Dr. Elizabeth Kearney, Known for Her Generosity

By Bette Daoust, Ph.D., Southwest Bureau Chief          Bette's Bio

I have the privilege and delight to know a person that is known everywhere I go on the west coast and elsewhere. The person has received recognition from ABWA as business woman of the year in 2003, 2004, and 2005. If that was not enough, she was also selected as one of fourteen business owners to be honored in Washington DC in 2004 and 2005 for her contributions to business. Yet she humbly says, I really didn’t do anything to deserve this honor. I really disagree.

Dr. Elizabeth Kearney currently lives in the Bay Area of San Francisco and is very active with many groups including Astra (Board of Directors), San Leandro Chamber of Commerce, Northern California Leadership Forum (Chair) and many more. She takes my breath away.

If this is not enough, she has written 18 books (three of which were books of the month) and hundreds of articles and to top it all - a Johns Hopkins fellow. And she does all of this by networking with others and offering to help where as needed.

Liz’s accomplishments can wow anyone and it is not that she knows many people; it is that people really want to know her. Her secret is to get to know people in positions of influence within the business community. Her emphasis is on diversity programs and she sits on the board of Astra (www.astrawba.org) the west coast division of WBENC (www.wbenc.org) - (both women’s owned business organizations, one west coast and one national). By making herself available to others, her connections have increased ten fold or perhaps even more. A lesson for everyone – help wherever you can and be seen and known for your generosity. Liz has accomplished that and much, much more.

Being on the Board of Directors, volunteering time is not all Liz does for exposure. She writes a monthly column for the East Bay Business Times (part of the BizJournals network of business papers). Now it is really not a matter of who Liz knows, it is a matter of who knows Liz and there are plenty who want to in the business community and elsewhere. After all, you never know if she might feature you in her column so getting to know her becomes something to achieve.

To make sure people know who she is, Liz has also formed an Alliance of Experts. Each of these experts has a circle of influence that she can now tap into along with her own network. Her energy still astounds me as she has been doing this for years. All of us should go along for the ride to be introduced to her contacts. However, all of us should make the meeting with them memorable so they too will know who we are. How well are you prepared to meet someone of influence? 

Dr. Kearney gives a lesson in networking to everyone. You do not just collect cards, follow-up and eventually get to know the person. You join an organization, get really involved, and people will want to know you. Show yourself as someone that cares. Nurture all relationships by keeping in touch with things that interest them and they will soon be interested in you.

You can connect to Dr. Kearney through her website www.ekearneyandassociates.com.
 

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Contact Bette at BetteD@TheNationalNetworker.com or via TNNW Blog.