John-Paul Hatala's Posts - Flowork - Social Capital Development Network2024-03-29T12:20:39ZJohn-Paul Hatalahttp://flowork.ning.com/profile/JohnPaulHatalahttp://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2982169069?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1http://flowork.ning.com/profiles/blog/feed?user=2wx12gl6q4lsc&xn_auth=noSocial Networking Websites: Generating some social income in a time of economic uncertaintytag:flowork.ning.com,2009-04-03:2682504:BlogPost:10832009-04-03T04:19:42.000ZJohn-Paul Hatalahttp://flowork.ning.com/profile/JohnPaulHatala
Just how important is social capital, anyways?<br />
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It can be a simple, unconscious experience: you slow down your vehicle to provide space for a car entering the freeway. It could have an enormous impact on your world: you’ve always wanted to write a novel and you just found out your best friend’s sister-in-law is an editor with a large publisher. The world would be a vastly different place without the foundation of relationships in our lives.<br />
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Turning your social capital into social income is…
Just how important is social capital, anyways?<br />
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It can be a simple, unconscious experience: you slow down your vehicle to provide space for a car entering the freeway. It could have an enormous impact on your world: you’ve always wanted to write a novel and you just found out your best friend’s sister-in-law is an editor with a large publisher. The world would be a vastly different place without the foundation of relationships in our lives.<br />
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Turning your social capital into social income is another story all together. The Flowork system of social capital development centers around the KAU method:<br />
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K = Knowledge of self, goals and network<br />
A = Gaining access to social resources<br />
U = Ability to utilize the resources to accomplish goals<br />
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The more comfortable we become in approaching individuals in our network, the more likely we are to accomplish our goals. If we don’t feel comfortable asking people for help, it is incredibly important to seek methods of overcoming this discomfort. Goal accomplishment will otherwise be much more difficult.<br />
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More importantly, it is essential that we set goals not just once, but on a regular basis. The ability to set goals is an underutilized skill set that requires a lifetime of development.<br />
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Finally, we need to become more aware of who is in our network. If we have a goal, we need to first consider who on our contact list might provide help. If you are unable to come up with a name, consider next who might be most likely to know someone who can help us. If we want to develop and increase our levels of social income, we need to be knowledgeable about how we feel and what we know about our network.<br />
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Once we become more familiar with our network we need to determine how we are going to access the social resources that will help us accomplish our goals. We can accomplish this through volunteering, joining associations or simply attending a friend’s party. The resource becomes more and more difficult to access the further away we are from the source. For example, a first-degree contact is easier to connect with then a friend of a friend (second degree). If we become more strategic about how we connect and start to develop connection strategies, we increase our access to resources that can help us accomplish our goals.<br />
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After we have gained access to the individual who possesses the resource, we must to think about how we could utilize it to accomplish our goal. This probably represents the most difficult step in the networking process. Many people believe that connecting with someone represents the biggest challenge, but it is, in fact, more difficult to get someone to actually help us accomplish our goal.<br />
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We go through a subconscious process when connecting with others. Understanding the process, breaking it down and determining where we’re having challenges is the key to utilizing the social resources in our lives. If we are to be successful, we must bring this process of getting someone to help us in our network to a conscious level.<br />
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The KAU method seems fairly straightforward, but like anything, it takes practice and a heightened awareness of the process. Flowork has recently developed some online training modules that provide an opportunity for individuals to become more cognizant about their social capital and their ability to turn it into social income. We encourage you to get in contact with us to access these modules.<br />
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Whether you’re a practitioner or someone who is looking for a job, the better you get at increasing your social capital the easier it will be to accomplish your goals.Join me on Twittertag:flowork.ning.com,2009-03-30:2682504:BlogPost:10212009-03-30T00:16:04.000ZJohn-Paul Hatalahttp://flowork.ning.com/profile/JohnPaulHatala
Hello all, I've entered the world of Twitter. If you have a twitter account, my username is jphatala. I would be glad to follow you. What I like best about the concept is that you only have 140 characters to get your point across. My research indicates that the more precise you are in sharing your goals the greater the likelihood that someone will help.Twitter represents the opportunity to practice this important skill at the same time receiving feedback on how well you're doing it. Give it a…
Hello all, I've entered the world of Twitter. If you have a twitter account, my username is jphatala. I would be glad to follow you. What I like best about the concept is that you only have 140 characters to get your point across. My research indicates that the more precise you are in sharing your goals the greater the likelihood that someone will help.Twitter represents the opportunity to practice this important skill at the same time receiving feedback on how well you're doing it. Give it a try and let's start seeing how we can tap into this wave.What's up with online social networking?tag:flowork.ning.com,2009-03-27:2682504:BlogPost:8832009-03-27T03:19:20.000ZJohn-Paul Hatalahttp://flowork.ning.com/profile/JohnPaulHatala
Hello all, I've ventured into the world of twitter (jphatala) and actually like the concept of micro blogging...or better yet, the opportunity to get your point across in 140 characters. It's actually a good exercise for setting goals and an activity that I will be using with individuals who are trying to become better networkers. Twitter forces them to be specific. If you're interested in joining me on a research project using Twitter, drop me a note and I will fill you in and let you know how…
Hello all, I've ventured into the world of twitter (jphatala) and actually like the concept of micro blogging...or better yet, the opportunity to get your point across in 140 characters. It's actually a good exercise for setting goals and an activity that I will be using with individuals who are trying to become better networkers. Twitter forces them to be specific. If you're interested in joining me on a research project using Twitter, drop me a note and I will fill you in and let you know how you can become involved.It's all about giving when it comes to building social capital!tag:flowork.ning.com,2009-03-25:2682504:BlogPost:8412009-03-25T04:06:38.000ZJohn-Paul Hatalahttp://flowork.ning.com/profile/JohnPaulHatala
When's the last time you went to your network and offered something up to your contacts? If you don't know the answer, it's time to start thinking about giving something back, especially if you find yourself asking for help during these tough economic times. We sometimes get caught up looking for help so that we can accomplish our own goals and we forget to give back. Remember, social capital is like a savings account, if we keep withdrawing money and don't add more to it, it will eventually go…
When's the last time you went to your network and offered something up to your contacts? If you don't know the answer, it's time to start thinking about giving something back, especially if you find yourself asking for help during these tough economic times. We sometimes get caught up looking for help so that we can accomplish our own goals and we forget to give back. Remember, social capital is like a savings account, if we keep withdrawing money and don't add more to it, it will eventually go to zero. Think of your social capital in the same way.Is there such a thing as negative social capital?tag:flowork.ning.com,2009-03-21:2682504:BlogPost:8212009-03-21T13:18:22.000ZJohn-Paul Hatalahttp://flowork.ning.com/profile/JohnPaulHatala
Researchers are turning their attention towards the negative side of social capital. If you were to peruse the literature you undoubtedly come up with more studies of how social capital helps us in our lives than you would find how it hurts us.<br />
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However, it's important to remember that not all social capital is good. I can think of gangs, poor attitude of students and many others than impact people's lives negatively. It's important to promote positive relationship development in our child's…
Researchers are turning their attention towards the negative side of social capital. If you were to peruse the literature you undoubtedly come up with more studies of how social capital helps us in our lives than you would find how it hurts us.<br />
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However, it's important to remember that not all social capital is good. I can think of gangs, poor attitude of students and many others than impact people's lives negatively. It's important to promote positive relationship development in our child's lives and this is why we have to be careful with online social networking websites. Discuss with your children why they are visiting these sites. Research is showing that if they have a purpose for visiting these site the less likely to get in trouble.To connect or not to connect....tag:flowork.ning.com,2009-03-13:2682504:BlogPost:8032009-03-13T21:48:23.000ZJohn-Paul Hatalahttp://flowork.ning.com/profile/JohnPaulHatala
In these tough economic times many people are battling the forces that are at play and impacting their economic reality. Pulling together and leveraging the social resources that exist within our networks is a viable option for making it through these tough times. If this is so, why do so many of us fail to connect strategically with the people in our lives?<br />
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I'm probably guilty of this as well and work hard to go against my natural tendencies to retreat and deal with things on my own. I am…
In these tough economic times many people are battling the forces that are at play and impacting their economic reality. Pulling together and leveraging the social resources that exist within our networks is a viable option for making it through these tough times. If this is so, why do so many of us fail to connect strategically with the people in our lives?<br />
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I'm probably guilty of this as well and work hard to go against my natural tendencies to retreat and deal with things on my own. I am constantly bringing the act of networking to the conscious level so I can practice what I preach and turn my social capital into social income. It's hard but we must force ourselves to do it we are going to make it through these turbulent times. If you're working with someone or want to get a head, think about your network. Not only that, think about how you can help in return. You will be surprised what can happen.Making the connection between technology and social capitaltag:flowork.ning.com,2009-03-05:2682504:BlogPost:7212009-03-05T05:02:33.000ZJohn-Paul Hatalahttp://flowork.ning.com/profile/JohnPaulHatala
I'm now in North Carolina at a conference for technology in education. I'm here to present the concept of social capital development as a mediator for technology use. I find this to be quite interesting. Many educators have found technology adoption to be minimal when it comes to implementing it within a set curriculum. The need to foster a community of technological support is at the forefront of many educators minds and their goal is to get students to adopt technology for learning…
I'm now in North Carolina at a conference for technology in education. I'm here to present the concept of social capital development as a mediator for technology use. I find this to be quite interesting. Many educators have found technology adoption to be minimal when it comes to implementing it within a set curriculum. The need to foster a community of technological support is at the forefront of many educators minds and their goal is to get students to adopt technology for learning purposes.<br />
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My goal is to blend the adoption of technology in education with a student's desire to achieve academic and career success. If they can see the advantages of technology and then have it reinforced by the network, the belief is that they will be more likely to use it as a means of learning. My goal here is to talk about the benefits of social capital and how it can be leveraged for technology adoption by students so that learning can be enhanced.Building social capital on a traintag:flowork.ning.com,2009-02-23:2682504:BlogPost:6612009-02-23T01:29:05.000ZJohn-Paul Hatalahttp://flowork.ning.com/profile/JohnPaulHatala
I'm sitting on a train heading out to another conference writing this blog entry. Thanks to technology, you can now get the internet while moving in a forward direction at over 100 miles an hour. Who would of thought! As I sit here looking around I can only imagine the number of social resources sitting in the seats. I've spoken to a few individuals, had some small talk and even met a gentleman that can help me out with an issue I'm having with my lighting at home. It truly is amazing where…
I'm sitting on a train heading out to another conference writing this blog entry. Thanks to technology, you can now get the internet while moving in a forward direction at over 100 miles an hour. Who would of thought! As I sit here looking around I can only imagine the number of social resources sitting in the seats. I've spoken to a few individuals, had some small talk and even met a gentleman that can help me out with an issue I'm having with my lighting at home. It truly is amazing where relationships can be developed and information shared, even on a train. All we have to do is keep the act of networking top of mind and anything is bound to happen.Another example of tapping into so social resourcestag:flowork.ning.com,2009-02-15:2682504:BlogPost:6012009-02-15T22:40:45.000ZJohn-Paul Hatalahttp://flowork.ning.com/profile/JohnPaulHatala
My wife and I were wanting to get our trees trimmed on our property. We got a couple of quotes and due to the size of them, were looking at 2-3 thousand dollars. This was something that I did not want to do and even worse, pay that much money. My wife was talking to one of our neighbors who she rarely saw and asked them if they knew anyone who trimmed trees. She thought that these particular neighbors would be a good resource because a year or so ago, they had talked about the importance of…
My wife and I were wanting to get our trees trimmed on our property. We got a couple of quotes and due to the size of them, were looking at 2-3 thousand dollars. This was something that I did not want to do and even worse, pay that much money. My wife was talking to one of our neighbors who she rarely saw and asked them if they knew anyone who trimmed trees. She thought that these particular neighbors would be a good resource because a year or so ago, they had talked about the importance of maintaining a healthy lawn and seemed to know a lot about the subject. She knew that the neighbor was not a tree trimmer but she thought that they would be the most likely to know someone who would be. It turned out that they did know someone and referred them to us. We ended up paying 50% less because of the referral.<br />
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This is a wonderful example of tapping into our social resources. My wife was well enough aware that the neighbors were into gardening and she made the linkage with the possibility of the neighbors being connected with someone who was a tree trimmer. A classic example of thinking strategically about your network. If we can do it in this situation, who knows where else we can do it. My wife was able to save us 50% by tapping into her network. Not only knowing people, but know something about them is the key. Who knows what else this approach could lead to.Turning social capital into social income...not that easy.tag:flowork.ning.com,2009-02-11:2682504:BlogPost:5812009-02-11T23:54:19.000ZJohn-Paul Hatalahttp://flowork.ning.com/profile/JohnPaulHatala
If we take a purely transactional view of networking and think about how many times we've converted an opportunity for a contact to help us out, it's probably a small number for most of us. There are some individuals that are naturally good at this, while the majority of us have a hard time. But isn't it the point of networking to tap into a social resource so that you can accomplish a goal. What good is social capital if we can't turn it into something that helps us. Of course, the key is to…
If we take a purely transactional view of networking and think about how many times we've converted an opportunity for a contact to help us out, it's probably a small number for most of us. There are some individuals that are naturally good at this, while the majority of us have a hard time. But isn't it the point of networking to tap into a social resource so that you can accomplish a goal. What good is social capital if we can't turn it into something that helps us. Of course, the key is to make sure these transactions are mutually beneficial. The next time you seek out someone for help, think about what you're going to do to make this happen. If anyone has an example of this, I would love to hear about it. Best, JPAre we networking more than we think?tag:flowork.ning.com,2009-02-08:2682504:BlogPost:5612009-02-08T14:30:00.000ZJohn-Paul Hatalahttp://flowork.ning.com/profile/JohnPaulHatala
Networking is a funny concept. It's not really tangible. We can't feel it, although we can see it in action if we're aware. This becomes even more apparent when we try and do it. Asking a friend for advice or getting directions from a neighbor could be viewed as networking. Defining networking becomes even more of a problem when trying to understand this phenomenon. Is it something that happens naturally or is it a conscious activity. We're all part of a network, whether big or small. The…
Networking is a funny concept. It's not really tangible. We can't feel it, although we can see it in action if we're aware. This becomes even more apparent when we try and do it. Asking a friend for advice or getting directions from a neighbor could be viewed as networking. Defining networking becomes even more of a problem when trying to understand this phenomenon. Is it something that happens naturally or is it a conscious activity. We're all part of a network, whether big or small. The people we know and associate with are all part of our connections. So networking is something that we do within the connectivity of our relationships. It's happening all around us and everyone is part of it. Bringing the act of networking to a conscious level may be the best way to tap into the potential that exists within our relationships. Whether it is looking for a shoulder to lean on or a new job, resources are available to all of us through the people we know. So for those of you who say you're not a natural networker or do not enjoy it, think again, you're doing it every day whether you realize it or not. It's probably more difficult to avoid it than not participate in it at all.The Thrill of Victory....How we define successtag:flowork.ning.com,2009-02-06:2682504:BlogPost:5052009-02-06T01:58:02.000ZJohn-Paul Hatalahttp://flowork.ning.com/profile/JohnPaulHatala
The Thrill of Victory...and let's not complete the thought. The reason I say stop there is that it's important to focus on the victories in our lives. Some would say that it's as important to focus on our defeats so that we don't repeat them, but I think in these unpredictable times it might do us good to focus on what works out for us.<br />
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If we hold true to this thought process, then we need to start defining what we mean by success or victories. I asked this of a class of grade 9 students and…
The Thrill of Victory...and let's not complete the thought. The reason I say stop there is that it's important to focus on the victories in our lives. Some would say that it's as important to focus on our defeats so that we don't repeat them, but I think in these unpredictable times it might do us good to focus on what works out for us.<br />
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If we hold true to this thought process, then we need to start defining what we mean by success or victories. I asked this of a class of grade 9 students and to my astonishment they did not come back with money or fame, but eloquently stated 'success is defined by the goals we accomplish'. How profound and true is that! Success is defined by the goals we set. So in actuality, success is defined differently by all of us and has many unique attributes to the concept. Unfortunately, for the same group of students, I asked a follow up question, 'So if you define success by the goals you achieve, what are you goals?'. You could of heard a pin drop. How ironic. They were able to accurately define success but were not going to be successful because they had not set any goals.<br />
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Although I was impressed by the grade 9 response to success, I was perplexed that they were not setting goals to experience victory. I don't think this phenomenon stops at these students. It happens to all of us. You, me and a lot of the people we know. In these tough times, set realistic goals so you too can experience the thrill of victory. Not too big, just big enough to get a taste of success so you will want more.<br />
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JPHPracticing what you preachtag:flowork.ning.com,2009-02-01:2682504:BlogPost:4212009-02-01T19:30:00.000ZJohn-Paul Hatalahttp://flowork.ning.com/profile/JohnPaulHatala
Practice what you preach! That old adage is true yet we fail to comply by its simple logic. I work with practitioners of all sorts across the world and preach the importance of tapping into their networks. Well, I would like to share an experience of mine where I actually followed my own advice. It's simple, but I think it nicely illustrates the point.<br />
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I'm in the process of developing a new tool that walks individuals through the networking process. I had been using a printer for a couple of…
Practice what you preach! That old adage is true yet we fail to comply by its simple logic. I work with practitioners of all sorts across the world and preach the importance of tapping into their networks. Well, I would like to share an experience of mine where I actually followed my own advice. It's simple, but I think it nicely illustrates the point.<br />
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I'm in the process of developing a new tool that walks individuals through the networking process. I had been using a printer for a couple of years and always felt, but not sure, that they were over charging me. I called a few printers on my own and found that they were either more expensive or less expensive, nothing consistent so I knew there was some wiggle room. I don't know any printers from my first degree of contacts, so I started to think about my network and who would be most likely to know someone in the printing trade. I thought about my contacts who would most likely know someone who worked in a capacity that required printing. That brought me to a friend who work for a large organization. I called him up and asked him if he knew anyone in his organization that required printing services on a regular basis. He quickly told me that a manager in their HR department just launched an internal program and had some printing done. I asked him what would be the best way to get in contact with this person. He said that he would get in contact with him and ask the individual if he could help me. Well, to make a long story short, I got in contact with the manager in my friends company and he was able to save me 40%.<br />
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This is a simple and but yet uncommon occurrence. What I do want to point out is that I made the conscious act of thinking about my network and the potential social resources that existed within it. My first degree contacts (friends, family) were not printers, so I had to think about the second degree contacts by thinking about who would most likely know a printer or someone who requires printing services on a regular basis. Taking that time to go through that process saved me 40%. Imagine what we can do if we think like this all the time. The sky is the limit. Just thought I would share an example of what I've been preaching for the longest time :).The trouble with networkingtag:flowork.ning.com,2009-01-31:2682504:BlogPost:4012009-01-31T01:19:09.000ZJohn-Paul Hatalahttp://flowork.ning.com/profile/JohnPaulHatala
The trouble with networking is that it's a complex task. We have to think about why we want to connect, then think about who we want to connect to, then think about how we are going to connect and then connect. It seems like a lot of trouble? Doesn't it? I think the best response to this question doesn't have to be as difficult. The first thing we have to do is start to think about networking as a very important part of our lives. Just like we need to eat to survive, we need to network to move…
The trouble with networking is that it's a complex task. We have to think about why we want to connect, then think about who we want to connect to, then think about how we are going to connect and then connect. It seems like a lot of trouble? Doesn't it? I think the best response to this question doesn't have to be as difficult. The first thing we have to do is start to think about networking as a very important part of our lives. Just like we need to eat to survive, we need to network to move closer to what we hope to accomplish. It's a mental shift. One that is very important. Put it this way. If a doctor told you that you have to eat more vegetables and less fast food or you're going to experience serve repercussions, you most likely would think seriously about doing it. If you want to increase your chances of successfully achieving your goals, you have to start thinking seriously about letting networking into your life. Make it part of your consciousness, not just another activity that you conduct every so often.How do we define Networking?tag:flowork.ning.com,2009-01-27:2682504:BlogPost:3612009-01-27T14:57:40.000ZJohn-Paul Hatalahttp://flowork.ning.com/profile/JohnPaulHatala
I was thinking about this very question on my way home from a conference presentation the other day. How I view social networking is something that is mutually beneficial that leads to some sort of opportunity that is helpful. This is a utilitarian viewpoint of networking but perhaps it's much more fluid than that. Maybe it's about allowing opportunities to arise through the activity of meeting others. If I believed the latter, I would have to think that those who are natural networkers would…
I was thinking about this very question on my way home from a conference presentation the other day. How I view social networking is something that is mutually beneficial that leads to some sort of opportunity that is helpful. This is a utilitarian viewpoint of networking but perhaps it's much more fluid than that. Maybe it's about allowing opportunities to arise through the activity of meeting others. If I believed the latter, I would have to think that those who are natural networkers would excel, while the rest of us, often uncomfortable with the thought of networking would somehow miss out. I believe that if we think of networking as a means to achieving an end, it will motivate the unnatural individuals to network more. However, keep in mind that if they want to continue to gain advantage from a network they have to be willing to equally give back to it.Building individual social capital for youth at risktag:flowork.ning.com,2009-01-19:2682504:BlogPost:3412009-01-19T23:47:50.000ZJohn-Paul Hatalahttp://flowork.ning.com/profile/JohnPaulHatala
I just came back from a 4 day workshop with some participants who are deemed 'youth at risk'. Out of school, mental issues, addiction and other issues that impact their ability to be self-sufficient. The program director asked me to work with them on increasing their social capital or at the very least getting them to think about how their network has positive or negative effects on their lives. To my surprise, the concepts I covered with them resonated quite well with the group. It especially…
I just came back from a 4 day workshop with some participants who are deemed 'youth at risk'. Out of school, mental issues, addiction and other issues that impact their ability to be self-sufficient. The program director asked me to work with them on increasing their social capital or at the very least getting them to think about how their network has positive or negative effects on their lives. To my surprise, the concepts I covered with them resonated quite well with the group. It especially became apparent that they were buying into the content after they attended a networking event with local employers. They performed beautifully and understood the importance of linking who they knew with what they hoped to accomplish.<br />
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Overall, the experience was quite positive. The concepts were delivered and they seem to make sense of it all. I felt that the youth got something out of the experience and is backed by the fact that their emailing me with requests for my social resources.Using a snow blower to build social capital?tag:flowork.ning.com,2009-01-11:2682504:BlogPost:2812009-01-11T18:24:38.000ZJohn-Paul Hatalahttp://flowork.ning.com/profile/JohnPaulHatala
For those of you who live in colder climates and know what snow is, the last thing you look forward to is shoveling your driveway. It's just not fun. They say that more and more people are dieing of snow shoveling related heart attacks than ever before. I guess the grind and physical endurance this activity takes is taxing on people.<br />
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I was shoveling some snow, well, actually to be honest, snow blowing. Yes, I have a snow blower. Is it lazy, probably, but it does save a lot of time and energy.…
For those of you who live in colder climates and know what snow is, the last thing you look forward to is shoveling your driveway. It's just not fun. They say that more and more people are dieing of snow shoveling related heart attacks than ever before. I guess the grind and physical endurance this activity takes is taxing on people.<br />
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I was shoveling some snow, well, actually to be honest, snow blowing. Yes, I have a snow blower. Is it lazy, probably, but it does save a lot of time and energy. Any ways, I was doing my driveway and thought that I mine as well do my neighbors. I was clipping along and since I was using a snow blower it would take that more effort to do theirs. I didn't stop there. After I had completed the one neighbors, I decided to do the others as well. Again, it didn't take much effort, since I was using a snow blower.<br />
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After I was done, they both called to thank me. I told them that it was no big deal and they're welcome. Essentially, I had strengthened my relationship in one fowl swoop. I do not expect anything in return but I know that if I ever do require something, I'll have at the very least two neighbors who may be willing to help me. I think about the opportunities we have to help people and we don't for what ever reason. The act of helping others without them asking has to be one of the most powerful ways to build reciprocal Whe social capital.<br />
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Whether we're helping a neighbor, a colleague or a competitor, the opportunity to build our social capital is always an opportunity. Just because we know someone doesn't mean the will help us. We have to take the first step. Shoveling snow maybe one way of doing that.An interesting conversation with my 5 year old daugther - Perhaps a lesson for effective networkingtag:flowork.ning.com,2009-01-08:2682504:BlogPost:2512009-01-08T20:31:05.000ZJohn-Paul Hatalahttp://flowork.ning.com/profile/JohnPaulHatala
I picked up my 5 year old daughter from school yesterday and I asked her how was her day. She replied that it had been a productive day although she encountered a bit of problem. I was curious what had happened. She basically said that she wanted to play with a toy that a classmate was already playing with. I asked her what she did? She told the classmate that if he let her play with it that she would play with him the next day! I then asked if she got the toy and she said of course daddy. Of…
I picked up my 5 year old daughter from school yesterday and I asked her how was her day. She replied that it had been a productive day although she encountered a bit of problem. I was curious what had happened. She basically said that she wanted to play with a toy that a classmate was already playing with. I asked her what she did? She told the classmate that if he let her play with it that she would play with him the next day! I then asked if she got the toy and she said of course daddy. Of course, I thought to myself, how does a little girl get extended credit.<br />
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The short and simple answer to that is 'trust'. The little boy let her have the toy because he trusted (possibly misguided) that my daughter would return the favor. As long as my daughter plays with the boy the next day, future sharing can occur. However, if she doesn't, the repercussions could be steep; her relationship with the boy could be jeopardized as well as her reputation with the rest of the classmates. As I thought about what she had done after we arrived home, I realized that trust and reciprocity happens throughout our whole lives, whether were 5 or 55. The reason we're willing to help out is that we expect something back in return, whether explicit or not. The example of my daughter and the little boy was quite clear; she gets the toy and he gets to play with her the next day.<br />
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Present networking practices may not always be as straight forward as this example. We ask a contact for a referral and at the back of their mind they are thinking that the favor will be returned in the future. As long as the favor is returned sharing of resources can continue. This could be a conscious thought or not but it does occur. I wonder what would of happened if my daughter just simply asked for the toy, would the boy have given it to her. Probably at that age they aren't thinking in long term. Short term results is all they're worried about. Unlike adults, we can think longer term. When we help somebody by sharing a resource (i.e. contact, information, knowledge) we're willing to take the chance that they will return the favor. If the favor isn't returned when requested, the likelihood of helping that person in the future most likely won't happen.<br />
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The lesson we may be able to take away from this example is that perhaps we can increase our chances of leveraging a resource by being more explicit about what we'll give back in return. If we don't have anything to offer at the moment, we can simply express that if they ever need something they can count on us. My daughter and the little boy had a clear cut arrangement. Both parties knew what they were getting. Instead of my daughter just asking for the toy, she looked at the situation and tried to increase the likelihood that the boy would give it to her - - by offering something in return. When it comes to networking and tapping into the resources that exist, leveraging them through offering something in return my increase our chances. It ultimately becomes, not what I need from you but what I can offer. Something to think about.People are Lazy! Setting the criteria for asking someone to help you accomplish a goaltag:flowork.ning.com,2009-01-07:2682504:BlogPost:1682009-01-07T16:30:00.000ZJohn-Paul Hatalahttp://flowork.ning.com/profile/JohnPaulHatala
I'm probably preaching to the choir here, but I thought I would discuss with you some of the criteria I've established for communicating goals. By no means is this an exhaustive list and you're more than welcome to add to it.<br />
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First off, I think we need to address an assumption; people are lazy. What I mean by that is that they don't have the time to figure out what someone is actually trying to do. For example, I need a job, can you help me? I get this a lot from my students. What I typically…
I'm probably preaching to the choir here, but I thought I would discuss with you some of the criteria I've established for communicating goals. By no means is this an exhaustive list and you're more than welcome to add to it.<br />
<br />
First off, I think we need to address an assumption; people are lazy. What I mean by that is that they don't have the time to figure out what someone is actually trying to do. For example, I need a job, can you help me? I get this a lot from my students. What I typically do is send them away and ask them to come back with more specifics. By asking an open ended question like that they are making me think; what type of job, where would you like to work, etc. After all, according to my wife I'm pretty lazy and if people ask me for help and are not specific, the likely outcome is that I'm not going to be of any use. It's not because I don't want to, it's just be cause I'm lazy.<br />
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Whenever we ask someone for help they may respond in 3 ways; 1) sure I can help you, 2) no I can't help or 3) I know someone who could help you. If we work backwards and use these responses as our guide it may help us set goals that people can react to quickly. In order for that to occur, we have to be as specific as possible. I like to use the SMART goal setting technique. Check out this page for details on the SMART method <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMART_(project_management)">by clicking here</a>. The SMART method represents the perfect criteria for setting up our goals to communicate.<br />
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If want to leverage the social resources that exist within our network and we make the assumption that people are lazy (I lead the way), we have to be able to communicate them in such a way that the contact can react quickly. If you have to make people work by asking questions, the likelihood of them helping dramatically decreases. It might not because they don't want to help it's just that we live in a busy world.<br />
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JPLet's start taking advantage of this network and all the others we belong to!tag:flowork.ning.com,2009-01-07:2682504:BlogPost:1282009-01-07T15:00:06.000ZJohn-Paul Hatalahttp://flowork.ning.com/profile/JohnPaulHatala
There's a video and newsletter article that addresses the potential of online social networking websites (<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2998175942?profile=original">flownotes1208.pdf</a>) I wrote that talks about tapping in to the potential that exists within our network. This means that if we are going to benefit from our networks we need to leverage the resources that people can provide. Whether you belong to the group as a networker or work with individuals to…
There's a video and newsletter article that addresses the potential of online social networking websites (<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2998175942?profile=original">flownotes1208.pdf</a>) I wrote that talks about tapping in to the potential that exists within our network. This means that if we are going to benefit from our networks we need to leverage the resources that people can provide. Whether you belong to the group as a networker or work with individuals to improve their situation, we need to start practicing what we preach. Take for example,this network. There are members that possess a number of resources (information, knowledge, experience, contact, etc.) that can be leveraged to help many of us accomplish our goals. I've added a goal line to your profile and if you haven't already, I encourage that you fill it out. Perhaps by accident someone from the network will read it and be able to help you in some way.<br />
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Serendipity is a huge part of networking; being in the right place at the right time can open up many doors. In order to take part in to this phenomenon, we first have to start planning, setting goals and sharing it with as many people as possible. This network represents one of many vehicles where this can happen. So I encourage you to share your goals. Remember, sharing your goals is only one part of the equation. Giving back to the network is as important. This is not a complex idea but is somehow often overlooked.<br />
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Best, JPCreating a Social Networking Incubatortag:flowork.ning.com,2009-01-07:2682504:BlogPost:912009-01-07T02:13:04.000ZJohn-Paul Hatalahttp://flowork.ning.com/profile/JohnPaulHatala
Hello all, I'm in the process of devising a plan for the development of a social networking incubator. The purpose of the incubator is to conduct research on the behavioural element of networking and then be able to share best practices with the community.<br />
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Has anyone ever come across something like this? What are you thoughts and would you like to get involved in some capacity?<br />
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I would love to hear from you? JP
Hello all, I'm in the process of devising a plan for the development of a social networking incubator. The purpose of the incubator is to conduct research on the behavioural element of networking and then be able to share best practices with the community.<br />
<br />
Has anyone ever come across something like this? What are you thoughts and would you like to get involved in some capacity?<br />
<br />
I would love to hear from you? JPWhat is social networking?tag:flowork.ning.com,2009-01-06:2682504:BlogPost:342009-01-06T02:00:00.000ZJohn-Paul Hatalahttp://flowork.ning.com/profile/JohnPaulHatala
For those of you who know me or have heard me speak, I talk about social networking as a process. Some would argue that it's more organic, more fluid than a process. Without going in to further detail, I would love to hear your thoughts on what social networking is to you? What are the elements and is it possible to develop a framework for it?<br />
<br />
I would love to hear your thoughts?<br />
<br />
Best, JP
For those of you who know me or have heard me speak, I talk about social networking as a process. Some would argue that it's more organic, more fluid than a process. Without going in to further detail, I would love to hear your thoughts on what social networking is to you? What are the elements and is it possible to develop a framework for it?<br />
<br />
I would love to hear your thoughts?<br />
<br />
Best, JPWelcome to the Social Capital Development Networktag:flowork.ning.com,2009-01-05:2682504:BlogPost:222009-01-05T22:00:00.000ZJohn-Paul Hatalahttp://flowork.ning.com/profile/JohnPaulHatala
Hello all, Welcome to the Social Capital Development Network where you can share ideas with other members. Whether it's for yourself or your clients, social networking and the ability to tap into social resources is an important competency.<br />
<br />
I hope to facilitate the process of sharing information, tools, resources on social networking with all members of this network. Please enjoy and share your knowledge. After all, it's all about sharing resources.<br />
<br />
Best, JP Hatala
Hello all, Welcome to the Social Capital Development Network where you can share ideas with other members. Whether it's for yourself or your clients, social networking and the ability to tap into social resources is an important competency.<br />
<br />
I hope to facilitate the process of sharing information, tools, resources on social networking with all members of this network. Please enjoy and share your knowledge. After all, it's all about sharing resources.<br />
<br />
Best, JP Hatala