Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Network With Other Senior Executives
Last week I sent out an email via Plaxo to the 4000+ people in my address book, with my new work contact information, and requested that they send me their updated info as well. I then received an invitation from John Felter to check out an executives' networking group that he runs. John is a VP with Willis, one of the largest insurance brokers in the country. I attended the networking event tonight, and was very impressed by the calibre of the people there. I think that I will make it a point to attend regularly.
Here's a bit of what John wrote about the group:
2. Invitation only
3. B2B only
4. Quality business people
5. Limit the overlap of professions
The format was that everyone went around and introduced himself or herself very briefly. After everyone in the room finished (about 18 people), then we went around a second time. Each person then discussed his or her background or company's products and services in more detail. Also, each person can tell the others what kinds of professionals (by industry, type of role, or even specific companies) that they are looking to networking with. This kind of reminds me of the 1-page networking plan that I had developed and used.
So, if you are in New York and would like to find out more about this group, let me know and I can connect you with John. If you're not in New York, I recommend that you find something similar, or perhaps even better, you can start a networking group for executives!
-Joshua Li
Here's a bit of what John wrote about the group:
Concept: The purpose of our group is to fellowship, exchange ideas, identify potential business opportunities, and educate ourselves about different industries.
Structure (limited structure):
1. Meet twice a month
2. Invitation only
3. B2B only
4. Quality business people
5. Limit the overlap of professions
The format was that everyone went around and introduced himself or herself very briefly. After everyone in the room finished (about 18 people), then we went around a second time. Each person then discussed his or her background or company's products and services in more detail. Also, each person can tell the others what kinds of professionals (by industry, type of role, or even specific companies) that they are looking to networking with. This kind of reminds me of the 1-page networking plan that I had developed and used.
So, if you are in New York and would like to find out more about this group, let me know and I can connect you with John. If you're not in New York, I recommend that you find something similar, or perhaps even better, you can start a networking group for executives!
-Joshua Li
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Network With Anderson Alums - Dean Olian Reception
A couple of night ago, I had the pleasure of attending the New York reception for the new Dean of the Anderson School of Management at UCLA, Dean Judy Olian. It was held at the Bloomberg building on Lexington Ave, a really great venue.
There were a very large number of alums there, as well as many admitted students. I was very impressed by the high caliber of the admitted students. The graduated from impressive schools, and are in fairly significant positions. I really enjoyed my conversation with them.
Dean Olian greeted the alums and welcomed all the admitted students. She noted that Anderson was just ranked in the top 10 business schools by U.S. News & World Report, as well as in the top 10 in several specific disciplines. She mentioned that the Anderson faculty was also quite renowned and top ranked. Even though UCLA had just lost in the NCAA Championship game the night before, she joked at being #2 in the nation wasn't all that bad.
Dean Olian asked all the admitted students to raise their hands. Then she asked all those students who had decided to attend Anderson to put their hands down. She asked the alums to look around and note the folks with their hands still raised and go speak with them about Anderson, which is what I did.
As I spoke with the admitted students, several of them asked me what differentiates Anderson from another top 10 school that they are considering. I told them that they will get a solid education at any of the top 10 schools, but what sets Anderson apart is the great culture, awesome location, and the warmth and helpfulness of their future classmates and alums. Some of the great extracurricular activities that I really enjoyed were the TEC On-Campus, sponsored by the Entrepreneur Association, and the Silicon Valley Days On The Job, organized by the High Tech Business Association (of which I was a past President and organizer). I really had very fond memories of my days at Anderson.
I also spoke to Linda Baldwin, the Director of Admissions. The credit for Anderson admitting such high quality students belongs to Linda and her team. I know Linda personally, so if you are interested in going to B-School and thinking about applying to Anderson in the future, let me know and I will send Linda a quick note.
If you are one of the admitted students and have not yet decided to attend, feel free to email me at any time. I can tell you more about my wonderful experiences at Anderson and why you should attend.
-Joshua Li
There were a very large number of alums there, as well as many admitted students. I was very impressed by the high caliber of the admitted students. The graduated from impressive schools, and are in fairly significant positions. I really enjoyed my conversation with them.
Dean Olian greeted the alums and welcomed all the admitted students. She noted that Anderson was just ranked in the top 10 business schools by U.S. News & World Report, as well as in the top 10 in several specific disciplines. She mentioned that the Anderson faculty was also quite renowned and top ranked. Even though UCLA had just lost in the NCAA Championship game the night before, she joked at being #2 in the nation wasn't all that bad.
Dean Olian asked all the admitted students to raise their hands. Then she asked all those students who had decided to attend Anderson to put their hands down. She asked the alums to look around and note the folks with their hands still raised and go speak with them about Anderson, which is what I did.
As I spoke with the admitted students, several of them asked me what differentiates Anderson from another top 10 school that they are considering. I told them that they will get a solid education at any of the top 10 schools, but what sets Anderson apart is the great culture, awesome location, and the warmth and helpfulness of their future classmates and alums. Some of the great extracurricular activities that I really enjoyed were the TEC On-Campus, sponsored by the Entrepreneur Association, and the Silicon Valley Days On The Job, organized by the High Tech Business Association (of which I was a past President and organizer). I really had very fond memories of my days at Anderson.
I also spoke to Linda Baldwin, the Director of Admissions. The credit for Anderson admitting such high quality students belongs to Linda and her team. I know Linda personally, so if you are interested in going to B-School and thinking about applying to Anderson in the future, let me know and I will send Linda a quick note.
If you are one of the admitted students and have not yet decided to attend, feel free to email me at any time. I can tell you more about my wonderful experiences at Anderson and why you should attend.
-Joshua Li
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Network With Colleagues
It's been a long, long time since my last post. I took some vacation before I started a new job, and I've been quite busy since. Before I left my previous job at nMatrix (now a part of EPIQ Systems), I sent an email through LinkedIn to each colleague that I worked with to thank them for all of their help, and asked that they keep in touch with me through LinkedIn. Many of them did sign up and connect with me. Having them connected to me will help us to keep in touch, because I can always search for them on LinkedIn and see their current email address and location.
After I started my new role as VP of Customer Management at RichFx, a B2B E-Commerce company that is a leader in online visual merchandising solutions, I imported the company's employee directory into my LinkedIn address book. Right away, I can see all of the RichFx employees that are also already on LinkedIn. I send all of these folks an email saying what a pleasure it was to meet them and that I looked forward to working with them in the future, and invited them to connect to me.
As I get to know my colleagues and direct reports at RichFx better, (those who are not already on LinkedIn), I will invite them to join and connect.
So, whether you are starting a new job, leaving your current job, or have been in your job for a while, I would recommend networking with your colleagues from your current and past employers. LinkedIn has a feature to tell you very quickly who are the other people at your company who are already on LinkedIn.
-Joshua Li
After I started my new role as VP of Customer Management at RichFx, a B2B E-Commerce company that is a leader in online visual merchandising solutions, I imported the company's employee directory into my LinkedIn address book. Right away, I can see all of the RichFx employees that are also already on LinkedIn. I send all of these folks an email saying what a pleasure it was to meet them and that I looked forward to working with them in the future, and invited them to connect to me.
As I get to know my colleagues and direct reports at RichFx better, (those who are not already on LinkedIn), I will invite them to join and connect.
So, whether you are starting a new job, leaving your current job, or have been in your job for a while, I would recommend networking with your colleagues from your current and past employers. LinkedIn has a feature to tell you very quickly who are the other people at your company who are already on LinkedIn.
-Joshua Li
