1. Creating Valuable
Relationships
Building your extended family
Giovanni Dubois
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Agenda
 Background on LAM
 Why networking?
 The Mind Set
 The Skill Set
 Turning connections into compatriots
“Build a little community of those you
love and who love you.”
—MITCH ALBOM
© Giovanni Dubois 2013

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LAM Network

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Our Mission
Create a strong and dynamic network of
Hispanic professionals through online and
event-driven platforms to create and
foster valuable relationships.
© Giovanni Dubois 2013

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What is LAM?
LAM is the Bay Area’s #1 Latino professional network online and
offline
 A platform to create and  A resource for organizations
foster valuable relationships to help establish brand
online and offline presence and development
 Professional, Social, and of their workforce pipeline
Philanthropic Events with a niche demographic:
 Micro social network built on highly educated, newly
open source software affluent and urban Latinos
 A blend between  Via Event marketing:
meetup.com/LinkedIn/Face seminars, mixers, social events
book for professional and  Online/Newsletter advertising
educated Latinos
© Giovanni Dubois 2013

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About Our Members
 LAM has 4,680+ members in our micro social
network and 8,932 email subscribers
 LAM is a multicultural organization with
75% of its members Latino.
 56% of LAM members are women and
44% are men.
 Majority of our members are between 25-37 years old.
 84% of LAM members are college graduates of which at least 38%
have master degrees with the majority having attended top
universities in the US and Latin America.
© Giovanni Dubois 2013

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Why
Networking?

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Why Networking?
#1 Referrals are the #1 source in
hiring volume *
75% of job seekers found
75% networking helped them get
hired, while only 11% found new
positions through online job boards
during this year **
 Professional Growth: How to write a personal statement,
fellowship applications, job interviews, qualifying exam
practice
 Personal growth: Play the guitar, learn how to cook, new
hobby
 Dating: Circle of Friends is your Secret Dating Weapon
* CareerXroads 2011 – 2012
** http://www.livecareer.com/news/Job-Search-Tips/Data-Finds-Networking-Most-
Effective-Job-Search-Tool_$$02493.aspx#.USpokuvwJSg © Giovanni Dubois 2013

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The Mind Set
“I have made it a rule never to be with a person
ten minutes without trying to make them happier.”
- Various Attributions

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Member of the Club
“Dime con quien andas y te dire quien eres”
 Success breeds success
 What ―clubs‖ are you already part of?
 Alumni networks
 Non-profits
 Hobbies / Friends
 Create your own personal club
© Giovanni Dubois 2013

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Don’t keep score
 It's better to give before you receive
 Make interactions ruled by generosity
 If you are going to take the time to connect with
someone, you should be willing to try to make that person
successful
 Contribute. It's like Miracle-Gro for networks. Give your
time, money, and expertise to your growing community
of friends.
 If they succeed, you succeed.
© Giovanni Dubois 2013

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What’s your mission?
"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,"
said the Cat.
"I don't much care where—" said Alice.
"Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat.
—Alice's Adventures in Wonderland BY LEWIS CARROLL
© Giovanni Dubois 2013

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What’s your mission?
A dream without a plan is a nightmare
3-steps:
 Find your passion
 What do you truly love to do?
 Write down your goals and flush them out
 Build your personal Board of Directors
© Giovanni Dubois 2013

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Build it before you need it
 Join communities that interest you
 Take leadership roles in hobbies that interest you
 Enroll in a community college class on a topic of interest
 Try to become involved with an approved work project
that lets you interface with more people
 Volunteer in non-profit organizations
Gravitate toward those involved with things that you
want to be doing from the goals you developed.
© Giovanni Dubois 2013

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The Genius of Audacity
au·da·cious: Showing a willingness to take bold risks
#1 Road Block
to Opportunities
1. Acknowledge this is perfectly normal
2. Getting over the fear is critical to your success
3. Commit to getting better at meeting new
people and reaching out to opportunities
© Giovanni Dubois 2013

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The Networking Jerk
 Don't schmooze
 Less is more
 Don't rely on the currency of gossip
 Don't come to the party empty-handed
 It's a loop. In connecting you're only as good as what
you give away
 Don't treat those under you poorly
 Be transparent
 Trust is everything
 Don't be too efficient
© Giovanni Dubois 2013

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The Skill Set
“I have made it a rule never to be with a person
ten minutes without trying to make them happier.”
- Various Attributions

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Do your Homework
Before meeting someone do your research
 Online and research (Social Networks, Google, etc)
 Publications / News articles
 Annual Reports, Company Websites
 Call a mutual friend to give you some background
Find commonalities and use to break the ice
© Giovanni Dubois 2013

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Take Names
Who do you need to know to get to where you want to go?
 Concentrate on people that are part of your existing
network
 Relatives, friends of relatives, current colleagues, friends, friends
of friends, alumni networks, members of professional and social
organizations, neighbors (past and present), etc
 Look for people you don’t know on trade magazines,
newspapers, magazines, … other people’s list.
 Use a software tool to help you manage your database
 Google Contacts, MS Outlook
 Organize your list based on interests/goals with
labels/folders
© Giovanni Dubois 2013

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Share your Passions
 Fifteen minutes and a cup of coffee.
 Conferences
 Invite someone to share a workout or a hobby (golf, chess,
stamp collecting, a book club, tennis, golf, etc.)
 Quick dinner, lunch, or breakfast
 Special event: the theater, a book-signing party, or a concert is
made even more special if I bring along a few people who I
think might particularly enjoy the occasion.
 Entertaining at home.
© Giovanni Dubois 2013

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The Cold Call
 I don't know who you are.
 I don't know your company.
 I don't know what your company stands for.
 I don't know your company's customers.
 I don't know you company's products.
 I don't know your company's reputation.
 Now—what was it you wanted to sell me?
Macka, Harvey. Swim with the Sharks.
© Giovanni Dubois 2013

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The Warm Call
 Convey credibility by mentioning a familiar person or
institution
 State your value proposition how can I help you
 Impart urgency and convenience by being prepared to do
whatever it takes whenever it takes to meet the other
person on his/her own terms
 Be prepared to offer a compromise that secures a definite
follow-up
© Giovanni Dubois 2013

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Follow up or Fail
 Always express your gratitude.
 Include an item of interest from your meeting or
conversation
 Reaffirm whatever commitments you both made—going
both ways
 Be brief and to the point
 Always address the thank-you note to the person by name
© Giovanni Dubois 2013

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Follow up or Fail
 Timeliness is key. Send them as soon as possible after the
meeting or interview.
 Many people wait until the holidays to say thank you or
reach out. Why wait? Your follow-ups will be timelier, more
appropriate, and certainly better remembered.
 Don't forget to follow up with those who have acted as the
go between for you and someone else. Let the original
referrer know how the conversation went, and express your
appreciation for their help.
© Giovanni Dubois 2013

25. Connecting with 25
Connectors
Acquaintances, in short, represent a source of
social power, and the more acquaintances you
have, the more powerful you are
—Michael Gladwell
 Restauranteurs  Journalists
 Headhunters
 Lobbyists
 Fundraisers
 Public relations people
 Politicians
© Giovanni Dubois 2013

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The Art of Small Talk
 Become genuinely interested in other people
 Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk
about themselves
 Let the other person do a great deal of the
talking
 Smile
 Talk in terms of the other person's interests
 Give honest and sincere appreciation
"You're wonderful. Tell me more."
© Giovanni Dubois 2013

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Turning
Connections
into Compatriots
“Good actions give strength to ourselves and
inspire good actions in others.”
- Plato

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Health, Wealth, Children
 Every human is an opportunity to help and be helped
 If you're going to deal with people's most important issues,
give those issues the commitment that they deserve
 The highest human need, said Maslow, is for self-
actualization— the desire to become the best you can be.
Maslow argues we can't attend to our highest needs until
we attend to those at the bottom of the pyramid, like the
necessities of subsistence, security, and sex.  This is where
Health, Wealth and Children reside.
© Giovanni Dubois 2013

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Pinging – All the Time
 Three modes of communication before there is
substantive recognition: an e-mail, a phone
call, and a face-to-face encounter
 Nurture a developing relationship with a phone
call or e-mail at least once a month
 If you want to transform a contact into a
friend, you need a minimum of two face-to-face
meetings out of the office/school
 Maintaining a secondary relationship requires
two to three pings a year
© Giovanni Dubois 2013

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Final thoughts
 Find Mentors, Find Mentees, Repeat
 Be interesting
 Build your brand
 Broadcast your brand
Networking = Building relationships for mutual benefit
© Giovanni Dubois 2013

31. Any questions?
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© Giovanni Dubois 2013

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More Information
 Giovanni Dubois – giovanni@lam-network.com
 LAM Network: http://lam-network.com
© Giovanni Dubois 2013

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References
 Book: Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi **
 Harvard’s Alumni Network Advice
 http://www.alumni.hbs.edu/careers/networking.html
 Book: The Tipping Point by Michael Gladwell
 Book: How To Win Friends and Influence People by
Dale Carnegie
 TED TALK: Amy Cuddy: Your Body Language
Shapes Who You Are.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks-_Mh1QhMc
 CareerXroads 2011 – 2012
** A big chunk of this material is borrowed from Never Eat Alone. I have followed Keith’s advice in the book where he
says that we should use his content to promote building valuable relationships while presenting to organizations and
to build our network © Giovanni Dubois 2013