Business Communication

Prof. Bringi Dev and Prof. Rakesh Godhwani

Week 3
A very important aspect of interpersonal communication is it helps in a professional life. Now let's ask
ourselves why does it help in a professional life? Because when we interact with someone, when they
like us, I think the add to all networks and professional networking is a very important part of
interpersonal communication.

Now you would have heard this term a lot of times, but I'd like to talk about it from a slightly different
perspective. I am sure your day watch this movie called "The Godfather". It's one of my favourite
movies. In that there is a scene where God father has a wedding of his daughter going on but then
people come to his office one by one and ask for favours and when he gives a favour he tells one of
his assistance or his son's to write down in a black book that I gave a favour to this person and there's
a marvellous scene of this person call Anthony Bonasera and comes and ask for a favour from the don.
And the don listens to him he says okay I'll help you and he gives that fav our. But he then he tells
Sunny to remember this, that we should recover this favour at some point of time.

Now if you look at this dynamics of the scene it might look very crude that does professional
networking mean that you have to ask for favours and return them. On a morale aspect it might sound
a little sad, but I think that's the ultimate reality. We all are very transactional in nature.
Communication is the tool that helps us perform our transactions and professional networking help
us improve our quality of lives and that's where transactional thinking is very important.

So, I don't hesitate to call networking as a way to get my work done and it’s easier for me to manage
that. And how do network shape up? When there is a transaction between two people.

Why would somebody keep in you in a network? Because they see some benefit in having them or
you in their networks.

So, the fundamental definition of network is your ability to get your work done through your influence
with the other person. Now how does one network and that's when interpersonal communication
becomes very important. In fact, networking is not that you just go and exchange visiting cards, that's
not networking at all. Networking is an art and it takes about 12 to 15 meetings and interactions for a
bank balance to be created between two parties which is called networking. And this bank balance is
what you need to start looking at, that look at your relationships. Is your bank balance with each of
these person very healthy which means, can you ask something from them and can you give
something to them? And if the answer is 'yes' then that means you have a great network. If the answer
is 'no' that oh! I have just to acquaintance.

I think this network is weak and I'll give you a simple example. In one of my anecdotal experiences I
had a little problem with my car. And the car had a problem on some of the paperwork that we had.
And my wife knew a student of her's whose father used to work in the department where this work
was getting done. And my work was never getting done. But I requested my wife to help me connect
with this person, I approached him, and I told him very clearly that I need some help and he said he'll
help me, and he did help me. And one day I returned the favour by inviting him for a cup of coffee and
he had some problem which I solve for him and this is how networks work. That I was able to use my
influence to get something from him and I return the favour for him as well and now our bank balance
is much more healthy we both know each other very well we are good friends and we help each other
all the time.

If you keep this definition in mind for professional networking I think you'll have a great network. So,
I going to give you some steps to start building your networks, here they are.

© All Rights Reserved, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore

 Business Communication
Prof. Bringi Dev and Prof. Rakesh Godhwani

Week 3

The first step is to start maintaining a black book or a diary of your networks. The simplest way is
LinkedIn. You could use LinkedIn to know who is in your network.

The second one is you should genuinely invest time in meeting peo ple and this is something I
encourage you to do that in every day of your life, you must be consuming at least two and three cups
of coffee. You definitely have a breakfast and lunch at office. Use this time to meet someone you don't
know. In fact, when I was working in the corporate, I used to make it a point that I will have a coffee
with someone I don't know. I would go up to them, ask them if they are free and have a cup of coffee
for 5-minutes. Ask some very polite questions without sounding very creepy and I earned a friendship.
And overtime time this friendship would convert into a good professional network which would help
me and them very corporately, very professionally. So, the second step is invest time.

Now comes the difficult part of networking the third step. The third step is called a leverage. A leverage
is something that you can offer to the other person. Now this is where things get very difficult, but I'd
like you to think. Look at your professional life, look at your power that you have . Can you give people
something out of that? For example, can you help someone’s child get an internship in your company?
Can you help them with information? Can you help them with something in your own networks? And
this is called a leverage, that how much influence you carry and what can you give. In my life, I realise
that I can give lot of knowledge, without asking anything in return and that's the leverage I may have
over my networks. Sometimes your all sitting on seats of positions and power, maybe yo u have a
investment that you could give out and give to entrepreneurs and that's a grate leverage. So, start
looking at what you can give and used constructively to build networks.

Once you have built the network and you built the leverage, the fourth step is that when you en -cash
the leverage you have to make sure it is replenished. I gave an example of my friend who help me with
my car and I replenished that with a cup of coffee. So, this is like a bank balance, when you take
something out put something back in and do it genuinely which is the final step of networking.
Networking has to be done from the heart you cannot do it always like a transaction because it sounds
fake. Do it as a human element be genuinely interested in people work on them use leverages with
them and replenish the bank balance but do it with utmost sincerity. This is how your network will
increase and you'll have a great professional life.

© All Rights Reserved, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore