10x Networkers

I'm a geek and proud of it. It gives me a unique perspective on life. To make things even more interesting I'm a left-handed engineer, which means I'm constantly using both the logical and creative sides of my brain to solve problems. Simple tests suggest my right brain is slightly dominant, which is not surprising for a southpaw:

Right Brain/ Left Brain Quiz The higher of these two numbers below indicates which side of your brain has dominance in your life. Realising your right brain/left brain tendency will help you interact with and to understand others. Left Brain Dominance: (10) Right Brain Dominance: (11) Right Brain/ Left Brain Quiz

What can I say? I'm unique!

All this self-aggrandisation is fine, and does wonders for my ego, but what on earth does it have to do with 10x Networkers?

I keep up-to-date with technology management and I'm fascinated by the challenges posed by the need to manage teams of open source developers. I see those challenges as directly relevant to those faced by many team leaders in network marketing. For example, how do you motivate people when you can't see their hour-by-hour performance and working practices? How do you have effective meetings that move the entire team forward when people can make excuses not to plug into the webinar or conference call? How do you build the team spirit that means people will go the extra mile, not for themselves, but for their team-mates?

There's a lot of discussion in the open source community at the moment about a concept called "The 10x Developer". These are the superstars who work agilely, stick to To-Do lists, focus on the essentials, don't reinvent the wheel, constantly self-educate, and spend money on the tools when the investment pays off in time saved.

We need to be recruiting and training "The 10x Networker":

1. Communicate first, then do only what needs to be done, choosing the simplest solution that solves the problem. Don't leap off at a tangent or waste time on work that will not push you closer to your goals.

2. Don't reinvent the wheel. Your company has provided you with systems that work; trust them and use them. I know people who have spent thousands of pounds on building their 'own' systems, websites, etc. They could have spend that money on building a team and a customer base.

3. Learn constantly. Identify what skills and/or qualities you lack, then get yourself some training.

4. Buy tools that save you time. Cost out how much time, paper and ink it would cost you to print off 4000 lead generation leaflets, for example. Now go find a printer who will under-cut that price. It won't be difficult.

5. Focus. Divide your day into productive sections and avoid email, social networking sites and incoming calls during that time.

6. Plan your activity in detail.


7. Review regularly and often. Kill your precious plan if it's not working; but first, try some radical surgery.

8. Talk to people. Networking only pays off if you work on it.

9. Give yourself permission to step away from your work. If you spend 100% of your time on your business, you'll end up with nothing, long-term. Taking a break, spending time with friends and family, will allow you to re-invigorate your focus.

10. Get on with it! Start small, but just do something every day to move yourself and your business forward.

If we live our lives according to these guidelines, then our teams will copy us. If we don't, then our teams will copy us...