Latest / Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections / Networking Unleashed: S1E62 An Interview with Mitchell Levy and Michael A Forman, Public Speaker

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Networking Unleashed: S1E62 An Interview with Mitchell Levy and Michael A Forman, Public Speaker · Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections

• 0:15
  Welcome back to Networking Unleashed, Building
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  Profitable Connections, the show where we explore
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  the strategies, mindsets, and conversations that
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  drive real results in business and life through
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  the power of connection. Today's guest is a true
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  authority when it comes to elevating your presence
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  in the professional world. He specializes...
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  In helping individuals build credibility, lead
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  with confidence, and craft personal brands that
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  don't just stand out, they lead to opportunities.
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  Whether you're climbing up the corporate ladder,
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  building a business, or just getting started
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  in your career, the insights you'll hear today
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  are going to give you a serious edge in how you
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  connect and influence. So get ready to take notes
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  because we're diving deep into what really takes
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  it to be seen, heard, and respected in any room
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  you walk into. I want to introduce to you today
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  Mitchell Levy, and he is, I would say, an authority
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  on networking. It may sound familiar to most
• 1:25
  of you because I feel that we have a synergy
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  with this. But Mitchell, welcome to the show
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  and tell us a little bit about your background.
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  Michael, thanks for having me. And as I'll take
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  it to the next level, it's not just for individuals,
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  but I also spend a lot of time with corporations.
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  But back on rights, the best way to say it, I've
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  been in Silicon Valley for 38 years, happily
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  married for 36, have a 26 -year -old I'm excited
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  about. Now, I'm going to say this is stuff, so
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  I'll tell you the important stuff afterwards,
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  but this is stuff. I'm on the board of an asset
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  firm. As a book publisher, we've published over
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  750 books. I've written 65. Two TEDx's, one commencement
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  speech. And the short answer is I've done many
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  of the things in life, or actually all of my
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  bucket list item things. And now I'm here to
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  be of service. And what really got me to where
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  I am now is between 2019 and 2020, I went on
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  a Napoleon Hill journey. And that journey was
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  to interview 500 thought leaders on what the
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  concept of credibility is. And that helped really
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  transform who I am and how I show up today. Very
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  good. Like I said before, I'm super excited just
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  to even just to speak with you. Let's start with
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  the questions that I came up with. All right.
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  How do credibility and trust influence someone's
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  ability to build a powerful professional network?
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  So I will, for those who are watching, I will
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  share an image on the background as I'm speaking.
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  Credibility is the quality in which one is trusted,
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  known, and liked. And so the most important thing,
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  and I know on your website, you do this standard
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  one, which is where I started Know, Like, Trust.
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  Problem is, know, like, trust was relevant when,
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  in the old days, you'd go into a town on your
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  horse, you'd go into the local saloon, and there
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  are two blacksmiths, and you go to the barkeep,
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  hey, what's the best blacksmith for me? And they
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  go, not only are there two that you know, but
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  there's a third over here, that person would
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  be better. In the old days where there wasn't
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  the internet, there wasn't AI, you didn't know
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  who was who. Know meant I need to know where
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  that person is or what they do. Today, what happens
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  is you have instantaneous access to services
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  around the world. And so the most important thing
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  that needs to happen is they need to trust you.
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  And how does trust get developed? Technically,
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  it is, if we think about a LinkedIn profile,
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  we think about a website, it happens in the first
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  three to five seconds, right? So credibility
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  at first is you go to a website and you need
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  to trust. Are you ready? You need to trust that
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  you want to spend the next 30 seconds getting
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  to know this person a little bit better. As you
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  get to know the person a little bit better, then
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  you get to say, would I like working with this
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  person? Do I trust they'll do the job the way
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  I want them to do? And after that first five
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  seconds up front, the next 30 seconds, now you
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  might say to yourself, hey, I'm willing to spend
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  a couple minutes really learning who this person
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  is. So trust is if you don't get trust immediately,
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  you're completely losing the opportunity to even
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  be seen. So I know credibility and you want to
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  be seen by your prospects. Very good. And I see
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  what's happening with the knowing trust, which
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  is I speak about often, but trust, know and like.
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  You just turned it around. But I like what you
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  did with the authenticity, the servant leadership,
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  because. If anybody who's been listening to me
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  knows that networking starts with a servant's
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  heart and you always look to give instead of
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  receive. So all of this plays right into the
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  hands of my networking. So thank you. Oh, you're
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  welcome. Thank you. What are the key traits of
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  a leader that make them an effective networker?
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  You know, I could. Almost go as far. I'm going
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  to do my cheat sheet, if you don't mind. So I'll
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  almost go as far as to say, when you first, when
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  I meet any leader and I'm focused on the trust
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  area of all the four elements, coachability,
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  authenticity, integrity, vulnerability, I'm looking
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  for all of them. But what really pops first is
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  the person coachable, right? And you can tell
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  almost immediately if somebody is coachable or
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  not. You can ask them a silly question. Like,
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  hey, what restaurant do you like most? I went
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  there, I didn't like it. How do they respond?
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  The second most important thing, which is probably
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  as important as what you mentioned before, are
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  they a servant leader? As you get to know somebody,
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  do they have the intent and commitment to do
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  the right thing? We'll come back to the fact
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  that the value integrity is the only value of
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  10 that's listed twice. But really, are they
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  a servant leader? And then, you know, the interesting
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  part is you listen to them speak. as you get
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  to decide if you like somebody, you could decide,
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  I like both of them. One is share the stage.
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  So for a leader, when they speak, do they use
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  the names of their employees or other people?
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  Do they share cred dust? And do they show respect?
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  And to me, if I'm going to pick those just four,
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  four simple things, coachable, servant, leader,
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  they show respect and they share other people's
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  cred dust. Okay. Okay, that's, it's very good.
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  And that's, again, it's a lot of things that
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  I speak about. So what you're speaking about
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  is close and near and dear to my heart. Nice.
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  Again, well done. I saw that. I saw that when
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  I was looking at you and what you do and how
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  you show up. Okay, good. How does personal branding
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  play into first impressions during networking
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  events or introductions? Personal branding is
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  such a broad term, right? When we're talking
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  about introductions, are you talking about physical
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  introductions or online introductions? Physical.
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  Physical introductions. Okay, perfect. So here's
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  where it gets really interesting. You could almost
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  call it personal branding, but what I might actually
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  say is, are you showing respect? So let's focus
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  on the likability piece of it. So when you're
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  walking up to somebody, are you walking with
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  a frown? Are you walking with a smile? When you're
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  walking up to somebody, are you dressed appropriately?
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  And technically, what mom always told me, slightly
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  better than everyone else in the room. Not slightly
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  worse than everyone else in the room. And when
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  you are introduced by somebody else, are you
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  showing them the respect? Michael, if you came
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  to me and introduced me to somebody. You might
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  go, or if I was going to introduce you, I would
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  walk up, I'd bring you with me, I'd introduce
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  you to the person, and I'd say, hey, so -and
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  -so, you should meet Michael. Now, Michael, by
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  the way, this person is really good at ABC. And
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  then when I expressed you, I would say something
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  like, you know, what's really interesting, you
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  like me and the stuff I do? Well, if you like
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  me, you'll like Michael. Because Michael Forman
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  focuses on the same sort of things. He just has
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  a different approach to it. So why don't you
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  guys talk and let me know how it goes, right?
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  So notice my voice raised. When I share that,
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  because I wanted to show excitement. So showing
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  respect and paying cred dust are the things that
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  you can do most, assuming you have dressed the
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  part and just to be clear, you have to be 100
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  % present. Now, let me add one element to that.
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  You are never going to a network event to sell
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  you or a product. Ever. Period. Done. So if you've
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  done a good job, of getting somebody interested
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  in you and wanting to learn more. When they ask
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  you about your expertise and what they could
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  buy from you, your response should always be,
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  are you ready? Listen, I am so excited and I'd
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  want you to introduce, you to meet other people
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  here. As a matter of fact, I'm going to keep
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  you in mind as I go around and network with others,
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  but why don't we put time on the calendar? And
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  during that time, we will spend more energy focused
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  on your particular needs. But right now, you
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  and I are focused on meeting other people. Is
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  that okay with you? That would be the best way
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  when somebody says that to you. Does that make
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  sense? That makes perfect sense. Perfect sense.
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  And I want to go back to when I'm first meeting
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  the person. When you're introducing me, of course,
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  your body language speaks volumes. It's how you
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  keep yourself. When you say dress just a little
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  bit above. So if they're in just a shirt and
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  slacks, you should be wearing a blazer shirt
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  and slacks. If they're wearing a blazer shirt
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  and slacks, you wear a tie blazer shirt and slacks.
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  It's always one step above. But the body language,
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  it speaks volumes. When you shake somebody's
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  hand, right, it's not a dead fish. It's not a
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  dead fish. You shake it firmly. You look them
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  square in the eye. All of this tells. a story
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  in the few seconds you have when you're meeting
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  them. And they will react to it a lot more, a
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  lot better than if you didn't do everything.
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  Thank you for filling in the blank. Appreciate
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  that. Yes, agreed. 100%. Yeah, it's the same.
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  Okay. Can you share a moment when your credibility
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  opened a door that skills or experience alone
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  couldn't? Ooh, give me a, there's so many different
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  areas and different approaches. Can you fill
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  in that concept a little bit more in terms of
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  what you might be looking for? And it's a great
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  question. Usually your experience can open the
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  door for you. But I'm talking about a moment
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  that you're, they're not looking at your experience,
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  but they're looking at just. Your credibility.
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  In other words, they said, oh, that's Mitchell.
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  Oh, he's an author and he's this or X, Y, Z.
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  And that's the person who I'm being introduced
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  to because I don't know any of your experience.
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  I only know what is written about you or what
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  you've done. It's funny. I was at a. startup
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  event yesterday. And when somebody introduced
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  me, they said, yeah, Mitchell, he's actually
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  written a couple of books. And the person on
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  the other side was like, ooh. And then she goes,
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  how many did you write? And I go, 65. And she
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  goes, oh, it was really an interesting. I think
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  it's important where your presence is that level
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  of trust where people first get to see you. Agreed
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  with the right firm handshake, the look in the
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  eyes, the attentiveness, the presentness. And
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  then the question has to happen really quickly
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  in the mind of the person who you're meeting.
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  Is it worthwhile for me to spend time with this
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  person? Right. And so what I often will do, if
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  somebody doesn't know me, I might. say a couple
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  of things and it happens all the time, right?
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  It's if I need to know who they are first, so
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  I never will start with, I'm blah, blah, blah,
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  right? Like the stuff I shared before, I don't
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  really, I don't ever do that. What if I'm at
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  a startup event, I can assume, and if I could
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  see their name badge or a CEO of a startup, I'm
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  like, oh, tell me about your company. I'd love
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  to hear a little bit more. Now, what's really
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  interesting is one of the areas I have specific
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  expertise. is being able to help any company
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  or any individual articulate in less than 10
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  words where they're executing on their purpose.
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  And so when I went to this networking event,
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  I met with 10 CEOs. I wanted to get back involved
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  and feel comfortable about stuff other than I
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  had a badge. By the way, how that badge helped
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  me get immediate credibility. It said the word
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  investor on it. Of all the things I could have
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  put, that was the thing that was most interesting
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  to that audience. So to answer your question,
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  that's immediate credibility. Investor, ha, I
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  got to talk to this person. But when I'd ask
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  them who they were, in 10 out of 10 times, none
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  of them had clarity. Because what happens when
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  you're the CEO of a company or you're networking
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  an event, you're so excited about you, you want
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  to spew out all the important things about who
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  you are. So oftentimes I'd listen and depending
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  on who they are, if I felt like they were coachable,
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  I would say something like, I believe that there's
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  something that's so powerful that if you're able
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  to do this, people will listen to you more. Stop.
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  That's interesting. What would that be? If you
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  were able to articulate the playground you play
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  in less than 10 words. That would now allow people
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  to jump right in and get excited about you. It
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  would give you a compass of who you are and how
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  you show up. And they go, oh, cool. Now, depending
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  on how much time I had with them, I might actually
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  say, if you want, we could do it now. Because
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  I've already spent enough time with them. I know
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  they're open. They could do it. Or other times
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  I might go, you know what? I would love to do
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  this with you. I've done this now over a thousand
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  times. credibility point i've now done this over
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  a thousand times i can guarantee that i give
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  the annoying charge for this but i would love
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  to give this to you because i really like you
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  would you mind if we put time on the calendar
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  i'll send you i'll send you my calendar link
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  right so it's all the techniques that say i'm
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  a servant leader i want to be a value this is
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  something that's a value because i normally charge
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  for it and i want to help you be more successful
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  would you mind And those are going back to a
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  couple of your questions. At the end of the day,
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  it's what can you say that somebody says, oh,
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  this is worthwhile listening to this person.
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  And that's really what a credibility piece does,
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  whether it's a book or a TEDx or whenever you're
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  speaking at an event, you are by definition given
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  that incremental credibility, whether you deserve
• 16:02
  it or not, because you're one of these speakers.
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  Would you say that's an exponential part of your
• 16:08
  elevator pitch, your elevator speech? Because
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  the whole idea of the elevator speech is to get
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  the person's attention. It's what you're saying
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  is that you can get the person to articulate
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  what they do in 10 words. That's what that speech,
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  that beginning note. Because what I do is I tell
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  them, look, you should have your 30 second elevator
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  speech. That's what everybody professes. I don't
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  profess that. I say, yeah, I really don't. You
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  should be able to say what you have to say in
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  five seconds. Which is what I do. And then just
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  see. And hopefully, because the only thing you're
• 16:48
  looking for is a response. And positive or negative,
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  you can really tell. But that's all you're looking
• 16:55
  for. You're looking to draw him into the conversation
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  so that you can then further expand. So that's
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  my take on the elevator speech. I don't. profess
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  it. I don't teach it, but I have that few seconds.
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  I have my elevator pitch, okay? If I go to a
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  BLI or if I go to a chamber meeting or something,
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  I have to do that pitch. And then I - You do,
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  but I'm going to say, Michael, you do, but you
• 17:21
  don't. But try it. Tell me, I'm curious, what
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  would be your pitch, your 30 -second pitch? I
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  help professionals network and communicate more
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  effectively and efficiently, thus creating more
• 17:32
  profits. Got it. Okay. So I'm going to say, if
• 17:38
  you don't mind, I'm going to take what you said,
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  but take it to a whole new level. All right.
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  Let me just ask a question first. Sure. Does
• 17:46
  the elevator speech come from the head or the
• 17:49
  heart? It should come from the heart. But does
• 17:53
  the elevator speech come from the head or the
• 17:56
  heart? The elevator speech as it is comes from
• 17:59
  the head. So. How could somebody possibly get
• 18:03
  to know and trust you if you're speaking from
• 18:05
  your head? For anyone who's listening and watching,
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  I would encourage you, whatever you've learned
• 18:09
  about the elevator speech, put it on a piece
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  of paper, crumple it up, burn it, and make sure
• 18:14
  you throw it out. You should never, ever give
• 18:17
  a 30 -second elevator pitch, period. That's why
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  I said I only use the first five seconds. It's
• 18:25
  just enough to get the person's attention because
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  I feel that... An elevator speech, an elevator
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  pitch, it sounds very robotic, very practiced,
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  very like they don't care. They're just telling
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  you what it is because that's what they're taught
• 18:43
  to do. And they're taught to do it from their
• 18:47
  head instead of their heart. But that's me. That's
• 18:50
  what I teach. And I think we teach the same thing,
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  but I think you're a little bit better than I
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  am. Let me tell you why. It's not better or worse.
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  That's irrelevant, right? It's if we're adding
• 19:02
  value as servant leaders to others, not better
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  or worse, right? It's what I've recognized that
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  what I do, I'm going to give you a name for it.
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  It's called a CPOP, your customer point of possibilities.
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  What I do is I allow somebody in less than 10
• 19:17
  words to articulate their CPOP. It's the playground
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  they play in. It's the compass they use for making
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  decisions of, hey, is this a good networking
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  event? Is this a good website? Is this a good
• 19:28
  LinkedIn profile? It is the thing that what's
• 19:32
  really cool about having a CPOP, Michael, if
• 19:34
  you share the CPOP, what's really cool is the
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  person who's listening is one of three people.
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  They are either a referral partner. They are
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  either a prospect or they're either somebody
• 19:47
  who doesn't give a shit. Now, it doesn't mean
• 19:50
  they don't care about you as a human. It just
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  means they don't care about the playground you
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  play in. So if you share your CPOP, and I'll
• 19:59
  share mine, and if you want, we can create yours.
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  If you share your CPOP with somebody, the most
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  natural thing, if they're one or two, if they're
• 20:06
  a referral partner or prospect, is tell me more.
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  Now, what's interesting about a CPOP is people
• 20:13
  are not used to hearing it. Because what I'm
• 20:14
  going to encourage you to teach your people,
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  never say, I help, I serve. Because what happens
• 20:19
  immediately is people go, ugh. Now, what you
• 20:22
  could do instead, because they feel like you
• 20:25
  might be selling. Oh, that's one of those. No
• 20:27
  interest, right? What you could do instead is
• 20:29
  do a hook up front. The hook is, there's a group
• 20:35
  of clients I love working with. Or there's a
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  group, there's a set of professionals that really
• 20:42
  benefit from what I do. But then pause. So for
• 20:47
  me, the way I'd say it, I have two CPOPs. I'm
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  going to give the one that's appropriate for
• 20:51
  your audience. There's a group of professionals
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  I add so much value to. Pause. Business owners
• 21:01
  pursuing abundance with LinkedIn. Six words.
• 21:09
  So Michael, the most natural thing there is,
• 21:11
  Mitchell, what do you mean? Tell me more. So
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  now I'm going to say something in less than a
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  minute, but I'm going to say it off the top of
• 21:17
  my head based on our previous conversation. I'm
• 21:20
  not going to memorize, like every time I say
• 21:22
  it, it's different because it's coming from my
• 21:24
  heart. It's not coming from my head. Michael,
• 21:28
  what I actually do, I've been part of LinkedIn
• 21:30
  since before LinkedIn was making money. I was
• 21:33
  paid. by reid hoffman and constantine gerlich
• 21:36
  to actually write and publish linkedin's first
• 21:39
  book so what i do is i help people use the 20
• 21:44
  of functionality that would deliver 80 percent
• 21:46
  of value just enough where if they're really
• 21:51
  interested they might ah i'm interested tell
• 21:54
  me more Here's what I would do next. I have seven
• 21:57
  habits of highly effective LinkedIn networking.
• 21:59
  Could we get time on the calendar? Or by the
• 22:02
  way, I have an event next week. You could sign
• 22:03
  up for it. It's complimentary. Or can we get
• 22:06
  time on the calendar and we'll see if it's a
• 22:07
  good fit for you, right? Now, let me tell you
• 22:10
  what I'm really doing. And this is where we're
• 22:13
  different because what you do is fascinating.
• 22:16
  What I'm going to say is you help people with
• 22:19
  CPOPing. You're giving them the ideas and thoughts
• 22:21
  of how they can network more effectively. And
• 22:24
  then they have a book and a learning course where
• 22:27
  they could learn more. What I have figured out
• 22:31
  is the CPOP to me, it's a formula. And I can
• 22:35
  sit, like I said, any human, any company and
• 22:38
  give them the formula. Here's what's interesting.
• 22:42
  When I'm talking with somebody, they're going
• 22:44
  to feel so good about it. They're going to go,
• 22:46
  oh my God, that's me. Because we as humans, we
• 22:49
  vibrate at a frequency. And if you are a servant
• 22:52
  leader and you're living aligned with yourself,
• 22:55
  I'm going to just give you the words that will
• 22:56
  help you be in alignment. That's fantastic. I've
• 23:00
  done this now over a thousand times. Here's what
• 23:03
  happens. The world is full of chaos. And in 90
• 23:07
  % of the times without incremental support, they
• 23:10
  are going to forget their CPAP in two hours to
• 23:13
  two weeks. It just... It's just the way it works.
• 23:16
  So the world needs people like you and I that
• 23:21
  will help people once they learn how to network
• 23:23
  more effectively to stay in touch with how to
• 23:26
  do it. Or once they learn, in my case, what I'm
• 23:29
  doing with LinkedIn is I'm helping them play
• 23:32
  in the playground they say they want to play
• 23:34
  in. As opposed to the next nice shiny object
• 23:38
  comes by and they try to do something else. Very
• 23:43
  good. First of all, I'm so glad that this is
• 23:45
  being recorded because there's no way I can write
• 23:47
  down enough notes listening to. I was listening
• 23:50
  so intently that I am going to play this video
• 23:53
  back about 10 times so I get it right. With that
• 23:56
  in mind, what advice would you give to someone
• 24:00
  trying to align their personal brand with the
• 24:04
  leadership roles that they aspire to? It's really
• 24:09
  hard for me these days not to actually, and I'm
• 24:12
  not trying to sell who I am. Oh, maybe I am.
• 24:17
  It is important for you to be able to articulate
• 24:20
  the playground you play in. And so the playground
• 24:23
  is typically defined in this way by this formula.
• 24:27
  And it's, I'll give you the secret formula. You
• 24:30
  okay if I share that? Absolutely. So what you
• 24:34
  want to be able to do in 1OT. One or two or worst
• 24:38
  case, three words, who do you serve? In your
• 24:40
  case, it's professionals, right? In my case,
• 24:44
  either business owners or when I put on my executive
• 24:46
  coaching hat, it's Inc. 5 ,000 CEOs, different
• 24:51
  audience, different CPOP. So who do you serve?
• 24:53
  Now, if you're interested in, if you're in corporate
• 24:57
  and you're at a company today, hopefully you
• 25:00
  had a company you love being at. If you're not.
• 25:03
  If you don't love who you are and what you do
• 25:05
  at that company, it's time to move companies,
• 25:07
  right? And so who do you serve? And then from
• 25:10
  the perspective of who you serve as a servant
• 25:13
  leader, what is the pain point or pleasure point?
• 25:17
  80 % of the time, it's a pain point focused thing.
• 25:20
  In 20 % of the time, it's okay to do the pleasure
• 25:23
  point. For instance, when I talk to CEOs, their
• 25:25
  egos are so big, I have to actually give the
• 25:28
  pleasure point one. And so what's interesting
• 25:32
  as I was thinking about you and to answer your
• 25:35
  question, it's important to be able to know the
• 25:40
  playground you're playing in and then share it
• 25:42
  at the right time with people when they ask you
• 25:44
  who you are. But it gives you this compass. When
• 25:48
  you have a compass, now what happens when opportunities
• 25:50
  come your way, you know what to yes, what to
• 25:53
  no. You know what's a maybe. It's so clear of
• 25:57
  the audience you serve and how you serve them
• 25:59
  that you should feel comfortable going above
• 26:02
  and beyond. That's what gets you the job. If
• 26:05
  you know how to play in your playground, I sat
• 26:07
  on the board of a public firm. The people that
• 26:10
  I wanted on the executive staff with the CEO.
• 26:14
  were people who knew how to play in their functional
• 26:16
  roles. Because they weren't going to get direction
• 26:19
  from the CEO, at least they shouldn't. They should
• 26:22
  be telling the CEO what they need so they can
• 26:25
  accomplish the goals they were set out to do.
• 26:27
  And that's really so they knew how to play in
• 26:29
  the playground that they set up for themselves.
• 26:31
  I like that. I like that a lot. Here's a question
• 26:35
  for you. What are some common mistakes professionals
• 26:40
  make that hurt their credibility while networking?
• 26:44
  The most obvious, the easiest one is the one
• 26:48
  you've heard many times. You have one mouth and
• 26:50
  two ears. Yeah. And you're not using them in
• 26:54
  the right proportions. That's right. The most
• 26:57
  important thing you can do when you're networking
• 26:58
  is ask a good question that encourages the other
• 27:02
  person to talk. Now, what's the most important
• 27:06
  thing to do next? Listen. Okay, don't listen
• 27:11
  with the intent of when you could interrupt them,
• 27:13
  bad. And when you could say who you are, also
• 27:17
  bad. Just listen, add value, right? The most
• 27:22
  important thing, if somebody walks away liking
• 27:25
  you and trusting you because they spoke for 10
• 27:29
  minutes and you spoke for a minute or 30 seconds.
• 27:33
  That just gives you the, oh, by the way, if somebody
• 27:36
  knew that each person should speak for five minutes
• 27:38
  and somebody took nine, that's probably not somebody
• 27:40
  you want to play with anyhow. But if you really
• 27:43
  focused on the other person, so that's the biggest
• 27:45
  mistake is not listening, talking too much, trying
• 27:48
  to highlight you in a networking event. If you're
• 27:52
  a servant leader, if you're really echoing concepts
• 27:55
  of credibility, you are there to be of service
• 27:57
  to somebody else. You are coachable. If they
• 28:00
  say something that changes who you are, you go,
• 28:03
  And kind of what you're doing today is, oh, that's
• 28:06
  really interesting. I'm going to listen to this
• 28:09
  a couple of times because I can't take notes
• 28:11
  fast enough. You're also spreading my cred dust.
• 28:13
  You're doing the types of things not because
• 28:16
  you're following a blueprint. You're doing it
• 28:20
  because you're a coachable, credible, vulnerable
• 28:23
  person who authentically wants to do better by
• 28:27
  their clients. So you have the intent and commitment
• 28:29
  to do the right thing. And as a result of being
• 28:31
  that person, you're just allowing yourself to
• 28:34
  be you. And you're doing it while you're recording
• 28:38
  on a podcast where people are many times very
• 28:40
  nervous, but you're just showing up as you. And
• 28:44
  if anyone is paying attention, I like this Michael
• 28:47
  guy. I mean, this was a good episode. I want
• 28:50
  Michael to help me. And that's what comes out
• 28:52
  when you listen to and watch something like this.
• 28:56
  Yep. I firmly believe having the servant's heart
• 28:59
  when you go networking is paramount. As you're
• 29:03
  listening to that person and letting them speak,
• 29:05
  and I use something called form before I talk
• 29:10
  with them. It's family, occupation, recreation,
• 29:14
  and a message, right? So I have that. in my head
• 29:18
  before I go and speak to them because I can speak
• 29:21
  to them about any of the above. But as they're
• 29:25
  speaking, and after they finished, you pause,
• 29:28
  very important, that pause, because you don't
• 29:32
  want to say the next thing that you wanted to
• 29:35
  say, but you're going to respond to what he said,
• 29:39
  he or she said. And you say, you know something,
• 29:42
  I like you. I like the way you do business. How
• 29:46
  can I make you more successful? How can I be
• 29:50
  a good referral source for you? And I usually
• 29:53
  blows him away. He said, I don't even know what
• 29:56
  you do yet because I haven't said anything yet,
• 29:59
  but he talked or she talked for five minutes.
• 30:02
  And that's the whole process. So I strongly believe
• 30:07
  that. Hopefully you use a little bit of that
• 30:09
  yourself. Remind me, what was the R? I got the
• 30:12
  FOM, but I didn't get the R. Recreation. Recreation.
• 30:17
  Cool. Okay. Yeah, because, you know, when you're
• 30:20
  going and you're sitting at somebody's desk,
• 30:22
  okay, and you're meeting this person for the
• 30:24
  first time, you have about 30 seconds to look
• 30:27
  around his office and see what he's got on the
• 30:31
  walls, on his desk, and everything he has. And
• 30:34
  one thing, here's a little trick for you. He's
• 30:36
  got pictures of his family on his desk. All right?
• 30:45
  positioned? Are they just to him so that only
• 30:49
  he can see him? Or are they facing outward for
• 30:52
  you to see? And if they're facing outward, then
• 30:56
  he's that much more proud of his family. And
• 30:59
  he wants you to say something about his family,
• 31:03
  his children, his whatever. And that's a great
• 31:05
  way to start your conversation. Cool. I love
• 31:09
  that. Yeah. Great suggestion. Yeah. Little tidbits,
• 31:12
  little tidbits. Okay, how can emerging leaders
• 31:17
  use networking to strengthen both their influence
• 31:20
  and their personal brand? If you're networking
• 31:28
  as an emerging leader at a networking event where
• 31:32
  there aren't other people at your company, You
• 31:36
  want to do exactly what you suggested. You want
• 31:40
  to get to know people where you can add value
• 31:42
  to them so they recognize who you are. You want
• 31:45
  to be able to, if you are writing something that
• 31:48
  you think would be relevant for them, you go,
• 31:50
  you know what? I'm spending a lot of time in
• 31:52
  this area. Do you mind if I send you an article
• 31:55
  I'm writing sometime next week when I'm done
• 31:57
  writing it? Or... How about when I'm doing my
• 32:00
  podcast, every now and then I'm going to interview
• 32:02
  somebody who's a good fit. Do you mind if I send
• 32:05
  you that? Or maybe even send you a real, real
• 32:07
  snippet from that might be of value. Those are
• 32:11
  things that you do with people outside your company.
• 32:15
  If you're networking inside your company, which
• 32:18
  you absolutely should, what you're doing is you're
• 32:21
  actively looking for people who could be. mentors
• 32:26
  of you or mentor you in some way at some point
• 32:28
  in time right and so what you're looking for
• 32:31
  is you're looking for if you're thinking about
• 32:34
  the form that you just mentioned if you're looking
• 32:37
  for things that are valuable that they first
• 32:41
  can relate to you because you've recognized it
• 32:43
  and then second you go every now and then i've
• 32:47
  got this interesting question And actually, I'm
• 32:51
  not even sure I'd ever, no, I wouldn't do it.
• 32:52
  I was going to say something and then I'm like,
• 32:54
  nope, too formal, too quick. All you want to
• 32:57
  do is be of service and be recognized when you
• 33:00
  first meet somebody. And at some point in time,
• 33:03
  if you think they could be a mentor to you, you
• 33:07
  want to build the relationship over time inside
• 33:09
  the company. You don't want to ever ask when
• 33:11
  you first meet somebody. It's a little bit too
• 33:13
  needy and it's not the right thing to do, but
• 33:16
  you want to be of service. So if they have an
• 33:18
  admin, you could ask the question of the admin,
• 33:21
  hey, what could I do that would be of value to
• 33:24
  your boss? It's the same things you're doing,
• 33:28
  but if you're doing it for a company, you just
• 33:30
  have to follow a little bit different set of
• 33:32
  rules inside your company than you do outside
• 33:35
  the company. Very good. Very good. And going
• 33:38
  to the secretary or assistant, asking them the
• 33:42
  best way to get to that person, that's gold.
• 33:46
  Because first of all, I've done that for years,
• 33:48
  for 100 years. That, to me, is sales 101. But
• 33:52
  it's all these items, all these things. are forgotten
• 33:57
  all of these things people don't do anymore but
• 34:01
  i don't want to get into that because i can sit
• 34:03
  here for an hour and talk about that what role
• 34:06
  does consistency in behavior and i'm sorry in
• 34:11
  behavior message and image play in long -term
• 34:14
  networking success so i did promise that i would
• 34:22
  tell you why The value of integrity was listed
• 34:33
  twice. So during the interviews, what came out
• 34:37
  were 10 values of credibility. And when I first
• 34:41
  created the 10 values, I couldn't tell you why
• 34:44
  integrity was there twice. It took a year before
• 34:47
  I really figured it out. And it took about four
• 34:51
  and a half years before I could make the statement
• 34:53
  that I'm going to make a little bit later. What's
• 34:55
  interesting is about a year after putting this
• 34:58
  out there, what I realized is that the difference
• 35:03
  between the integrity that's associated with
• 35:07
  trust, that's your external integrity. That's
• 35:09
  who you say you are. But if somebody gets to
• 35:12
  know you, know the real you, the integrity there
• 35:16
  is your internal integrity, who you really are,
• 35:18
  who you really act as. And I want to make this
• 35:21
  fun statement I learned about six months ago.
• 35:24
  And as you ever go to a networking event and
• 35:26
  you're meeting somebody and then the hair in
• 35:28
  the back of your neck stands up, you've got this
• 35:29
  spidey sense there's something wrong. Yeah. I
• 35:33
  want to put words on that. It's simply they're
• 35:35
  saying one thing. Their external integrity is
• 35:38
  saying one thing, but you know that they don't
• 35:41
  mean that when you look at their internal integrity.
• 35:43
  When there's incongruency between external and
• 35:46
  internal integrity, that's when your spidey sense
• 35:48
  pops up. So the word consistency. And I'll also
• 35:54
  add another C word, a couple of C words I like.
• 35:56
  I love curious, but also the consistency, the
• 35:59
  C word commitment. When you're consistent and
• 36:03
  have commitment to focus on doing the right things
• 36:07
  by those that you serve, you over time are making
• 36:12
  sure there's alignment between your external
• 36:14
  and internal integrity. If you don't have that
• 36:18
  alignment, that's an immediate, when an executive
• 36:22
  comes to me or is imposed on me, the first thing
• 36:26
  I have to see is, hey, are they coachable? They're
• 36:31
  not coachable, I'll say no immediately. But then
• 36:34
  within the first conversation or two, I'm going
• 36:37
  to learn whether or not there's incongruency
• 36:39
  between the external and internal integrity.
• 36:43
  Depending on how bad that is, it's either coachable
• 36:47
  if they're coachable or not. And I'll make those
• 36:50
  decisions right then. And it's really important
• 36:52
  to and it's hard sometimes. It's sometimes easy
• 36:56
  to do things that other people are doing, even
• 36:58
  though it's inconsistent with your values. But
• 37:01
  you've got to own who you are and you've got
• 37:03
  to show up in a credible way that people see
• 37:07
  you in a way that they're comfortable. Yes, very
• 37:11
  much. That's good. And I like that with the spidey
• 37:14
  senses, because I think everybody who has networked
• 37:18
  as much as we have, you walk into a room and
• 37:21
  you start talking with somebody and they start
• 37:23
  talking and immediately that starts to flare
• 37:27
  up. You're like, no, I'm going to make this as
• 37:29
  short as possible and just move on to the next
• 37:31
  person. Because I've gotten really to the point
• 37:35
  where I don't want to deal with that anymore.
• 37:38
  If you're just starting out, if you're a sales
• 37:40
  professional, you really do business with just
• 37:43
  about anybody that's going to buy your services.
• 37:46
  And I'm really at a point where I'm like, no,
• 37:50
  I remember I had a graphic design studio about
• 37:53
  20 years ago, and I was taught a lesson from
• 37:58
  my mentor at the time. He said, look, Michael,
• 38:01
  you have to fire your client. It was just, I
• 38:06
  was like, but you can't do that. He's paying
• 38:08
  me a lot of money. Yeah, but your health is worth
• 38:11
  a lot more than that. You have to be happy at
• 38:13
  what you do and fire the client. And I did, and
• 38:18
  my profit margin went down, but I felt a lot
• 38:22
  better. So there was something to learn about
• 38:25
  that. Okay, how can someone with limited experience
• 38:29
  still build credibility and lead within? It's
• 38:39
  a very open -ended question, so let me add a
• 38:42
  little bit of context around that. There are
• 38:45
  different forms of leadership, right? One of
• 38:48
  the best form of leadership that is very easy
• 38:55
  for anyone to do, regardless of title, is...
• 38:59
  The leadership of taking notes and summarizing
• 39:03
  notes and forward and following through. Essentially,
• 39:06
  good project management. So at any point in time
• 39:11
  when a group of disparate people come together,
• 39:14
  being the person who will volunteer to take notes
• 39:17
  and distribute the notes and then recap the notes
• 39:20
  at the next meeting, that's the leader. Whether
• 39:24
  or not they have the title or not. And so it's...
• 39:29
  If you have very limited experience, being that
• 39:33
  person and saying, listen, I have limited experience
• 39:36
  in this field, but what I can do really well
• 39:40
  is listen and take notes. Do you mind if I do
• 39:43
  that? And if you're showing your vulnerability,
• 39:47
  if you're showing that you authentically care,
• 39:49
  you have the intent and commitment to do the
• 39:51
  right thing, sometimes that leadership will actually
• 39:55
  be rewarded with true leadership who should run
• 39:58
  the project. Like I take into notes. So that
• 40:01
  to me is an approach I would suggest that people
• 40:04
  take. And let's bring this podcast full circle.
• 40:09
  And if someone wants to be remembered after a
• 40:12
  single conversation, what should they focus on
• 40:16
  projecting? Servant leadership. You are there
• 40:26
  to add. value to the person you're with and,
• 40:31
  if possible, to be able to add value? That's
• 40:36
  always my answer. That's always my answer. And
• 40:39
  I'm so glad that you said the very same thing.
• 40:42
  Mitchell, I can't begin to tell you how much
• 40:45
  I enjoyed this podcast. I can probably go on
• 40:48
  speaking with you for another two hours without
• 40:50
  even thinking about the time. But if somebody
• 40:53
  wanted to hire you or ask you a question or ask
• 40:57
  anything about you, how would they find you?
• 41:00
  You know, the best way, and this is something
• 41:02
  that many people make mistakes at, they'll start
• 41:05
  echoing off tons of ideas of how to reach somebody.
• 41:09
  So I'm going to give you one. It's my website.
• 41:12
  go to MitchellLevy .com, that's three L's, M
• 41:14
  -I -T -C -H -E -L -L -E -V -Y .com. And from
• 41:18
  there, you could see the types of programs I
• 41:21
  have, the things that I do. You could participate
• 41:23
  in either paid for or some complimentary resources.
• 41:27
  You could even book time on my calendar. So that's
• 41:30
  at MitchellLevy .com. That's fantastic. And again,
• 41:36
  I enjoyed this so much and I look forward to
• 41:39
  talking to you again. Michael. Me as well. Thank
• 41:42
  you. I really appreciate it. Well, hold on, folks.
• 41:46
  Don't go anywhere. Let me just read a few of
• 41:48
  our sponsors that we have. Struggling to reach
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  to revvedupkids .org. That's R -E -V -V -E -D
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  -U -P -K -I -D -S .org. Well, that's a wrap,
• 43:04
  folks. A huge thank you to our special guests
• 43:07
  for sharing such incredible insights today. And
• 43:10
  of course, a big shout out to you, our amazing
• 43:13
  listeners, for tuning in and spending your time
• 43:16
  with us. Remember, networking isn't about being
• 43:20
  perfect. It's about being present. So take what
• 43:24
  you've learned today, get out there, and make
• 43:26
  some meaningful connections. If you enjoyed this
• 43:29
  episode, don't forget to subscribe, leave us
• 43:32
  a review, and share it with someone who could
• 43:35
  use a little networking inspiration. Let's keep
• 43:38
  the conversation going. You can find me on Apple,
• 43:42
  Spotify, YouTube, or my website, Michael. Remember,
• 43:47
  Until next time, keep practicing, keep connecting,
• 43:50
  and keep building those relationships. This is
• 43:54
  Michael signing off. Take care and happy networking.