It’s not only who you know, but who knows you - Janice Reals Ellig
What role has networking played in your own career?
Networking comes naturally to me — I love to connect people — at social as well as at business events.
I am intellectually curious about people, their lives, their situations; it broadens my perspective on life, business and the world. An ultimate lesson in my career is that beyond ‘who you know, it’s who knows you.’ Being known to a circle of influential people — internally and externally — gets you invited to ‘the table.’ But to be known, you have to put yourself out there and demonstrate your uniqueness. You have to get out of your comfort zone. You have to be intellectually curious. You have to be a thought leader, a doer who has ‘run and done something.’ And while being an active participant in your organization, externally, it is very important to give back by donating your time, expertise, and whatever you can afford to contribute to a charity, a cause that resonates with you.
I spent many years in corporate America, helped take a company public, sat on several large nonprofit boards, spoken at conferences, co-authored books, written numerous articles, and am now an entrepreneur running a business for the past 15 years with my business partner, Susan Chadick.
All this time, I was building a ‘rolodex’ of outstanding executives and thought leaders — remarkable contacts who I was so fortunate to get to know personally. The opportunity to meet and learn from them — their experiences, successes, and failures — is what makes me and our firm unique and highly successful. By helping others achieve their potential, I exponentially grow. I am truly thankful to my supportive, wide circle of colleagues, clients, candidates, friends — I have learned so much from their experiences.
Believing that continually expanding one’s network is what keeps us relevant, my network expanded to a new territory when I was asked to be a judge of the Entrepreneur’s Organization (EO). Here I had the privilege of evaluating young entrepreneurs, their innovative business ideas and to vote for the top three. Via other judges I met there, I was invited to be on the advisory board of the Edison Innovation Foundation (www.thomasedison.org). Becoming immersed among very savvy and highly accomplished entrepreneurs and thought leaders, I have observed the true meaning of entrepreneurism, of innovation and how startups succeed or fail. The wisdom of this remarkable board has enriched me personally and professionally. How we approach and conduct executive search assignments for clients has been broadened by this network. I now have an expanded perspective about how to offer more innovative solutions to clients.
