn their attention toward Giovagnoli's brainchild, Networlding, and testify how it has affected their lives. Panelists describe new personal relationships and business alliances that didn't exist years or weeks ago. Spontaneously, speakers step to the microphone to tell stories - some choked with emotion -- of how new best friends have been created, how support groups for the in-between-jobs set randomly formed and how the importance of relationships in the post-September 11 haze has been central to healing.
It was a strong example of everyday evangelists spreading the word to others about something that has made a difference in their lives.
Since the September 2000 release of her seventh book, "Networlding: Building Relationships for Opportunities and Success," (co-authored with Jocelyn Carter-Miller) Melissa Giovagnoli has been building grassroots support for her cause of helping people reach their goals through relationships.
In the course of a year, she has fostered Networlding "power-of-10 circles" as they are called, mini-communities of 10 people, across the United States, Canada, Singapore, Britain, Australia and New Zealand. In Chicago alone, more than 200 people meet on a regular basis to "Networld:" share tips, form alliances, and build relationships.
Giovagnoli has spent 16 years studying the best ways for people to build connections in this networked world. Through books and speaking engagements, she preaches the idea of leading with values that professionals hold toward life and business. As a networking expert, Giovagnoli is sought out by blue chip-companies such as Motorola, Disney, and Accenture to help them improve employee collaboration via intra-company networking.
Networlding began as "mega-networking" several years ago, but "that didn't really catch on," Giovagnoli says. After interviewing Jocelyn Carter-Miller, the chief marketing officer of Motorola for an earlier book about strategic alliances, the two discovered a kinship and decided to team up about for a book on the importance of relationships to business. The duo began exploring the mechanics of successful relationship-building efforts. Months later, the blueprint for "Networlding" emerged. In short, it is based on identifying values, forming primary and secondary circles of like-valued people, and creating opportunities for success.
"This is a catalystic, evangelistic process," Giovagnoli says. "It helps people understand the idea of networks in general. It means blending business relationships with personal relationships."
What are the components of Giovagnoli's grassroots approach to having built a successful cause?
1. Create a community.
By definition, Networlding is a community of communities, and Giovagnoli has fostered their development around the world. As a direct or indirect community leader, she can demonstrate the mastery of her subject matter to others. As a result, the more people you know, especially in mini-communities of like-minded people, the more you can grow your business (or find a job, or meet people who share similar interests). "Community can be built or exist on different levels; it's basically two or more individuals who are gathered together for a common purpose," Giovagnoli says.
2. Rally people around a cause.
Her cause is the importance of relationships. "We're in the midst of a global economy and if you have the right relationship in the world, the business will grow." For the hundreds of thousands of Americans who have lost their jobs in 2001, the cold realization that they lack an extended support network can be lonely and costly.
3. Make it easy to experience.
Networlding is part-process, part-experiential. For those in the Chicago area, there's an opportunity to join a new Networlding circle almost every week. (For the uninitiated, joining a circle is much like creating a relationship: The more you put in to it, the more it gives back.) Until recently, circles were breakfast or lunch affairs held in an office conference room or restaurant. Now circles have gone social with "Gourmet Dinner" events. Giovagnoli is planning circles based on an industry (say, healthcare) or job title (like, Chief Marketing Officer).
4. Build the buzz.
Giovagnoli uses her web site and email newsletter to keep Networlders up-to-date. Also, bringing people together gets them talking. Most new converts find out about Networlding through friends who have participated in the circles. "For even the most skeptical person, when no less than three friends tell them 'you have to learn about Networlding', they do it."
In comparing gathering stacks of business cards at networking events to Networlding, Giovagnoli says, "It's not a numbers game when it comes to finding a job or building business; it's about relationships."
