The Prospecting Professor

Happy Arbor Day!

Arbor Day was the brainchild of J. Sterling Morton, a native of Detroit who moved to the Nebraska Territory in 1854. Disturbed by the treeless plain that he had immigrated to, he became an enthusiastic advocate of planting trees, shrubs and flowers. As the editor of Nebraska's first newspaper, he had the forum to spread his agricultural evangelism.

Over the years, Morton's infectious enthusiasm for tree-planting was adopted by his fellow Nebraskans. In 1885, Arbor Day was declared a legal holiday for the state. Today, Arbor Day is celebrated by states and countries throughout the world...and the most common date for the state observances in the last Friday in April.

As a resident of Minnesota, The Prospecting Professor has a special affinity for trees. It is not widely known that, at one time, white pine forests covered 70% of the state. The white pine of the Upper Mississippi was a magnificent tree. Sometimes it stood in the forest 200 feet high with a diameter of 5 feet. The largest, and most famous, white pine in the state was the 'Cass Lake Pine', which was 425 years old, and yielded 6300 board feet of timber.

No other soft wood had as many desirable qualities as the white pine. It was strong, slow to decay, light in weight, odorless, and easy to cut. It seasoned well and had strong resistance to weather, and time.

In the 1850s, the lumber interests moved into Minnesota...after they had their way with Wisconsin and Michigan. Going to work, the timber interests became devastatingly effective in the de-nuding of the white pine forests. Within 60 years, most of the white pines were gone. Today, just 3% of the original white pine forests are still standing.

Networking Ideas That Celebrate Arbor Day

1. Proclaim Arbor Day. Does your town or community celebrate Arbor Day? Find out if they do. If not, get involved and organize your own Arbor Day. Here's the template for the official Arbor Day proclamation.
2. Plant a Tree in Memory or Celebration. One acre of forest generates 4 tons of oxygen, and absorbs 6 tons of carbon dioxide, annually. Over the course of 50 years, a single tree can generate $31,250 of oxygen, provide $62,000 worth of air pollution control, recycle $37,500 worth of water, and control $31,500 worth of soil erosion. Plant a tree to celebrate: a wedding, a Bar Mitzvah, a graduation..or to celebrate the memory of a Special Person.
3. Volunteer Tree Planting. Join an organization that is re-planting trees in your state.

Build Your Essential Network

There is a Japanese proverb that states, "When you are thirsty, it's too late to dig a well."

A few years back, Harvey Mackay turned this proverb into a best-selling book on networking, "Dig Your Well Before You're Thirsty."

More recently, blogger Kai Chang writes about essential business and personal relationships that one should cultivate now...before they are needed. Mr. Chang asks the question...'What relationships should one build now, in order to sustain oneself from the valleys and vagaries of life's trials and opportunities?'

He frames this question by identifying The 16 Essential People in Your Life. In his view, they would be:

• Headhunter
• Computer Security Guru
• Realtor
• Criminal Defense Attorney
• Personal Finance Advisor/CPA
• M.D.
• Police/Law Enforcement Officer
• "The Wolf"/"The Cleaner"
• The Event/Ticket Connection
• The Local Celebrity
• Big Money Guy
• Local Politician
• Auto Mechanic
• Consigliere
• Mr. Connections
• Best Friend

This is an interesting concept to ponder. It makes sense in a lot of ways too.

Of course, this list of 'Essential People' will vary depending upon one's definition of "essential." I live in a 93 year-old building, with 93 year-old pipes, I would include "plumber." My wife, a choreographer and dancer, would include "chiropractor." My ex-wife would, most likely, list her "therapist."

This whole concept can be encapsulated in another great quote, "By the time you need a friend, it's too late to make one." I always thought that the originator of these words was Mark Twain...yet a Google search reveals no link to Twain, or anyone else either.

Fine. In that case...I said it.

Patrick, the Patron Saint of Ireland

Happy St. Patrick's Day...with some clarification.

Saint Patrick's real name was Maewyn Succat. Patricius was his baptismal name.

He was not born in Ireland, yet somewhere along the northwest coast of the Roman province of Britannia.

His family was a wealthy Romano-Briton family...his father, Calpurnius, was a deacon...while his mother, Concessa, was closely related to Saint Martin of Tours.

The story about the snakes is completely symbolic. For geographic and climatic reasons, there were never snakes in Ireland. It is believed that the snakes referred to the serpent symbol used by the Pagan priests, the Druids...and the story is an allegory of Saint Patrick converting the heathen and eliminating pagan beliefs.

Saint Patrick wasn't the first Catholic evangelist in Ireland either. Two years before Patrick arrived on the island, Pope Celestine I had sent Saint Palladius to preach the Gospel to the heathens. Palladius landed in Wicklow (south of Dublin), built three churches...and had no luck whatsoever in converting the Celts. He left in a huff, and sailed back to Scotland

On the other hand, Saint Patrick was successful because he completely assimilated the Celtic beliefs without condemning them. He was especially adept at winning over the local chieftains to the Faith, which made it easier for their subjects to embrace Christianity.

You could say that Patrick had the 'networking' skills that Palladius lacked.

Dinner Party

Mary Kay Ziniewicz is the Director of Business Development for Parsinen Kaplan Rosberg & Gotlieb P.A., a 30-lawyer firm based in Minneapolis, www.parlaw.com. One of the 2005 marketing initiatives that her firm undertook was to throw an "Interesting People" dinner that connected interesting clients and friends.

Here's what they did:

• She asked each of the firm's attorneys to carefully select interesting clients and friends who, in some profession or personal way, would connect with each other.
• The prospective guests were 'served' sealed-wax invitations in surprising places. For example, the invitees may have been found at dinner, in their back yard, out to lunch, etc.
• The guests where approached by a stranger who inquired, "Are you John Doe?" When responding yes, they were served the invitation that read...
• "You have been identified as a very interesting person by Shane Swanson at the Parsinen Kaplan Rosberg & Gotlieb. You and a guest are invited to attend a special evening planned for our "interesting" friends. One detail...neither Shane, nor anyone from PKR&G will be in attendance."
• Upon arrival at the appointed place for dinner, a mysterious host, dressed in black, greeted and handed them an envelope that contained a guest list and purpose of the party. This read...
• "You are about to enter a 'connecting' experience.' Your first connection will be Lynn Gordon, entrepreneur, and founder of French Meadow Bakery. Lynn revolutionized the food industry with her functional breads and health food business model. You were named as an Interesting Person because you offer something special to those who meet you. 'Connecting" is a powerful experience. Every connection made impacts life...personally and professionally. You are a very interesting person! Tonight you will meet some of our interesting friends. Have fun. You are about to have 'experience' that will impact your life!"

The dinner was a success. Guests connected, shared personal and professional experiences, made new friends, and most importantly, felt special. The firm gained two new clients as a direct result.

Guest feedback included comments like:

• "I am so honored..."
• "Never an awkward moment..."
• "Spectacular..."
• "What fabulous people..."
• "I want to go to all of them..."

PKR&G plans on having a number of Interesting People dinners in 2006.

Truman Capote: Networking in Holcomb, Kansas

I saw "Capote" last night...for the second time this week. What took me so long? What a bravura performance by Philip Seymour Hoffman! Chris Cooper (as detective Alvin Dewey), Catherine Keener (as Nelle Harper Lee), and Clifton Collins (as Perry Smith) are pretty spectacular too.

"In Cold Blood" is the story of the murder of Herb Clutter and his family, in Holcomb, Kansas in mid-November 1959. They died one after the other in a matter of minutes...father, son, daughter, mother...each from a shot in the head with Richard Hickok's 12-gauge shotgun. The news of this horrific and violent crime spread quickly...stunning the 150 people of Holcomb and their 11,000 Garden City neighbors just seven miles away.

When Truman Capote arrived in town to begin research on the story, he was accompanied by his childhood friend, Nelle Harper Lee. She had recently finished her own blockbuster book, "To Kill a Mockingbird," though it had not yet been published. Harper Lee was there to help Capote with the interviews and the fact-gathering, and as his friend and companion.

Initially, the town was stand-offish from the little writer from New York, who dressed, talked and acted quite differently from everyone else in this remote Kansas town. Clifford Hope was an attorney who was handling the Clutter estate. Capote managed to wrangle a key to the Clutter house from Hope...that allowed Capote to look inside the house whenever he wanted.

This was shortly before Christmas. When Hope learned that Capote and Lee were not planning to return to New York for the holidays, he, and his wife Dolores, invited them over for Christmas dinner. Dolores Hope was a subscriber to the New Yorker. When Capote arrived he saw copies of the magazine and remarked, "Oh, you read the New Yorker, then you know all about my work."

In the days following the dinner, others in the community learned that the Hopes had entertained Capote and Lee, and had enjoyed the experience. Invitations began coming in. One of the first was to a party where the guests included Al Dewey and his wife, Marie. She had grown up in New Orleans, where Capote was born. The two of them hit it off, she invited them to come for dinner for her spicy Louisiana food...and soon Capote was fast friends with the Deweys.

Capote made several friends in Kansas during the years that he worked on "In Cold Blood", some of whom he kept in touch with after the work was done, and his book was published. Nine of them, including the Deweys, attended Capote's famous masked ball on December 5, 1966...an enormous bash at the Plaza Hotel to celebrate the success of the book and the end of Capote's work on it.

The party was the talk of the town in New York. Celebrities abounded...it was quite the event. It was also the talk of the town in Garden City, Kansas...for different reasons. Since Capote had paid for the soiree with profits from his murder story about the Clutters, it was widely criticized in  the Kansas community.

"In Cold Blood" earned Capote an estimated $2 million by the end of the week it was published. He got another $500,000 from Columbia pictures...at the time the highest price ever paid for film rights to a book. The movie deal also gave the author one-third of the movie's profits.

In 2006, Barnes & Noble reports that sales of "In Cold Blood" are up 30% from last year. The film "Capote" is up for five Academy Awards...with Philip Seymour Hoffman in the running for best actor nomination.

No Man Is an Island

In her new book, "Pull: Networking and Success Since Benjamin Franklin", business historian Pamela Walker Laird, looks at the archetypal American, entrepreneurial success stories...from Ben Franklin to Bill Gates...and explodes the self-made myth.

In looking at the biographies of self-made men, and women, she finds that that 100% of these success stories are a result of access to mentors and/or networks.

In her book, she identifies that real business is a social process...where learning the trade, getting leads, making connections, closing deals,  getting promotions...all require social interactions. It is not enough to "know" your trade. One cannot perform a trade in isolation. You can't make deals if you are unknown, and you can't be accepted as a person worth talking to...without the benefit of social capital. One's chances of closing a deal vastly improve if they can share a golf game, a beer, or a taxi with decision-makers.

In previous columns in The Prospecting Professor, I have written about the power of networking in the stories of Bill Gates, Ben Franklin, Bob Woodward, and others. It is fascinating to consider that ALL success stories are a result of mentors, networks and the access to social capital.

Bill Cowher: Networking With Intensity

I bet that Bill Cowher even SLEEPS with intensity.

When Bill Cowher's NFL playing career as a linebacker ended in 1984, Marty Schottenheimer (who was then the head coach in Cleveland) hired Cowher to coach special teams. Cowher developed a routine during kickoffs. He would line up on the sideline, parallel to the kicker. After the kick was made, Cowher would sprint down the sideline...at the same time as the Browns' kickoff coverage was doing so. Over the course of a couple of games, Cowher knocked down a number of unsuspecting referees on the sidelines...which led to the NFL threatening Schottenheimer with fines, if he didn't get control of his young, fiery coach.

In 1989, Schottenheimer became the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs. In an example of the rampant networking that occurs in the NFL, eight of his assistants followed him to KC, Cowher included. Schottenheimer was having a difficult time selecting a defensive coordinator. His top two picks, Bill Arnsparger and Joe Collier, were not available. Cowher knew that Schottenheimer was at an impasse. Each night, at the hotel in KC where the group was staying, Cowher came to Schottenheimer's hotel room with a simple declarative statement, "Marty, I can do this job."

Not the most elegant networking statement, yet it gets right to the point.

Cowher got the job...and his self-confidence proved to be more than bravado. Kansas City finished first in the AFC, and second in the NFL in total defense during Cowher's first year at the helm.

Since 1992, when Cowher was appointed head coach of the Steelers, Cowher's and Schottenheimer's teams have met on seven different occasions. The record is 5-2...advantage Cowher.

The Virtual Handshake

Question: Is it possible to provide a book review if you haven't read the book? Answer: Why not? I'm a member of a book club, and there have been many occasions where the various participants engage in loud, opinionated discussions regarding a book that hasn't been read. What's the difference?

I haven't read The Virtual Handshake: Opening Doors and Closing Deals Online yet. However, I intend to very soon. The concept looks especially intriguing. Here's the website and blog..."The Virtual Handshake."

The two authors met online themselves...in a Yahoo! group. David Teten is CEO of Nitron Advisor, a research firm that provides hedge funds, private equity funds, venture capitalists and other professional investors with direct access to front-line industry experts. Scott Allen is an information technology executive and leading expert on building business relationships online.

Teten and Allen begin by identifying seven keys necessary for developing and sustaining successful network relationships. They are:

1. Your character
2. Your competence
3. The relevance of the people in your network
4. The strength of your relationships
5. The quality and quantity of the information you have to offer
6. The number of  people you know
7. The diversity of your network

According to the authors, each of  these networking keys is improved or boosted when a professional uses social software to nurture and develop their online network of interpersonal relationships. Social software is identified as blogs, personal web sites, listservs, and other communication tools used in building a network.

This all looks good, doesn't it?

Note to self: Read The Virtual Handshake. Comment again...when I can speak with direct knowledge and experience.

Have a great weekend!

Ben Franklin: Networker

Today, January 17th, is the birth anniversary of Benjamin Franklin. I'll spare you the well-worn stories about Franklin inventing bifocals, or his experiments with electricity. What I would like to discuss is Franklin's creation of the "Junto Society."

In 1727, Franklin convinced 12 of his friends to form a club dedicated to mutual improvement. Meeting one night a week, this group of young men discussed the topics of the day. The group lasted for 40 years...and eventually became the nucleus of the American Philosophical Society.

Junto (pronounced who-n-toe), was a private forum for discussion. One of the functions of the group was to brainstorm publicly beneficial ideas. The members of the Junto were drawn from diverse occupations and backgrounds, but they all shared a spirit of inquiry and a desire to improve themselves, their community, and to help others. Among the original members were printers, surveyors, a cabinetmaker, a cobbler, a clerk, and a merchant. Most of the group was older than Franklin, yet he was clearly the leader.

The Junto's Friday evening meetings were organized around a series of questions that Franklin devised, covering a range of intellectual, personal, business, and community topics. These questions were used as a springboard for discussion and community action. In fact, through the Junto Society, Franklin promoted concepts such as: libraries, volunteer fire departments, public hospitals, police departments, paved streets, and the University of Pennsylvania.

One of the other interesting aspects of the Junto Society is that the members recommended books, shopkeepers, and even friends to each other...much like the various networking groups that have sprung up over the past few years.

Jack Abramoff: Networking Gone Very, Very Bad!

Jack Abramoff is the key figure in what is likely to become the biggest congressional corruption scandal in generations. Maybe ever. Justice Department prosecutors are now pressing him and his lawyers to settle fraud and bribery allegations by the end of the week. Unless he reaches a plea deal, he faces a trial January 9th...in a related fraud case that is not the main source of his chicanery.

Abramoff had monstrous ambitions. He sought to build the most influential lobbying portfolio in Washington D.C. He opened two restaurants close to the Capitol. He bought a fleet of casino boats. He produced two Hollywood movies (Red Scorpion, starring Dolph Lundgren). He leased four arena and stadium skyboxes and dreamed of owning a pro sports team. Abramoff offered jobs and other favors to well-placed congressional staffers and executive branch officials. Lawmakers and their aides packed his restaurants and skyboxes and jetted off with him on golf trips to Scotland and the Pacific island of Saipan.

Abramoff's career was given a big assist by forming a key alliance with Tom Delay. They first met at a Tom Delay fundraiser in 1995, and their histories have been intertwined since.

Abramoff also blatantly deceived his clients. For example, the Choctaws were one of his six Indian Tribe clients who gave him $80 million between 2000 and 2003. Behind their back and out of earshot, Abramoff referred to his clients as "morons" and "troglodytes".

The last big Congressional scandal was the Abscam FBI sting during the late 1970s and early 1980s...where six House members and one Senator were convicted. Many people close to the Abramoff vortex say that this one could be much bigger.

Keith Ferrazzi is the author of Never Eat Alone, and the uber-networker of the moment. One of his recommendations for people who want to build their own network is to establish relationships with individuals in professions likely to have very big Rolodexes. Four of these professions are: Politicians, Lobbyists, Fundraisers, and Restaurateurs.

Jack Abramoff had the networking process nailed...he was closely aligned with four of the top networking professions. Unfortunately, he skipped the chapters on Personal Integrity and Ethics.