FROM THE NATIONAL NETWORKER NEWSLETTER

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Dear Friends, Colleagues, Subscribers, Members, Vendors, Advertisers and Affiliates [phew!]:


Whether or not you are a citizen of the United States, Happy Independence Day.

I believe that Independence Day should become celebrated as the first Internationalist Holiday. We have some things for which to be thankful... and many, many more that we should join our hearts, heads and hands and aspire to:

1. The world as a single nation, united in cyberspace, and beyond the impediments of time, distance and those despots who profit at the sport of dividing us instead of uniting us;


2. The rise of a new, exciting entrepreneurial culture from the rubble and ashes of an economic system that had become unconscionably wasteful, short-sighted and outmoded;


3. The opportunity to enjoy peace and prosperity simultaneously.


Thank you all for being a part of my world, and for letting me into yours. I am grateful to Adam J. Kovitz for his friendship, as well as for his having cleverly conned me into partnering with him in this amazing and wonderful endeavor. Every second is the beginning of time, and the dawning of opportunity.

Enjoy the articles.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle, for
THE NATIONAL NETWORKER
Subscribe for the TNNW Newsletter today - absolutely free. http://twitlik.com/OK

*****

A NOTE FROM THE CHAIRMAN
TNNW Continues to Evolve
Adam J. Kovitz

TNNW UPDATES!
July, 2009, Week #1



TNNW Spotlight:
BEING THERE WHEN IT COUNTS
Will Your Customers and Prospects Next Purchase be From You or a Competitor?
Rick Itzkowich


CONNECTING IS NOT ENOUGH
It’s a Question of Trust
Andy Lopata



Columns

THE REHUMANIZATION OF NETWORKING
Walking On Eggshells
Douglas Castle

SALES & MARKETING
Appreciation Marketing
Bill Doerr

THE BOOM IN BOOMER NETWORKING
Tails From the Old Dawg
Elaine Ingis

BECAUSE I CAN
Why Givers Don’t Always Gain and Why the “Law” of Reciprocity is Bullsh!t
Adam J. Kovitz

DEEPENING NETWORKING THROUGH RELATIONSHIPS
Lessons From Busy Networking Professionals
Christine Sotmary, M.S., L.Ac., CPC

POWER THOUGHT OF THE WEEK
Building Powerful Relationships, Part 1
Patricia Parham, Ph.D.



Regional Reports
SOUTH AFRICA
Seek First to Understand
Karl Smith

U.S., NEW ENGLAND
The Dream Party is a Unique Form of Networking
Noelle Southwick


We ARE Networking

THE NATIONAL NETWORKER (TNNW):
PRESS OUR BUTTONS & CLICK OUR LINKS...

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KEYWORDS, TERMS AND ORGANIZATIONS:

globalism, CFR, NGO, UN, WTO, IMF, central bank, outsourcing, offshoring, capital markets, import, export, international trade, strategic alliances, e-commerce, entrepreneurship, social networking, banking, finance, trade, ventures, business, securities, stock exchanges, indexes, futurism, trends, citizen ambassadorship, enterprise, capitalism, international politics, commodities, prime rate, LIBOR, foreign currencies, foreign exchange, blogs, blogging, bloggers, aol, google, yahoo, msn, AP, news, media alerts, world government, world governments, international affairs, treaties, tariffs, trade restrictions, marketing, advertising, business development, arbitrage, obtaining capital, promotion, publicity, EU, NATO, military affairs, government regulation, trade restrictions, liquidity crisis, business opportunities, web-based businesses, communication, communications, technology, intelligence, embassies, consulates, business resources, Douglas Castle,The Internationalist Page, The Global Futurist, international politics, elections, time management, cyberspace, AI, energy, industry, productivity, Mixx, Digg, Technorati, Sphere, Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, LinkedIn, advertising, economics, strategy, management, cooperation, widgets, blidgets, links, incoterms, CCH, UCC, freight forwarding, custom house brokers, diversity, employment, culture, micro-loans, technological convergence, trends, financial planning, FOREX, futures, stock index, inflation, recession, sub-contracting, Department of Commerce, the next generation, amnesty, humanitarianism, foreign aid, philanthropy, charity, cooperation, peaceful cooexistence, a world without walls...

EXPECTATION MANAGEMENT AND PERCEPTION - The Democrats must properly "Network" the American Public

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Expectation Management and Perception

If the Democrats are to sustain their circumstantial advantage, they must acknowledge and apply some rudimentary behavioral psychology.

--From an Article Written By Douglas Castle for THE NATIONAL NETWORKER NEWSLETTER and originally published on June 14, 2009.

This article © 2009 by Douglas E. Castle and The National Networker : Reprinted with permission. This article has been substantially edited from its original form in order to fit the format of this reprinting. The author expresses his gratitude to Linked In for providing the networking and communications forum which made this article possible and to BUZZFLASH for kindling the spark which inspired its creation. The author is neither a Democrat nor a Republican and is not affiliated with any political party. ~

Preamble:

In any relationship of trust or responsibility, management of your counterpart’s or charges’ expectations is crucial. When networking (as every political administration has done with the American People en masse), you must be perceived as honorable, competent and consistent. President Barack Obama and the newly-installed Democratic party has an initial advantage, since the previous Republican administration is currently in a leadership vacuum and is greatly suffering from the public perception that its actions, or inactions, precipitated the current economic crisis. The Democrats have to rapidly upgrade their networking skills in order to keep and hold their influence and to sustain their circumstantial advantage.

A recent article in BUZZFLASH spoke of the decline of the G.O.P. But the deterioration of its reputation following the Bush administration, leadership issues and apparent blame for the precipitation of the current economic crisis are still not enough to keep the Democrats in the good graces of the increasingly wary American People, who are looking to the Democrats as their last hope for a restoration of a “normal” United States.

The G.O.P. badly mis-networked the populace. Despite this, the Democrats need to sharpen their leadership and public relations skills, especially in the areas of expectation management and perception, if they are to remain in power and reap the political rewards of having helped to solve a frighteningly real economic crisis – and a still unresolved crisis of confidence.

Please download this article (either for reading or for printing) in its entirety from http://twitlik.com/EXPECTATION .

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle

Some Key Terms: Networking the American Public, politics of perception, confidence, image-building, networking, Linked In, BuzzFlash, MediaFire, Articles by Douglas Castle, economic recession, TNNW, crisis of confidence.







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KEYWORDS, TERMS AND ORGANIZATIONS:

globalism, CFR, NGO, UN, WTO, IMF, central bank, outsourcing, offshoring, capital markets, import, export, international trade, strategic alliances, e-commerce, entrepreneurship, social networking, banking, finance, trade, ventures, business, securities, stock exchanges, indexes, futurism, trends, citizen ambassadorship, enterprise, capitalism, international politics, commodities, prime rate, LIBOR, foreign currencies, foreign exchange, blogs, blogging, bloggers, aol, google, yahoo, msn, AP, news, media alerts, world government, world governments, international affairs, treaties, tariffs, trade restrictions, marketing, advertising, business development, arbitrage, obtaining capital, promotion, publicity, EU, NATO, military affairs, government regulation, trade restrictions, liquidity crisis, business opportunities, web-based businesses, communication, communications, technology, intelligence, embassies, consulates, business resources, Douglas Castle,The Internationalist Page, The Global Futurist, international politics, elections, time management, cyberspace, AI, energy, industry, productivity, Mixx, Digg, Technorati, Sphere, Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, LinkedIn, advertising, economics, strategy, management, cooperation, widgets, blidgets, links, incoterms, CCH, UCC, freight forwarding, custom house brokers, diversity, employment, culture, micro-loans, technological convergence, trends, financial planning, FOREX, futures, stock index, inflation, recession, sub-contracting, Department of Commerce, the next generation, amnesty, humanitarianism, foreign aid, philanthropy, charity, cooperation, peaceful cooexistence, a world without walls...

THE MYTH OF COMPETITION

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Dear Friends:

Competition requires a tremendous effort at defending your business against others potentially serving your chosen marketplace. The competitive spirit, combined with entrepreneurship, have created every great business, and every giant industry. The will to succeed and the will to be noticed above others are powerful motivations for achievement -- especially during times of general economic prosperity, and during the initial phase of a company's trajectory.

The practical truth, however, is that it considerably more efficient to consolidate and build alliances (often through either the absorption of competitors or the sharing of turf with them contractually) than to spend time in a defensive/offensive alternating strategy. Befriending and negotiating are more effective than alienating and issuing challenges. The great planners and designers of conglomerates and cartels understand this and use it is as a primary strategy. They absorb and grow. They promote sharing.

In a tempestuous economic time, blind competition becomes increasingly suicidal, even when the thought of sharing a "smaller pie" becomes contrary to certain hard-wired survival instincts.

Ask yourself these simple questions, on the subject of partnering and cooperating:

1. Why should I invest new money in something that someone has already developed?


2. Why should I fight for market share when I can consolidate marketshare?


3. Why shouldn't I consolidate and add more products (diversification), as well as expand and cross-pollinate my customer list?


4. Isn't a larger company (through consolidation) going to get better vendor terms, greater credit facilities, and a more diversified talent pool of employees and staff?


5. Can't I grow my entire business (markets, products, talents) more quickly through consolidation?


6. Can't I create efficiencies (through elimation of redundant positions and functions) through consolidation?


7. Can I integrate businesses with a supplier, my consumers (if they are resellers), or with a competitor?


8. Can I combine forces with a company outside of my industry if we sell different, non-competitive products to the same market?


9. Can I combine forces with with a company who uses the same vendors that I use?

Substantial tasks and skills are required to form the alliances and partnerships which annex business "territory" and create the means to defend it by sheer virtue of size or dominance. Some of these tasks and skills are enumerated quickly below:

1. Networking. You must create as many contacts as you can in order to either create or be presented with potential opportunities;


2. Research. You must learn about the strengths and weaknesses of your prospective target partner. What are the existing and prospective benefits and costs?


3. Negotiate. Weaker partners are usually extremely easy or extremely difficult to acquire (a curious, ideosyncratic bi-polarity,), while stronger partners are almost invariably more challenging to deal with -- this is largely due to the perception that they have much more at stake to lose. They can take their time to evaluate the pros and cons. You must appear strong, yet reserved in your acquisitiveness, in order to court these desirable allies. Also, if you present your quarry with a parade of all of the benefits you offer, and don't discuss a bit of what you expect (or demand) in return, you will seem less than credible;


4. Communicate. Be in touch with your chosen allies as frequently as possible. This increases their comfort with you, their reliance upon your presence as a voice in their affairs, and the free flow of valuable intelligence back to you for your use. Be participatory. Be real. Be present.


5. Share. It would seem to be elementary, but this aspect of partnership and alliance-building seems to be forgotten. If you hear of any news which could have an effect upon your ally or partner, get that information to him/ her immediately. Also, if you discuss a resource which you have discovered which has increased or enhanced your business in any way, share that information as an added benefit to your partners and allies. By making it obvious that you care about them, you make it easier for them to let their instinctive guard down, and begin to trust and care about you.

These are tempestuous economic times. Fortify yourself, and your business interests with powerful circles of well-chosen partners and allies.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle

p.s. Internationalists! Two quick actions that I would recommend...

• Click on THE NATIONAL NETWORKER and subscribe to get your free networking newsletter immediately. The letter is fabulous;


• Click on THE RELATIONSHIP CAPITAL TOOLKIT and start monitoring the site for highly-specialized services and products designed to monetize your networking efforts and acquired contacts. These tools will only be available to subscribers to the THE NATIONAL NETWORKER.

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THE NEW ACTIVISM

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Dear Friends:

The term "activism" is more than occasionally negatively-charged. It represents an aggressive approach to a significant change in the status-quo. People are generally fearful of any change, and they are especially fearful of rapid change. This is an ingrained Human propensity.

We all live in a world that is in need of repair. But the wonderful news is that we possess the technological means to change it.

With the internet, through blogging and posting forums, and with the additional techniques of viral marketing, a single individual can send a message around the world, virtually at the speed of the written word. This is a tool of enormous power and, as yet, unrealized potential.

As a citizen ambassador, any individual can be an activist. Your words, and the ability to broadcast them through the Internet, are the only weapons necessary. You can leave your guns and tear gas at the door. No violence is required.

You must choose your words carefully for maximum resonance (with your fellow Human Beings) and maximum impact (each word is precious -- say more with fewer words -- do not hide your message in a cloud of narrative, or obscure them in a treatise).

There is no limit to this power. It is yours for the taking.

Write. Blog. Post. Be an agent of positive change.

If you need help with doing this, please be at tliberty to contact me directly at douglas.castle@yahoo.com (please put the word "INTERNATIONALIST" in your subject heading).

You will want to read the next several posts, as they will be about viral marketing.

Thank you, my Friends.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle

p.s.

Please donate to THE CHILDREN'S INTERNATIONAL OBESITY FOUNDATION. Obesity is a worldwide problem, and its complications are killing our children. Please be generous! Thank you.