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NETWORKING
E M E R G I N G T R E N D S
What’s new on the networking front? For better or worse networking is changing; here is some advice on how to navigate the new digital age.
BY LIISA ANDREASSEN Correspondent
“This is a major cost savings to us in terms of em- ployee downtime and travel expenses,” he says. “We do still have quite a few in-office vendor pre- sentations, but as far as paid training out of town, this is very minimal for us.” FACE TIME – THE REAL KIND! Craig Stauffer, president of PCS Structural Solutions (Seattle, WA), a 40-person structural engineering firm, says some of the networking trends they are seeing are a little disconcerting. “For instance, horizontal networking and business development are very important, and many of the people who I worked with early on in my career are in decision-making positions today. These re- lationships initially developed in face-to-face, one- on-one meetings – and it was in those meetings that you really got to know each other, on both a personal and professional level. However now, so many of the meetings are web-based, and you just call in from your desk.” Stauffer says that while they can be efficient, there’s little to no personal connection to the other people See WHAT’S NEW, page 4
T he days of comparing notes over a cup of Joe or telling tales from the field over a martini are quickly waning. More and more networking among peers is taking place in the cloud rather than on the ground. Is that a good thing, bad, or maybe a little of both? “Email allows busy executives to easily stay in touch with contacts and quickly receive feedback on a question or business request.” A TRAINING NETWORK. Greg Shipley, president of Morri- son-Shipley Engineers (Fort Smith, AR), a 37-per- son firm, says that a lot of their networking has to do with finding out how others are doing their training and what’s trending in that arena. He says that they used to get this information by traveling to events, but he now sees a large increase in the amount of content that they take in via webinars.
THE ZWEIG LETTER SEPTEMBER 28, 2015, ISSUE 1121
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