Lesson Overview

When NetWeaving began, most of the applicability was thought to be in conjunction with those involved in sales and marketing. It was seen as a tool to create and build meaningful and trusted relationships with existing customers and clients.  It also proved to be a way to develop new business by utilizing the action steps of NetWeaving:  serving as a connector of others, as well as a no-strings-attached, information and resource provider for others.

Also, by constantly being on the lookout for people across all fields and professions who are exceptional at what they do, and then first finding a way to help them, NetWeaving teaches you to invite them to become part of your Trusted Resource Network.  By doing so, you develop the reputation as the ‘go-to person’, due in large part to the quality and depth and breadth of your network and that enhances your sales expertise.

But then, Human Resource professionals began recognizing an application for NetWeaving as a way to tear down or at least reduce some of the walls and silo’s that exist inside most companies and which thwart cooperation and collaboration.

By developing an internal culture of NetWeaving where people just get to know each other as human beings, and/or by creating a NetWeaving Enrichment Council made up of high energy people who become ambassadors of, and cheerleaders for, the concept, along with a few highly respected SME’s (subject matter experts), an entirely new atmosphere can be fostered which promotes collaboration and cooperation.

Then Non-Profit organizations discovered that NetWeaving could help by getting their Board Members and key volunteers to get to know each other at a much deeper level.

Also, by showing high-powered Board Members how to host a NetWeaving meeting by introducing two of their good friends to each other, they could almost guarantee that at the end of the meeting, one or both would ask their host how they could help him or her.

That often leads to a natural segue to talk about the cause about which they are so passionate, and to ask for help – whether that means the other person’s time, their money, or just an awareness of this cause as a passion of theirs.

And next, people already in, or anticipating being in, a job-search mode, were shown how spending some part of their time ‘hosting’ in-person or virtual NetWeaving meetings, could often lead to an introduction to someone willing to help, or in some cases directly to a job offer.

Then it was discovered that NetWeaving could be applied at every level of education: 

 Elementary School Students: in the early elementary school grades as a way for children to learn how to introduce themselves, as well as to introduce their friends, to other children whom they didn’t even know, thus reducing or eliminating some of the cliquishness which tends to develop in the later grades.

High Schools Students: As a lifelong skill set for those willing at this stage to look to their future and recognize that their success will largely be determined by how well they are able to create and sustain relationships with others.

Colleges Students: As a way to super-charge the launch of a career by teaching them how to host in-person meetings with persons 20, 30 or more years above their own age – using their age to their advantage – almost eliminating the chance of rejection and often recruiting mentors while they’re at it. By doing so, they will have created a Trusted Resource Network within a few years that would be the envy of someone twice their age.  In fact, college students are advised that from this point forward, regardless of the field they choose, they should act as if they in the executive search industry. They need to constantly be on the lookout for people who are exceptional at what they do – regardless of his or her field.  And when they find one of these individuals (e.g. read an article by or about the person; hear a speech, are introduced by someone who knows them, etc.), it’s their job to find a way to help them and then stay in touch. That’s another way to build their Trusted Resource Network.

Business club and Service Organizations found that NetWeaving could deepen relationships within the entire organization and in some cases transform a fairly stodgy and closed business or club environment into one with an open and friendly atmosphere. And the hosting meetings that were set up often involved bringing in non-club members as the third person in a hosting meeting, which translated into new members wanting to join as they sensed the energy in the club, stimulated by NetWeaving activities.

Entire cities and or regions recognized how the concept could be used as a rallying theme to help identify and unlock hidden and undiscovered, or under-utilized, resources and assets within the community by creating a more collaborative environment in which disparate parties – business, government, education, and nonprofits – all look for ways to put aside their own agendas to work toward common goals.

And no doubt, as time goes on, new applications for NetWeaving will be discovered and more connections will be made, and more resources will be provided.  It’s conceivable that in line with the schoolteacher’s challenge in the book and movie, Pay It Forward – to “Create something that can change the world” . . .and then “Put it into action” – NetWeaving – the business version of Pay It Forward, may help that become a reality.