Working the Pond

By Lori Richardson, Northwest Bureau Chief          Lori's Bio
 

Three people who are making things happen in the Northwest (and elsewhere) are the Vancouver, BC based authors Darcy Rezac, Gayle Hallgren-Rezac and Judy Thomson. Their training and consulting company is called Shepa Learning. Now on the speaking circuit, I recently met with Judy and Gayle to learn more about their focus and how they are helping people connect with their easy to understand, values-based ideas.

The three wrote a comprehensive, fun read called, Work the Pond – Use the Power of Positive Networking to Leap Forward in Work and Life.

The book is chock-full of stories about connecting well with others, using the frog theme, and with frog fables – “do not be a fly on the wall….”  They also use anecdotes about real people and the life lessons learned when it comes to connecting with others. It is about building better relationships by becoming a positive networker. This simple but powerful philosophy of positive networking is in great contrast to transactional networking, which many of us know just doesn’t work.

I enjoy this trio and their writings because they espouse the concept of what professional sellers do… connect with others in positive ways to build relationships for life. It is not a “you do this for me, and I’ll do this for you” mindset.  It is abundant thinking at its best.

Darcy Rezac, who for the past twenty years has been the head of the Vancouver Board of Trade, traveling world-wide and meeting hundreds of thousands of people, knows how to bring people together. Co-author Judy Thomson brings 25 years of team development and mentoring know-how in North America and Asia to the topic, and Gayle Hallgren-Rezac has observed networking around the world. She is an entrepreneur and writer who adds an additional dimension to this topic as well.

Recently Judy and Gayle were guests on a conference call on “Ways to Get More Involved in Professional Associations and Networking”. Their three main points were:

1. Networking is not just about business, but about life - it happens in many environments
2. Get off the bleachers and into the game - how to get more involved in organizations you join
3. Build your own personal brand and identity - become known as an expert.

You can learn more about Positive Networking at their Work the Pond website.

Be sure to sign up for the daily tips that they send. Gayle, Judy, and Darcy do keynotes on Positive Networking around the world.
 

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Contact Lori Richardson at LoriR@TheNationalNetWorker.com or Post a Comment on TNNW Blog.