I’m a book lover. I consume books (many at the same time) both in print and audio books. My bedside table and bookshelves are full of yet-to-be-read books. It’s my little fetish and I don’t mind telling you. If Amazon had frequent-flyer points I’d be a Platinum member! What may be surprising to you is that books have been a source of networking opportunities for me. I’ve connected with people (online and offline) through books, the reading of them and also by commenting about them openly. When I was living in the US, friends and I would get together in person a couple of times a year and study a business book together. The core group would bring along others that we thought may be interested. We’d read, debrief, share our points of view but mainly discuss the author’s point of view. I made good new friends and contacts this way. A few yeas ago, the Australian Businesswomen’s Network held evening book studies for is members on Michael Gerber’s The E Myth and Jim Collins’ Good to Great. While valuable these events were only available to those who could make it along on the night of the event. With the advent of social media and social networking (and because my ‘tribe’ is spread across the country), I have decided to host online book discussions on books that I think my clients (women in business) will enjoy. They start soon – and I’ll Tweet you when we launch.
Now… books and your network.
Education has been a connector for me and I find that I’m drawn to connect with others who share an interest in the same subjects. That’s in part what keeps me attending seminars and trainings all over the world. (Of course these events also provide face-to-face networking opportunities.) Could you do the same with your clients? Could you instigate discussion about a book that is in line with your message or your business?
MY VERSION OF SPEED ‘READING’ Right now I’m re-listening to and re-reading Tim Ferris’s 4 Hour Work Week. Don’t think me a psycho but my weekend consisted of:
- Read a couple of chapters
- Jump in car to run errands and listen to a few chapters on iphone
- Back home and lunch in the sun while reading more chapters
- Walk the dog and listen to a few more more chapters
It sure helped me get through the book quickly – and, since I was rereading it, what I found was that I was hearing/reading things that I’d totally missed first time around. And, as you can see above, one of my tweets about the book was Retweeted. Andrea retweeting spread my message to her network. TODAY’S TASK Recommend a book to your followers/friends/contacts. Tweet the details of a book you’re reading that those that follow you may find of interest. Start a discussion. Remember to use #30DNet in your tweet.
