Schmoozing

I had a great time last week at the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD) Expo in Orlando. It was actually my first time attending, but definitely won’t be my last.

Networking is so important these days for advancement. One of the best ways to network is by joining associations related to your profession. Just about every profession has at least one association. You can connect with people all over the world through the organizations website (blogs, forums, etc).

With membership in the group usually comes an annual meeting or conference. Now you have a great opportunity to “put faces to the names” and meet many more people (and maybe have a nice vacation mixed in).

At this year’s ASTD Expo I was able to meet one of the great “guru’s” in leadership, Ken Blanchard. That was an extreme honor. You know why you always see pictures of him smiling? Because that’s exactly the way he is. I was able to talk to him for just a couple of minutes, but that was all it took to know that he’d be just a pleasure to be around.

I was also able to meet Kevin Eikenberry, Guy Harris, and Becky Robinson of the Kevin Eikenberry Group. Kevin and Guy wrote the remarkable book, From Bud to Boss, which I had the honor of reading, pre-launch, and writing about here on my blog, Twitter, and Linked2Leadership. What fantastic people they are.

So check out your professional associations. You never know what doors it will open or success it will bring.