Networking of the other kind

The IT community
seems to be discovering the power of networking! All over again.
Surprised? Well, if you are the type capable of lateral thinking,
you should not be.

The HR community
for quite sometime has known the type of networking I am alluding
to. Individual HR consultants, trainers etc have for long
networked with each other to discover business opportunities that
require complementary skills or do not conflict with their areas
of specialization, may be it was an arrangement that they sought
realizing the limitation of their own reach. Ofcourse, I am not
an authority on the dynamics of the arrangement, nor can I
comment on the level of trust that the individuals repose on each
other. But they all seem to realize that it is probably the best
arrangement they could hope for. The fact that this network
exists should be a proof enough that it works.

The HR community
is not alone. Network marketing has made in-roads into other
areas as well. Look at the success of Oriflame, Tupperware,
Amway, Herbal Life, etc. People behind these names have created
opportunities for themselves and for others by simple word of
mouth. And while there is a definite program that they follow,
the mathematics of it all is rather straightforward. The more
people there are to talk about and promote your product, the
better. Continuing adding people to the community, is the mantra.
Even if the strike rate for finding good guys is low, the sheer
numbers generated should throw up sufficient promising sales
persons to help build the business.

What is notable
about this latter type of networking business is its ethos.
‘Work to make others succeed’. It is a simple formula.
Nothing succeeds like success. One success leads to another and
to another. Heightens motivation. Creates high energy levels. The entire focus is on helping team
members generate ‘wins’. It is a ‘give’
philosophy, not a ‘take’ philosophy. You help some one.
Someone else helps you. And you build a chain where each member
is helping someone down this chain. Could you create a more
positive work ethos?

Compare this to
the other type of networking that some of the organizations in
the IT industry are trying to foster. This is a pure
opportunistic model. You create a forum for people to meet. And
then each member tries to locate others who can help him generate
business! The operating principle seems to be, “you get me
two leads, I will get you two!” Well, I guess each community
has its own compulsions based on the dynamics of the industry. So
it would not be fair to pass judgement on one based on what is
happening in the other.

The important
thing is that people are realizing that they need each other. For
sometime now, large organizations have tried to grow and
strengthen their positions by acquiring smaller organizations.
Some, like the Levers even tried eliminating competition.
(Remember the take over of Kwality icecreams and 100%). But that
has not succeeded. Has it? You still have strong regional players
like Mother Dairy giving them a run for their money.

In the IT sector,
not very long ago, almost every Internet Data Center (IDC) wanted
to provide managed services too, a la the MSPs. Today many of
them are rethinking their strategies and focussing on their core
business of providing infrastructure on rent. They are more open
to partnerships for providing value-added services.

It is a movement
in the right direction. The speed with which the services market
is expanding, (thanks to newer enabling technologies); it will be
virtually impossible for one organization to provide all related
services. ISPs are a good example. In the name of convergence
they went full hog with business plans, to add IDC infrastructure
as well as flirted with ideas of becoming MSPs themselves. Most
of them (at least in India) would be happy today getting their
ISP core business off the ground.

Venture
capitalists too are a chastened lot now. Their ‘two
successes out of 10 ventures funded’ mathematics has not
worked out. Apart from getting more practical and business like
in their approach to evaluating proposals, they are now also
prone to spreading risk. Convergence is good theory and may be
inevitable. But that does not mean that energy organization can
pull it off.

And so it is that
networking has acquired a new meaning even in the IT sector. And
the inspiration might well have been from the unlikeliest of
places—our HR brethren. Or, perhaps from non-IT folks like Oriflame.

What direction
this new marketing approach takes, only time will tell. Knowing
the IT community, I am sure it will add its own unique character
to the approach. Again, knowing the industry, I am also sure that
the biggest stumbling block to the networking approach will be
the element of trust.

Trust transcends
many things and helps overcome barriers. What divides humanity is
mistrust. Mans’ desire to over reach and in the process even
out do others of what is rightfully someone else’s, is
possibly the biggest negative factor that breeds mistrust. Man is
not happy with what he has. He is unhappy because of what the
other guy has! Network marketing is about trust. Is the IT
industry read for it?