Networking That Works

An outlet at the highly trafficked Soverign Centre was critical for Caribbean Any Ticket -the islandwide ticket sale service. Consulting his rolodex, Any Ticke's Managing Director, Nigel Cooper, hit paydirt. Carol Sanders, fellow alumni of Toronto's Ryerson Polytechnic University, owned the Roti Bazaar at Sovereign. Cooper called Saunders and today Roti Bazaar does brisk business in ticket sales.

"Business is all about relationships," says Cooper. "Clearly, you have a better comfort level doing business with people with whom you have a connection." For her part, Saunders says alumni are always a good place to start networking for the contacts they provide for career and business. Others believe that if you meet someone at Peppers or Chasers over a drink, they are more likely to return your call the next day. In fact, a lot of networking takes places at the watering holes, the golf club, Liguanea Club and even over a game of Kaluki.

Networking is the systematic process of using people you know to further your ends, and Jamaicans are finding out how to make it work. More people these days are understanding what it means to create their own network for business, or to "get plugged into" management positions, to move up the ladder, and to help others move in and up.

Most people are already involved in some kind of network. They stay in touch with former classmates, share information with colleagues and some even use relatives to get certain things. But these networks are often circumstantial, haphazard and ineffective.They could do and be much more once their potential is understood and they are treated as a valuable resource. The "old boy" or "old school tie" syndrome is a typical and common form of networking. The cohesiveness of lodge brothers is perhaps an extreme example of this - though they would be the last to admit it. And they would certainly not admit that in a tight choice between two competing job applicants, they would recommend the lodge brother.

"The better you know people, the easier it is to gain access to situations they control," says Fay Sylvester, chief executive officer of the Consumer Affairs Commission. One-on-one contact is vey important. From my position, I have been able to make things easier for fund-raising and so on, in a number of voluntary groups in which I wear other hats. That's networking, isn't it?"

Networking is especially crucial for business people; and the higher up the totem pole, the more necessary it becomes. An executive in a prominent financial institution points to the structure of board directors. "The same faces turning up on all the boards might look like a disadvantage, but the networking possibilities in that are self-evident," says the executive. "People are encouraged to join professional and industry groupings such as the Chamber of Commerce and the PSOJ, for the superb opportunities they offer in cooperation between business and government. The same goes for service clubs like the Lions and the Rotary."

The young president of Manufacturers Merchant Bank, Peter Melhado, agrees. He also believes that the best thing about networking may be the good feeling it gives you. "The hand-shake, the eye contact made possible by opportunities for socialising really lay a sound basis for serious business later. Business people often don't find it easy to move forward on a 'cold' call. Sight and touch still mean a lot, however sophisticated we have become."

Plugging into their own networks can be a tricky business for young professionals. They sometimes come into corporations a few notches above others who may have held been back by education deficiencies and lack of advancement opportunities. It would be naive to pretend that in such cases resentments do not develop. "To the extent that the crabs-in-the-barrel syndrome exists", says one of this breed, "networking may not swing it. It may even become defensive because young professonals find that they have to watch each other's backs."

These days, because mobility is better proof of value and get-up-and-go than staying with one job forever, the more important networks may be those beyond the company. Outside networks fall into three main categories: professional organizations, alumni groups, and personal friends and colleagues. Some experts say it's best to be a member of all these groups, but most people have such hectic schedules, this may not be possible and they opt for one or, at most, two.

Picking an organization in which to become active, one should first determine long, short and medium-term needs. And it's equally important to view activity in any network as a necessary and legitimate. Of course, this is as true of personal networks as formal ones. Though not rigidly structured, the true network should have broad norms and guidelines. The technique is to develop mutually rewarding relationships. Trust and dependability must come in good portion, giving usable information, knowing whom to call, what they can deliver, and what one can give in return.

Jean Barnes, coordinator for community involvement in the National Council on Drug Abuse sees a completely different side. "You know, it's country people who, better than anybody, know and have always known the value of this kind of cooperation. If you wanted to plough a field, reap a crop or put up a little house, you took advantage of all the hands you had around you, knowing the time would come for you to return the favour. You shared services and fed your helpers instead of paying them . They didn't have telephones, but everybody knew what was going on in the place and got involved. That still works on a small scale today," says Barnes, "but the changes in technology and building styles and techniques make it more difficult to apply."

Does the state ever get into this business? Absolutely, according to Barnes. "Government agencies are now the main source of networking for rural communities, helping them to realise community goals and to fight the disappearance of the old values. Communities under seige from economic distress, drugs, crime and violence come together for their survival, learning to take charge of their lives. We have a little slogan by which we remember what's important: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely. That spells SMART. They learn to make two-year action plans and they also see that identifying obstacles, setting goals, working out strategies and knowing their resources are steps they can go through in planning other aspects of their lives."

For Jamaicans, networking also has a unique downside. What can be more closely knit than a garrison community? As seen in Geoff Small's 1995 book Ruthless "...it is a system which "split the electorate into two venomous factors". It is what the late Carl Stone described as violent inter-party tribalism, a legitimate electioneering tool... the equivalent of door-to-door canvassing" in other societies. However else one may choose to see it , that's a unique brand of networking. Two other glaring negative examples of networking are the British yardies and North American posses. Fortunately, Interpol is itself a network.

For the organizational network, keeping tabs on individuals is a lot easier. "Members know each other's capabilities, strengths and weaknesses," says Helen Douglas, speaking of the old boys' association of Kingston College. As a deputy principal there, she recognizes the value of networking. "So many of our old boys here and in North America, have facilitated the development of deserving youngsters who would otherwise not have received a quality education" says Douglas. "They have sent us books, sponsored boys' exam fees - a whole year's fees, sometimes - bought us computers, science equipment and sent down loads of items for sale in our fund-raising fairs. They've helped us foot the bill for our athletes and, what we sometimes don't see, they have served as the male role models our boys so badly need these days." "Ultimately, networking is a support system that implies trust and confidence," says lloyd Wiggan, Managing Director of CitizensBank. "It's like the extension of a friendship, and must not be abused.