Super Bowl XLV: A Networking Guide for Newcomers

Welcome Super Bowl visitors! ! !  Maybe you'll like Dallas/Fort Worth so much, you'll want to stay. 

You won't be alone.  Texas is teeming with new transplants these days.  No surprise.  Folks are attracted to our open and welcoming culture, attractive cost of living, favorable economy and promising future.  In fact, Dallas leads the nation in job creation, according to this impressive graphic from SMU's Michael Cox, former economist at the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank. 

The Texas Superstate cover story of Newsweek, above, was the eye-opener and impetus for me.  Here is the complete story, as recounted in D Magazine's 119 Reasons Why We Love Dallas issue.  Soon, my two sisters followed and later, even my mother. 

It was fertile ground for pursuit of successful business careers, for which we are very grateful.  Not to mention the side benefit of meeting tall, handsome Texas husbands.  Dallas has been very good to these girls from Altoona, PA! 

If you're new in town, here are some orientation tips:

1.  Cultural context.  Rent the movie Giant to catch the pioneering spirit of Texas.  Scope some episodes of the TV show Dallas.  J.R. Ewing is a bigger-than-life oilman.  Note the shoulder pad fashions of the 80s and the changing skyline of the city.  ESPN's Pony Excess covers the SMU football scandal, against the backdrop of local business, media and politics. 

2.  Media coverage.  Peruse the websites, blogs and archives of Dallas Morning News, Texas Monthly, D Magazine and D CEO.  Note the new neighborhood video channel You+Dallas. 

3.  Daytime beverages.  At a weekday business lunch, you will likely order iced tea or Dr Pepper (regular or diet).  As a corporate even planner once noted, "Dallas doesn't drink at lunch, but these men expect their glass of wine at 6 pm."

4.  Gotta have Art.  Take in an arts event at the venues of our internationally renown Arts District -- DMA, Nasher, Wyly, Meyerson or Winspear.  And, yes, we have sports, too.  Two pro team owners have Pittsburgh ties -- Mark Cuban and Chuck Greenberg.

   

5.  Find a tribe.  Join something.  Whether it's a neighborhood group, professional organization or non-profit initiative.  Take on a leadership role.   Women In Communications  was my port of entry.  I became the Job Placement chairman, an excellent way to meet others and match them with new opportunities!  (Program chairman is another productive and visible role in an organization.)

6.  Team up.  Don't go it alone.  Find another newcomer and network together.  One of my first friends in town was NYC transplant Erika Sanchez, then a reporter at the Dallas Morning News.  We would do a regular lunch during those early days and both invite a new person that we thought the other would like.  We're still friends and members of an excellent book club!

7.  Fashionability.  You will notice how attractive the women and men are here.  The weather is warm much of the time, so people are outdoors and less bundled-up than in the North.  Not to mention the Neiman Marcus influence of beauty and style. Fitness outlets also abound. 

8.  Be nice.  People are friendly and happy here.  Smile!  Relax!  Be polite!   Say please, thank you and excuse me.  No elbow-jabbing or pushing. 

9.  Go blonde.   You will note being surrounded by beautiful blondes.  At some point, many brunettes give into the temptation and, at minimum, experiment with highlights.  Go ahead, give it a try.  You can always go back to your natural color.  Live the life of a Dallas blonde.  Even the senior citizens do.  (My mother included!)  You can count the number of gray-haired women here on a single hand. 

10.  (Bonus tip for single women.)  Take up golf.  We have a nice long playing season here and, as the realtors say:  Location, location, location.  It's where the men are.  Even if you only go to the driving range, it provides an excellent venue.  It works.  I can tell you of a particularly noteworthy tournament that yielded two weddings out of two foursomes.  Do you need a more compelling testimonial?  I didn't think so.

So, to all....Welcome.  Enjoy.  Go Steelers! ! ! !    

Synergy



Christine Breck, founder of Texas Wall Street Women, called this week with an invitation to present at the Dallas chapter's October meeting. 

We brainstormed critical topics to address:  leadership, career management and networking -- all wrapped up under the umbrella of busy career time constraints. How does one cope with work, home, family, fitness, a touch of social life and still find time to sleep??? 

It's risky to have all of one's eggs in one basket.  A byword of career planning is to network before you need to.  And advancement often requires relationships and outreach in industry circles beyond one's immediate department, according to author and career expert Dr. Helen Harkness.  Yet, in a post-downsized world, bandwidth is limited.  It's not uncommon for an individual to be doing the work of more than one. 

What's the solution?  Women in particular need a career and relationship strategy that delivers efficiencies.  It's all about synergy -- mixing business and personal realms.

Men have been doing it for years.  Drinks at the 19th hole after a game of golf.  Football and baseball outings.  Poker groups.  We now have executive women golf initiatives.  But you don't have to undertake sports if you're not athletically inclined.  There are many other paths.

Here are some points that I will address:

1.  People do business with those they like.  Become friends with your clients.

2.  Saying no is an important as saying yes.  Don't get saddled with commitments if they are not going to give you an effective ROI.  Or if they're not enjoyable.

3.  Delegate and outsource -- don't try to be the homemade cupcake goddess if you are a time-crunched  road warrior. 

4.  Seek alliances that can deliver multiple outcomes. 

5.  Find fitness outlets with friends.

6.  Target organizations where your customers are -- and your competitors are not.

When I was single in my 30s, I always built relationships with the wives of male clients.   My pro bono community work was always in support of their special charities.  When I married, my husband and I became friends as couples with many longtime clients and co-workers.  We are trusted advisors to one another.  We network.  We refer business.  We help each other.     

On Saturdays, I always look forward to Lisa Ann McCall's Body Balance class.  It's a wonderful regime and as a bonus, it's a catch-up session with friends and colleagues from Texas Women Ventures (4 of us), Second Wednesday Book Club (3 of us) and Women's Leadership Exchange (4 of us), as well as a women's financial breakfast series where I first met Lisa Ann!

Texas Women Ventures Fund has been highly rewarding.  We are a mezzanine fund that invests in women-led businesses.  It's an impressive network of professional women -- and some men, as well -- who provide funding as well as expertise and connections, as needed, by the portfolio companies.  It's a for-profit organization for the investors, but one which also does good, as the companies are creating hundreds of jobs in their local economies.  Many friendships and business relationships have been forged, as the group prepares to raise a third fund this year. 

The key is to find The Perfect Fit of outreach initiatives that work for you and your career goals.

WSJ: Should you Relocate Before you have a Job?

I am featured in The Wall Street Journal in an article entitled The Next Best Career Move:  Actually Moving.  Writer Liz Garone did an outstanding job illustrating the premise with success stories of people who have put the cart before the horse, i.e., moving before they have a job.

It takes targeting, strategy, research -- and guts.  But if you are in a geography that is lackluster in career opportunities -- with a glut of talent competing for few slots -- it makes all the sense in the world to reposition and catapult yourself into a more robust, career-enhancing economy. 

Look at the cumulative boost in earnings that could accrue throughout your career.  More is better than less in terms of what you will need to fund retirement.  And opportunity breeds opportunity.

Some excerpts from the WSJ piece:

So far the trend is visible at either end of the job spectrum: from senior-level job seekers who have a financial cushion to weather the costs of the move and the following transition period to more junior-level job seekers, who have fewer fixed expenses and can move easily.

Nancy Keene, a director in the Dallas office of executive search firm Stanton Chase, calls it the "act local/be local" phenomenon, in which job hunters are doing whatever they can to appear to be—or become—part of a community. It's a career move that—if executed right—can be a good investment. "People are looking to reposition for the next phase of their career," she says. "If you're going somewhere with a robust and diversified economy, it's a pretty safe bet." 

Some who can't afford to make the move are giving the illusion of being local by renting a mailbox, getting a local cellphone number, and staying with friends and family nearby to attend networking and industry events, Ms. Keene says.

I speak from personal experience.  Moving to Texas at a time when the Rust Belt was struggling was a smart and strategic move that dramatically changed life for the better.  Both of my sisters followed me to Dallas where they also launched successful careers.  Here is a link that describes my own relocation in D Magazine's Why We Love Dallas cover story.

Here are some tips to forge your own path-to-prosperity:

1. Thoroughly research companies in your sector.
2. Monitor corporate news in the local media and business publications of your target location.
3. Get your resume into the databases of executive search firms as a form of ''passive marketing.''
4. Reach out to your networks of college alumni and former work colleagues for insider perspectives, referrals and introductions.     
5. Make the most of in-market visits.  Stay with family or friends.  Have a full schedule of meetings, interviews and networking activities.
6. Be sure that your social media listings (LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.) are consistent with how you are presenting yourself, location-wise.
7. Select a realtor who is well-rooted in the market for information on transitional, rental and even housesitting possibilities.

Other excellent resources:

• Best/Worst states for employment -- from DailyBeast.com
• Inbound migration statistics
• North Texas growth metrics -- from the brilliant Michael Cox, director of SMU's O'Neil Center for Global Markets and Freedom

I am a big fan of the brilliant author and thought leader Marshall Goldsmith.  In his new book Mojo, he dedicates an entire chapter to the topic That Job is Gone! Many people are hoping to wait out the return of the market, but many of the jobs and industries are gone for good.

If you are weighing the possibilities of undertaking a relocation on your own, Marshall offers inspirational tools and metrics, balanced with the splash of cold water reality that can help in your decisionmaking process.