This Week in Philadelphia (TWIP) for 3/30

April 5 is Philly Spring Cleanup Day, where citizens from all around the city go out and sweep and clean. Volunteering is a great way to network, and I encourage you to do it:

• all sorts of people volunteer, and some of them probably know the people you want to know
• you get a chance to work with each other, to know each other, in a low-pressure way
• you do something good for the world
• you get out of your little work-a-day rut and get some perspective on life and your troubles and goals
  

Some of the strongest connections I've made over the past few months have begun while I was volunteering in some way. Pick up your broom!

By the by, Wednesday is one of the busiest days I've ever seen, with 16 different events that day alone.

Monday, 31-Mar

Wayne Presbyterian Church -- Career Networking Program
7:30pm - Wayne Presbyterian Church, 125 E. Lancaster Ave, Wayne

Tuesday, 1-Apr

The Nonprofit Center at La Salle -- When Good Meetings Go Bad
9:30am - United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania

LeTip of Center City Philadelphia -- Weekly Meeting
11:30am - Dave and Buster's 325 North Columbus Boulevard Philadelphia

Independence Business Alliance -- Supplier Diversity Initiative Workshop
6pm - William Way Community Center, 1315 Spruce Street

Licensing Executives Society -- IP Valuation & Value
6pm - Pepper Hamilton

Wednesday, 2-Apr

Philly AMA -- Marketing Dashboards 2.0
All day, The Hub CityView, Philadelphia

ExecuNet -- Philadelphia Networking
7:30am - Sheraton Park Ridge Hotel, King of Prussia

ExecuNet -- Philadelphia Senior Executive Roundtable
9:30am - Sheraton Park Ridge Hotel, King of Prussia

The Nonprofit Center at La Salle -- The Win-Win Equation: Effective Negotiation Strategies
9:30am - La Salle University Student Union, Dunleavy Room

Cherry Hill Regional Chamber of Commerce -- Camden Chamber Networking Luncheon
12pm - Pub Restaurant, Pennsauken

Temple University Fox School of Business Innovation and Entrepreneurship Institute -- Be Your Own Boss Bowl
2pm - Student Activities Center, Main Campus, Temple University

Penn Humanities Forum -- Original Sin
5pm - Harrison Auditorium, Penn Museum

Center City Proprietors Association -- No Man's Land
5:30pm - Helium Comedy Club

WRBC -- Spring Cleaning 101: Conquer Clutter
5:30pm - Margaret Kuo's, Wayne, PA

Philly Ad Club -- Student Outreach at Villanova
6pm - 1011 Bartley Hall, Villanova

PhillyCHI -- “Site Search Analytics: Conversations with Your Customers”
6pm - Messagefirst, 230 N 2nd St. Suite 2C

Villanova University SHRM -- 11th Annual Networking Reception
6pm - Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Samuel M.V. Hamilton Building

NAAAP Philadelphia -- General Meeting
7pm - Partridge Architects, Inc., Bell Atlantic Tower

Wharton Small Business Development Center -- First Step: Getting to the Starting Line
7pm - Jon M. Huntsman Hall, 3730 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA

Womens Business Forum -- Build Your Business Seminar Series _ Part 1
7pm - James Lorah House, Doylestown

NJ New Media Association -- April New Media in NJ Meetup
7:30pm - Panera Bread, Marlton

Thursday, 3-Apr

Philly AMA -- Marketing Dashboards 2.0
All day, The Hub CityView, Philadelphia

9th Annual International Business Research Forum -- Temple University Fox School of Business All day, Temple University, Philadelphia

GVFHRA -- How to Make Executive Coaching Work for the Leaders in Your Company
8am - Desmond Great Valley

Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce -- Marketing Roundtable: Reach Your Target Audience
8am - Crowne Plaza Hotel

Center City Proprietors Association -- Lunch with the City's Leaders: Dr. Robert L. Barchi
11:45am - Susanna Foo

Healthcare Management Alumni Association Networking Event -- Temple University Fox School of Business
5:30pm - TUCC (Temple University Center City)

Philly Ad Club -- Student Outreach at Temple
6pm - Room 101, Tuttleman Learning Center, Temple University

PANMA -- April f2f Social Event
6:30pm - National Mechanics Restaurant and Bar

Friday, 4-Apr

9th Annual International Business Research Forum
All day, Temple University, Philadelphia

Mid-Atlantic Diamond Ventures -- Early Spring Venture Forum
8am - Philadelphia Country Club, Gladwyne, PA

ASTD Consultants' Forum SIG -- The Price is Right!
9am - Strayer University, 234 Mall Blvd. King of Prussia

The Nonprofit Center at La Salle -- Maximizing The Executive Director's Role as Fundraiser
9am - CARIE, Land Title Building

Saturday, 5-Apr

9th Annual International Business Research Forum -- Temple University Fox School of Business
All day, Temple University, Philadelphia

ASTD Trainer`s Edge SIG -- Management Certification Program: Leaders Grooming Leaders
9am - Strayer University 234 Mall Blvd. Suite G-50 King of Prussia, PA 19046

This Week in Philadelphia (TWIP) for 3/23

Happy Easter to you all. You know it's been Easter when you're eating egg salad and enjoying leftover ham. Somehow the Moon has managed to separate Easter from Passover this year, as Passover won't come until late April. That didn't stop ABC from its annual showing of The Ten Commandments. I suppose, if you've seen one commercialized movie based loosely on the Judeo-Christian heritage, you've seen them all.

This week brings some interesting meetings, from killer mobile phone applications, to conferences on emerging technologies, to biotech, to more biotech, to partying, to leadership, to Muslim leadership.

Good networking!

Monday, 24-Mar

Mobile Monday MidAtlantic -- Entrepreneurs DEMO NIGHT
5:45pm - Valley Forge Suites Hotel, Wayne (Chesterbrook), PA

Wayne Presbyterian Church -- Career Networking Program

7:30pm - Wayne Presbyterian Church, 125 E. Lancaster Ave, Wayne


Tuesday, 25-Mar

BOMA Philadelphia -- Selling to the Industry (Benefits of Membership)
8am - Two Liberty Place

YPN -- Volunteer Event
9am - McClure Elementary School

LeTip of Center City Philadelphia -- Weekly Meeting
11:30am - Dave and Buster's 325 North Columbus Boulevard Philadelphia

CFA Society of Philadelphia -- Term Auction Facility (TAF): The Fed’s New Policy Tool in Context
12pm - Hotel Dupont, Wilmington

Philly Startup Leaders -- Kickoff Party for Tomorrow's Innovators
5pm - Drexel's Creese Student Center, 32nd and Chestnut Streets

Center City Proprietors Association -- Get to Know Who Can Help You Grow
5:30pm - Crowne Plaza Philadelphia

BioNJ -- "New x 2" BioCruise
6pm - World Yacht Princess Vessel, New York Harbor, Pier 81


Wednesday, 26-Mar

Chariot Solutions -- Emerging Technologies for the Enterprise Conference
Creese Student Center, Drexel University

Network Now -- Marketing Seminar & Networking Coffee
9:15am - Buckingham, PA

Center City Proprietors Association -- Lunch with the CITY's LEADERS
11:45am - Brasserie Perrier 1619 Walnut Street

ISES Greater Philadelphia -- FRESH! 2008
5pm - Harrah's Chester Casino

Gloucester Township Chamber of Commerce -- Gloucester Township Connection
5:30pm - Filomena's Cucina Italiana, Clementon, NJ 08021

Cabrini College Leader Lecture Series -- Leading with Emotional Intelligence
6:30pm - Grace Hall Atrium


Thursday, 27-Mar

Chariot Solutions -- Emerging Technologies for the Enterprise Conference
Creese Student Center, Drexel University

Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce -- Rethinking Philadelphia
7:30am - Loews Philadelphia Hotel

Philadelphia SHRM Professional Development Series -- Total Rewards
7:30am - Loews Philadelphia

Entrepreneurs Forum of Southern New Jersey -- Success Stories
8am - EDA Waterfront Technology Center at Camden, Second Floor

MiND TV -- Open House
4:30pm - 8200 Ridge Avenue, Philadelphia PA 19128

Philly BioBreak -- Networking Happy Hour
5:30pm - Great American Pub

PPRA -- Careers 101: From Backpack to Briefcase
6pm - Temple University, Howard Gittis Student Center

GPSEG -- Economic Outlook: Setting the Stage for 2008 and Beyond
6pm - Marriott Conshohocken


Friday, 28-Mar

GPSEG NJ Chapter -- Moving into the networking world after 24 years
7:30am - Doubletree Guest Suites, Mt. Laurel

Likemind -- Likemind meet up
8am - Old City Coffee, 221 Church Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106

The Nonprofit Center at La Salle -- Legacy & Succession Planning
9am - Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney


Saturday, 29-Mar

Council for the Advancement of Muslim Professionals (CAMP) -- 2nd Leadership Summit
9am - Wyndham Princeton Forrestal, Plainsboro NJ


Sunday, 30-Mar

MakePhilly -- March Meeting
3pm - University of the Arts (Industrial Design department)

Photo uploaded by Butterfly Sha

This Week in Philadelphia (TWIP) for 3/16

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all of you. This is a very busy week for networking in Philadelphia, though there don't seem to be any St. Patrick's Day-themed networking meetings. There are 36 different events listed for this week, covering HR, executive coaching, meeting with power brokers, green meetings, entrepreneurship, and more.




Speaking of Spring events, this past Thursday was Ground Bee Day at our household, the happy day in Spring when it gets warm enough for the native polyester bee colony that lives in our front lawn to wake up. They are very mild-mannered bees, and they are much more interested in each other than in us. I'm not even sure they have stingers. I'm told they are very good for pollinating flowers and aerating lawns, so I leave them be. Spring has arrived!

Monday, 17-Mar

PICPA -- Recruiting, Interviewing and Selecting Employees
8am - Penn State Great Valley, Malvern

PICPA -- Excel Financial Reporting and Analysis
8am - Holiday Inn Select Bucks County, Trevose

National Association of Asian American Professionals -- Tools for Balancing Your Life
5:30pm - PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, 2001 Market Street, Suite 1700

Wayne Presbyterian Church -- Career Networking Program

7:30pm - Wayne Presbyterian Church, 125 E. Lancaster Ave, Wayne

Tuesday, 18-Mar

IABC -- Media Trends in 2008: A View from 42nd Street
7:30am - The Hub, Cira Centre

Philadelphia Human Resources Planning Society (PHRPS) -- CALCULATION
7:30am - The HUB Cira Centre

GVFHRA -- How to Make Executive Coaching Work for the Leaders in Your Company
8am - Desmond Great Valley

Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce -- Philadelphia County Breakfast
8am - Union League

PICPA -- Paperless Office
8am - Holiday Inn Select Bucks County, Trevose

LeTip of Center City Philadelphia -- Weekly Meeting
11:30am - Dave and Buster's 325 North Columbus Boulevard Philadelphia

BOMA Philadelphia -- Joseph M. Casey, SEPTA GM
11:30am - The Union League

Center City Proprietors Association -- Lunch with the CITY's LEADERS
11:45am - Brasserie Perrier 1619 Walnut Street

GVFHRA -- Diversity: Strategic Imperative for the 21st Century
5:30pm - Sheraton Park Ridge

PhillyCHI -- “What Not to Hear”
6pm - Benjamin Franklin Room, Houston Hall, University of Pennsylvania

The Philadelphia Entrepreneur March Meetup
6:30pm - Phila Inquirer Building, Schuylkill River Rd Public Room, Conshohocken

Wednesday, 19-Mar

Society of Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) -- Principal's Forum: LEED Certification
8am - Principal's Forum: LEED Certification - Union League

PDMA -- “Tippecanoe and Marketing, Too” How Politics Can Turbo Charge Your Brand and Bottom Line
11:30am - Brassier Perrier

Penn Humanities Forum -- 1,000,000 Years of Music
5pm - Rainey Auditorium, Penn Museum

Associated Builders and Contractors -- March Chapter Dinner
5pm - Sheraton Park Ridge

PAMPI -- Green Meetings: The Business Context and Practical Guidance
5pm - Crowne Plaza Philadelphia

GPSEG -- NJ Chapter Dinner: Michael Camardo, Lockheed Martin
5:30pm - Tavistock Country Club

Meet Me in a Minute! -- Networking Event
6pm - Cerulean Arts, 1355 Ridge Ave, Philadelphia, PA

Malvern Circle of Entrepreneurs -- Meeting
6pm - New Century Bank, 215 Lancaster Avenue, Malvern, PA

Pennsylvania Bio -- Pennsylvania Bio Annual Dinner
6pm - Sheraton Philadelphia City Center Hotel

Womens Business Forum -- Widen Your Circle of Influence, Increase Confidence
7:30pm - James Lorah House, Doylestown

Thursday, 20-Mar

Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) Philadelphia -- Anatomy of A Distressed Investing Deal: InPhonic
7:30am - Philadelphia Country Club, 1601 Spring Mill Road, Gladwyne

Cherry Hill Regional Chamber of Commerce -- Breakfast Buffet
8am - Crowne Plaza, Cherry Hill NJ

PICPA -- Legal Toolkit for Business Owners, Controllers, and CPAs
8am - Penn State Great Valley, Malvern

Cherry Hill Regional Chamber of Commerce -- Business Expo 2008
10am - Crowne Plaza Cherry Hill

Independence Business Alliance -- LGBT Business Brown Bag: Business Banking
12pm - William Way Community Center, 1315 Spruce Street

Innovation Philadelphia -- Opportunities Abound: Career Advice and Insights from Leading HR Professionals
5:30pm - World Cafe Live 3025 Walnut Street

White Horse Pike Chamber of Commerce Connection
5:30pm - The Pufferbelly, Lindenwold, NJ

Friday, 21-Mar

PICPA -- The Complete Guide to Employment Issues: Reducing the Employer's Risk
8am - PICPA Education Center, Philadelphia

ASTD Professional Publishing SIG -- Book Publishing
9:30am - Strayer University, King of Prussia, PA campus

Saturday, 22-Mar

The Hacktory -- Easy LED: Adding Lights to Homebrew projects
1pm - Nonprofit Technology Resources (NTR)


Celtic Day photo uploaded by kk+

How to Introduce Yourself: Asking a Question at Meeting

I got a chance to watch some master networkers at work yesterday. I attended yesterday's Entrepreneur Breakfast on The Democratization of Entrepreneurship at the Baiada Center for Entrepreneurship at Drexel University (all roads seem to lead to Drexel for me these past few weeks). At the close of the panel, they took questions from the audience. Every single one of the people asking questions first took the opportunity to introduce themselves!

They all told us:

• their first and last name


• their company


• their one-sentence value proposition


• some even spoke of why they came to the meeting, or commented on the discussion

Only then did they ask their question! I've seen Steve Smolinsky hammer away at teaching people how to introduce yourself, but this is the first time I've ever observed the behavior "in the wild." It was impressive to behold.

Is it the answer you seek, or the visibility? Or both? Don't pass up an opportunity to introduce yourself in a public meeting.

Creating a Better LinkedIn Profile

While researching for my presentation on "Effective Use of LinkedIn" a few weeks ago, I discovered that my LinkedIn profile could be improved. Like most people, I had simply copied and pasted my resume into LinkedIn with hardly a second thought. Now, while I have a good resume, that didn't necessarily make for a good LinkedIn profile. So I set out to create a better LinkedIn profile. There are three things that make for a good LinkedIn profile:

• be machine-readable, yet also people-readable
• promote networking and sharing
• provide lots of handles for people find you

Machine-readable, Yet Also People-readable

By machine-readable, I am referring to keywords. LinkedIn provides its users with a powerful tool to Find and Be Found -- the LinkedIn People search. Here, users can plug in criteria for keywords, names, titles, companies, locations, industries. The more "relevant" you are in a search the higher you will place in the search results. So that means that your profile should emphasize the terms you think people will use to try and find someone like you. Not just big keywords like "CFO" or "Accounting" but the little ones like "FASB" or "SOX" that represent the more specialized knowledge and experience that you have.

By people-readable, you have to remember that, while the keyword search will get you higher in the search standings, it is a person that will make the final decision on whether your profile gets read and acted upon. So, your profile should be readable, attractive, and designed to motivate the reader to act -- call you up, send you a note, ask for a referral from a friend, etc.

A response to my question about what makes a good LinkedIn profile brought the advice to write your profile in the first-person -- using "I, me, and my" sentences -- rather than the more business-style third-person.

Promote Networking and Sharing

LinkedIn is about connecting with people, using LinkedIn as a tool to help you build and maintain trusted relationships with the people you meet and work with. So, it might be appropriate for you to include a sentence or two on why you are on LinkedIn, what sort of help you are willing to provide people, etc.

Provide Handles for People to Find You

This is the keyword idea, but with a slightly different twist. One of the best sources of connections is people you used to work with, and by listing all your previous jobs and previous companies, you give your former co-workers a better chance at finding and connecting with you. Even better, LinkedIn will keep you apprised as new people from your past employers join LinkedIn.

Another way to make connections is by your interests and your involvement in Groups. Not only does this give people a good sense of you as a "whole person," but it also creates opportunities for you to meet people with similar interests or involvements.

So, what changes did I make to my profile?

Well, here is the original one, created by condensing language in my professional biography. (You do have a professional biography, don't you? It's much better for networking than a resume.) It reads nicely, but I think it fails the test of being "machine-readable," as it is filled with nice-sounding phrases that no one would ever enter into a search engine. It is "people-readable," but it could be warmer, a bit more inviting. Also, there's really no "call to action." Does this profile make you want to get in touch with me? Well, I have been pretty successful in using LinkedIn to drive my business, so it must've worked, but I thought I could do better.


Here is the new profile. Note the use of the first person, and the style (at least in the summary) is more conversational. I've changed my positioning slightly, less strictly "high tech PR" and more on applying my experience with PR to helping companies and individuals create an "integrated approach" to marketing themselves through social media, Web, and PR activities.

I'm working in a lot of keywords, but not obviously so. Note how many times the phrases "public relations," "social media," "marketing," and "LinkedIn" are used. There are also some subtler keywords -- "consultant, coach, writer, and speaker." I've also gotten a lot more specific in my "Specialties" section.

I'm also making use of words like apply, share, focus, connect, and help. I mention specifically how I use LinkedIn and how to ask me for a connection.


So far I've gotten some good feedback from my new profile from people who have seen it. Since LinkedIn shares profile updates with my first-degree connections, a lot of them saw my new profile without my having to push it to them. I'm interested to see how it performs. I by no means think this is finished. I'm sure I will continue to tweak it. I need to beef up my activities and interests sections, for example.

This Week in Philadelphia (TWIP) for 3-9

I'm about halfway through a major survey of networking groups. Most weeks, I can do a shallow pass to see what sort of items are coming up near-term on the calendars of the groups I track. Every month or so, I need to take a longer-term view and see what sort of things are coming up six months down the horizon. I also skirt around and see if there are some new groups I should be adding. Sometimes I find out about some great activities I had never heard about.


The past few days have been very busy, doing a skit in the annual Rose Valley Folk Variety Show. It's major silliness, but it's a lot of fun and a great bonding experience with the members of the cast. I'm the "director" of my skit, and the cast includes two members of our local school board, a township director, a few members of the regional press, and numerous consultants and others spread in relatively high-level positions throughout the Philadelphia area. They'd kill me if I posted anything about the subject matter of our skit on the Internet, so you'll just have to take my word on it that our skit was wildly funny. Two people in our skit got "roses" -- the Folk's version of the Academy Award, so we are very pleased with ourselves.

Uploaded by geishaboy500

My point is, though, that this is a form of networking -- building long-term trusted relationships with people from all walks of life. I now have a whole community of people who know that I can write an outrageously funny send-up of an Amy Winehouse song!

Monday, 10-Mar

Mid-Atlantic Consultants Network -- Monthly Meeting
7:30am - Merrill Lynch, 724 West Lancaster Avenue, Wayne, PA 19087

Women's Business Development Center -- Orientation Session
6pm - 1315 Walnut Street, Suite 1124

Monthly meeting -- Financial Executives Networking Group FENG
6pm - KPMG LLP, 1601 Market Street, 36th Floor

Wayne Presbyterian Church -- Career Networking Program
7:30pm - Wayne Presbyterian Church, 125 E. Lancaster Ave, Wayne

Tuesday, 11-Mar

Sales and Marketing Executives International of Philadelphia -- How to Use Success Stories to Win More Business
7:30am - Plymouth Country Club

LeTip of Center City Philadelphia -- Weekly Meeting
11:30am - Dave and Buster's 325 North Columbus Boulevard Philadelphia

Flaster/Greenberg 2007-2008 Entrepreneur Series -- Trademark and Copyright Survival Guide
11:30am - Flaster/Greenberg P.C. Conference Center, 2nd Floor

Center City Proprietors Association -- Lunch with the CITY's LEADERS
11:45am - Brasserie Perrier 1619 Walnut Street

Cherry Hill Regional Chamber of Commerce -- Power Networking Luncheon
12pm - Coastline Restaurant, 1240 Brace Road, Cherry Hill, NJ 08034

Entrepreneurs Forum of Greater Philadelphia -- INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY - TAKING YOUR IDEA INTO A BUSINESS
5:30pm - Federal Reserve Bank

CFA Society of Philadelphia -- Networking Happy Hour
6pm - 333 Belrose Lane, Wayne, PA 19087

National Association of Asian American Professionals -- Introducing Filipino American Histories and Literature
6:30pm - Drexel University

Wednesday, 12-Mar

Center City Proprietors Association -- The Breakfast Club
7:45am - Tavern 17

Knowledge Management Group of Philadelphia -- KM Evolving in 2008 and Beyond: Notes from the Edges of Knowledge Theory
7:45am - St. Joseph's, City Line Avenue

PAMPI -- Strategic Communications to Reach the Executive
8am - ACE Conference Center

Network Now -- Brainstorming Breakfast
9am - Waterlillies in Lahaska, PA

BioNJ -- Challenges and Opportunities of Outsourcing to Europe
9am - Science Center, 3701 Market, 3rd Floor, Philadelphia

Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce -- 2008 Paradigm Award
11:30am - Crystal Tea Room, The Wanamaker Building

CreativeConnects -- Happy Hour
5:30pm - Alfa Bar

Philly AMA -- Value Propositions that Hook Customers
5:30pm - Hilton on City Line Ave

Philadelphia Black Public Relations Society -- Milestones: Stories of African American Women in the Media
6pm - PECO, An Exelon Company

Philadelphia Startup Leaders -- March Happy Hour
7:30pm - Undisclosed location

Thursday, 13-Mar

Bagels & Business, Cabrini College -- Reaching Your Clients With Ink
7:30am - The Mansion, Cabrini College

Drexel University, Baiada Center -- The Democratization of Entrepreneurship: Let Me In!
7:30am - George D. Behrakis Grand Hall, Creese Student Union, Drexel

GPSEG Financial Executives Subgroup -- Record Retention
7:30am - Doubletree Guest Suites

Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce -- Business Before Hours
8am - JC Melrose Country Club, Cheltenham

eWomenNetwork -- How to Overcome the Generational Divide in the Workplace
11am - Union League

PPRA -- Annual Speed Pitching Program
11:30am - World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut Street

Business Club of America -- Cocktail Reception
5:30pm - Bala Country Club, 2200 Belmont Ave, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19131

Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce -- City Council Reception
5:30pm - PNC Bank, Executive Dining Room

New Jersey Association of Women Business Owners -- Barbara Boggs Sigmund Awards Reception
6pm - Trenton Marriott

Friday, 14-Mar

Business Club of America -- AM Breakfast Event Featuring Coach Ken Carter
7:15am - Crystal Tea Room

IMC-Philly -- Friday Breakfast: LinkedIn - A Tool to Help You Build a Consulting Practice
7:30am - Sheraton Park Ridge, King of Prussia, PA

Rutgers University -- 5th Annual New Jersey Biomedical Engineering Showcase
7:30am - Rutgers Busch Campus Center

La Salle Nonprofit Center -- Harnessing the Power of Your Nonprofit Brand
8:30am - United Way of Burlington County

Saturday, 15-Mar

National Speakers Association -- Guerilla Marketing for the Professional Speaker with Orvel Ray Wilson
8am - Valley Forge Radisson

PACS -- Anne Chase, DriveSavers Data Recovery
8am - Upper Moreland Middle School

ASTD Organizational Development SIG -- Diagnosing Performance Problems
9:30am - Strayer University, King of Prussia

Teaching Is a Great Way to Network, part 2

Last week, Todd Cohen and I led a Personal Selling class at Drexel University in a wide-ranging discussion on the strategic relationship between marketing and sales. Todd and I both came away impressed with the level of knowledge and the drive we saw in the students.

I've written before on how teaching is a great way to network: you get positioned as an expert, you get to talk about yourself and your experience for an hour, and (if you do it right) you get a room full of people that will go tell all their friends about this great expert they heard speak. You can't buy that sort of advertising.

The same goes for speaking. If you are speaking to a group that's open to the public, then you get all the free advanced publicity, and then later you get to put "guest lecturer" or "popular speaker" in your list of accomplishments. I can tell you, having been maintaining the FunWithNetworking calendar of events over the past few months, that there are people who speak regularly at different networking groups around the area. It's a great way to get visibility.

Photo on Flickr used in exchange for a link to Futuristmovies.com

Every time I have spoken somewhere, it has opened the door to new opportunities for me. For example, I spoke to a class at Villanova in September on Corporate Communications. One of the people in the class later connected with me on LinkedIn and became a regular reader of my blog. A few weeks ago, he was telling some of his co-workers about me and my blog, and they've now invited me to come in and talk with them as a possible consultant.

I'm not sure yet where this is going to go, but none of it would have happened if I hadn't made the effort to speak back in September.

This Week in Philadelphia (TWIP) for 3/2

Just a quick post today. No pictures.


Monday, 3-Mar

GVFHRA -- Career Networking Group
5:30pm - Right Management, Berwyn PA

Wayne Presbyterian Church -- Career Networking Program
7:30pm - Wayne Presbyterian Church, 125 E. Lancaster Ave, Wayne

Tuesday, 4-Mar

GVFHRA -- Tying Wellness to Your Benefits Strategy
8am - Penn State Great Valley

Network Now -- Real Estate & Mortgage Workshop
9:30am - Bucks County Coffee Co, 22 N Main St, Doylestown

LaSalle Nonprofit Center -- Best Practices in Board Governance
9:30am - Health Federation of Philadelphia

LeTip of Center City Philadelphia -- Weekly Meeting
11:30am - Dave and Buster's 325 North Columbus Boulevard Philadelphia

Center City Proprietors Association -- Lunch with the CITY's LEADERS
11:45am - Brasserie Perrier 1619 Walnut Street

NJ Department of Community Affairs -- 2008 Governor's Conference for Women VIP Reception
4pm - Sheraton Atlantic City

Center City Proprietor's Association -- The Art of Woo
5:30pm - Helium Comedy Club

The Innovator's Club -- Search Marketing 201
6pm - The Great American Pub

The Hacktory -- General Mtg #5
7:30pm - Nonprofit Technology Resources (NTR)

Wednesday, 5-Mar

NJ Department of Community Affairs -- 2008 Governor's Conference for Women
All day - Atlantic City Convention Center

ExecuNet -- Philadelphia Networking
7:30am - Sheraton Park Ridge Hotel, King of Prussia

Womens Business Forum -- Improve Your Communication Skills, Get Positive Results
8am - James Lorah House, Doylestown

PAMPI -- Basic Ingredients Workshop
8:15am - The Inn at Lambertville Station

ExecuNet -- Philadelphia Senior Executive Roundtable
9:30am - Sheraton Park Ridge Hotel, King of Prussia

Cherry Hill Regional Chamber of Commerce -- Camden Chamber Networking Luncheon
12pm - Pub Restaurant, Pennsauken

GPSEG Technology Subgroup -- Pre-St. Patrick's Day Social
6pm - Kildare's King of Prussia

Thursday, 6-Mar

NIRI Philadelphia -- An Afternoon at the Philly FED
Exact time unknown, presumably in the afternoon - Philly FED

Philly AMA (American Marketing Association) -- Advanced Marketing Bootcamp
All day - The Hub CityView, Philadelphia

Philadelphia SHRM -- Professional Development Series: Total Rewards
7:30am - Loews Philadelphia Hotel

WRBC -- Financing for Gender Equity and Empowerment of Women
8am - Blank Rome LLP, One Logan Square

eWomen Network -- Strategic Business Introductions
11:30am - First Financial Group, Bala Cynwyd, PA

Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) Philadelphia -- Private Equity Only Workshop: Liquidity Options & Trends in Private Equity
4pm - Philadelphia Country Club, 1601 Spring Mill Road

PICPA -- Emerging CPAs Networking Mixer
5:30pm - Fox and Hound, King of Prussia (or maybe Kildare's)

Philadelphia Ad Club -- ADDY CELEBRATION 2008
6pm - Philadelphia Museum of Art

National Association of Asian American Professionals -- NAAAP Philadelphia General Meeting
7pm - The National Kidney Foundation of the Delaware Valley, The Bourse Building

Friday, 7-Mar

Philly AMA (American Marketing Association) -- Advanced Marketing Bootcamp
All day event (second day) - The Hub CityView, Philadelphia

ASTD Consultants' Forum SIG -- Customer Loyalty
9am - Strayer University, 234 Mall Blvd. King of Prussia

GPSEG CIO Subgroup -- Where Are Our Future IT Leaders Coming From?
11:30am - Aldo Lamberti

Saturday, 8-Mar

Career Transitions -- The Essential Skills of Communications
9:15am - Strayer University, 234 Mall Blvd. King of Prusssia

The Hacktory -- Open Hacking Session
12pm - Nonprofit Technology Resources (NTR)