Back when I was building the website for my business my web designer suggested that in order to improve my network and my “web presence” I should join a site called Twitter. My first question was “what the heck is Twitter?” after which he mumbled something about where I lived and a rock. My second question was “why?” Candidly, I didn’t understand why even after his explanation. I’m sure that was mostly my fault. He did intrigue me enough to go look at Twitter though and see what it was all about.
Here’s what I learned. Building a business is about building relationships and learning is about surrounding yourself with others who have different expertise than you. Okay, the truth is I already knew that. What I didn’t know was that the Internet is the ultimate networking and learning place and it has evolved to where it can actually be harnessed to drive business growth. Like any business tool, you need to apply a strategy as to how you use it. I’ll be the first to admit that you can spend a mountain of time accomplishing nothing by networking online. I also know that using sites like twitter when done as part of a marketing plan can drive growth in ways no other tool can. As a business leader you need help and information on a daily basis from people that know more than you do about a particular topic and relying only on the people that are on the payroll or a small group of advisers isn’t good enough any more. Information is moving too fast now and executives need to learn from a wide network in addition to their trusted advisers. Take the case of Paul Levy, President and CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. Paul not only networks on Twitter but he also publishes his own blog where he routinely asks for help and advice on major decisions he is contemplating. He has taken transparency to a whole new level and while we might wait to see how successful it is for him, there is no way to argue with the fact that when he makes a decision he has more information than the average CEO and everyone understands how and why he made the choice. Seems like common sense leadership to me. Take a look at Paul’s blog here and judge for yourself.
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