Douglas Wilder, former Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the first black governor elected in the United States, gave me advice that I will never forget. He said: “From now on when you walk into a room, walk in that room as if it were your own, when you talk to people remember to keep your principles, keep your word and people will want to associate with you.” His advice became consistent with my career and everyday life.
At the time, that advice seemed a little arrogant, but in hindsight, your advice has given me passage to many executive suites, corporate boardrooms, and helped me build strong relationships. His advice came at a time when he was desperately seeking insight and help from anyone willing to share their knowledge of what it takes to be successful in business as a young African-American, especially one on the speaking circuit.
Seemingly overnight, in a section of Fairfax, Virginia, businesses spread out within a two-block radius have changed ownership from a predominantly white business establishment to an Asian and Latino establishment. They are receiving a prosperous mutual support. Of course, I think it’s great to witness that in the land of milk and honey everyone can achieve success. But how long will African Americans continue to allow years of division to keep us from getting the rich and wealth we deserve? Why is it difficult for African Americans to build business alliances and partnerships with each other?
Marie Johns, President and CEO of Verizon Communications Washington Company, said, “Building alliances and partnerships is a dynamic organic process. It forms and reshapes itself. As professionals move into different sets of responsibilities, there is a need to establish networking with new people, as well as maintaining current alliances. You can never say your network is complete. There are always interesting people you can network with that would end up being a valuable experience.”
In today’s business culture, having productive business relationships is a way of life. People do business with people they know and people they like. They do business by referrals from people whose judgment they trust. Albert Einstein said it best: “Confidence is what stands the test of experience.”
Similarly, Frank Fahrenkopf, co-chair of the Commission on Presidential Debates, said during our interview that it’s best to “look for opportunities and see where there’s a need, think about it while making sure you have a plan, set goals that are achievable.” then prove yourself for your professionalism as you go through each small step until you reach the end. It’s very important to be able to articulate his views once your goals have been set.”
It is foundations like the Emerging Business Forum that see the need and are bringing minorities together as the culmination of essentials for business growth, knowledge transfer for personal and business relationships. But does former Governor Wilder have a valid point about how to attract quality relationships? More importantly, what are universities doing to educate students on partnership building before they enter the workforce?
Cliff McKnight, counselor and associate professor at Montgomery College in Maryland, believes that “colleges need to engage students in leadership activities such as clubs and other organizations through the office of student life. It’s an important component of student development.” students”. His belief is noble. But without a formal setting, is joining clubs enough to provide competent networking skills?
Dr. Ivan Misner, president and founder of BNI (Business Network Int’l), an international organization that manages two thousand network chapters, says: no! Colleges and universities aren’t teaching networking skills because professors don’t know about the subject.” Why? “Because it’s an emerging topic and many aren’t familiar with the art of networking,” Misner said.
After years of research, informational interviews, and hundreds of social events, I discovered that the key to creating successful alliances and partnerships is using the NAAP approach. The NAAP approach is coined and defined as a three-dimensional approach to creating lasting partnerships. The rules of participation are:
oNetworking–First stage, strictly to build a Rolodex of contacts and experience. Identify professionals who have association potential.
oAction-Alliance–Second stage, relationship building takes place in this stage. It is important to keep in touch or practice due diligence. This process can take months or several years.
oAssociations–Third stage, after completing stages one and two, a shared purpose for the association can be determined. At this point, there should be a solid foundation for working together; call in your chips.
In contrast, Marilyn Crawford of Primetime Omni media says, “If you’ve built a genuine relationship with a person, there’s no such thing as calling for help. If you need help with something and you go to a certain person, you’re essentially forwarding the relationship. In turn, they are simply sending opportunities to other people.” Crawford went on to say, “If I need something from an alliance, I’m comfortable enough with the relationship to pick up the phone and say this is what I need, can you help me? On the other hand, because that person is comfortable with it they’ll tell me yes or no. Just be prepared for possible rejection.”
Rejection! Rejection? Many African Americans will say that the fundamental nature of is nothing new and that the word itself has no meaning until rejection by banks and lending institutions makes the word real. “It’s the banks, they refuse to give loans to minorities,” said one woman as she read a draft of this article. Perhaps Rennie Williams, a professional barber dubbed a “debate laureate” by the Washington Post, is saying what some are afraid to say: “It’s trust. Who can you really trust in business? distrust stagnates our culture”.
In my opinion, the easiest and most effective way to achieve many strong alliances simultaneously is to:
o Go directly to the decision maker. Start at the top. It is the top-down theory. Going straight to the top will eliminate the corporate politics of starting at the bottom. Top decision makers assign projects to the right person.
oPresent your credentials before a presentation. Having a good image can open many doors. Presenting your credentials before you meet with potential partners allows them to get a sense of who you are and the previous work you’ve done.
o Provide any professional supporting documentation. Submission of supporting documentation, such as patents, trade articles, or related achievements, is often the deciding factor for executives to accept your meeting request.
o Have a reason for the dialogue. Make sure the purpose of communicating with potential partners is compelling. Ask yourself this, is the meeting more to help them or to help me? If it’s more for them, your chances of collaborating increase considerably.
o Uphold good values, strong ethics and moral principles. Would you do business with a liar and a cheat? Of course not! Never assume you know someone’s values and ethics. The best rule of thumb is to behave and treat others with the utmost respect.
Building successful alliances and partnerships is more critical than ever. It takes more than having a college degree and it takes more than just having an outstanding job title. Just remember, no matter how much money you have, creating partnerships that work takes personality and action. Once you combine these two ingredients and see the benefit of the partnerships you form, you’ll understand why Tim Russert, host of Meet the Press television newsmagazine, says, “Building partnerships has been the most important component that It helped develop my career.”