My PASSION Magazine issue #2

"Networking Follow Up"
The Importance of Networking
Chi Chi Okezie
Once you have identified your networking goals, have an objective and a plan, then the next step is to execute it.
Networking is not just about attending events. It is about building a network and support system. In my first article
for this magazine, I stated that we operate in networks. Building relationships is key. Listed below are ways
in which you can follow up in a timely manner and build a viable networking for success.
Induct
Induct individuals and companies into your networks
through social media. Give each person a position or
title to gauge engagement and interest. Be strategic
and even create subcategories when necessary. Make
sure that the members in your network are diverse and
compliment your core values.
Inform
Be an informational expert. Reach out to those you
have met with relevant subject matter. Do your research
and due diligence to show professionalism and
credibility. Look for information that can benefit the
other person and add value to your growing relationship.
Use a diverse spectrum of information, as well.
Inquire
Inquire about future networking opportunities or
ways to stay connected. Be open to doing more
business and enlarging your circle of influence with
others. Ask targeted and practical questions to keep
the networking going in the right direction. Show
levels of interest and follow up with the success of
referrals and leads when applicable.
Invite
Invite your counterpart to a similar networking
event or function. Be the host and accommodate
them. Learn about their interests and reasons for
wanting to network and build relations. This will
definitely improve your credibility, professionalism
and brand for future success.
Contact:
Chi Chi Okezie, cokezie@snseminars.com, http://www.snseminars.
Lemonade
&
Pearls
22 | My Passion - Issue 2 - July 2015 My Passion - Issue 2 - July 2015 | 23
I have two beautiful strands of
pearls that were given to me by my
mother and grandmother. I cherish
those pearls so much. Quite often
I sit, look at them, and cry a little,
because I miss them both dearly!
You see, they both have made the
transition to heaven a while ago but
left a deep impression in my heart.
I show some of their ways in my
day-to-day activities. I release what
I have been taught by these strong,
tenacious women as I deal with life
and its beauty and hardships.
These pearls represent the beautiful
and tough times in life, because you
see, a pearl develops from friction
caused by a foreign object in the
oyster. This irritation and friction
creates a reaction, a kind of defense
mechanism around the object until
it is isolated and smothered by
beauty! Isn’t that so interesting?
Irritation and friction can create
something so beautiful.
Well, both of these women in my
life had their fair share of issues.
My mother and her older sister
grew up during the war and had to
endure and see things that forever
scared these little girls. They both
dealt with this differently throughout
their lives. Here is one of the
horrifying stories my Mom used to
tell me.
My grandfather was captured and
became a prisoner of war in Russia
for seven years. My mom was very
close to her daddy and was heartbroken
and missed her father terribly.
My grandmother and her two
girls were left to their own devices
and had to run the hotel called
the “Isarburg” all by themselves.
The girls had to walk daily to fetch
bread and eggs from the nearby
farms, and quite often, would be
interrupted by bombers flying over
the Alps. As they watched the
bombs drop, they would hide in
the woods until they felt safe to go
back home. They never knew if they
would see their Mom safe and alive
again. Once my grandfather was
released from prison, he became a
cook in Munich, about 60
miles from the beautiful little hotel
and my grandmother would take
the girls by train to visit. One day
the bombers came and bombed the
train station and my grandmother
had to take the two sobbing, shaking
little girls and drag them over
dead bodies and screaming people
to meet her husband. They had to
hide in the cellar so no one would
find out that the family came to see
him, only to make their way back
the next day over all the devastation.
My grandmother would fuss at
the girls and tell them to keep their
eyes closed as she dragged them
with tears rolling down her cheeks
to the train. She would look straight
ahead, lips tight and every muscle
in her body in stress mode until
they sat down and just stared at the
ground in front of them. My grandmother,
my aunt and my mother
were known as some of the strongest
business women in the Ober Bavaria
region.
My grandmother became wealthy
but remained a deeply, troubled,
hardworking woman who had a
hard time showing love freely. My
mother was the kind and soft one
of the girls and longed to have a
family of her own, but she also
had a tough edge to her that came
through when danger seemed to try
to attack her family. As soon as she
got married, she moved away from
the hotel industry to have children
and enjoy the beautiful life of a
close knit family with a mother and
a father she never had! My aunt
chose the path of the powerful business
woman that no one could out
do or get to close to!
The pearls formed the defense
mechanism that protected them
from feeling the deep pain they had
to endure during the war.
I grew up noticing all of it and
formed my own defense mechanism
to deal with the journey that would
come my way! Once I got to the
United States, I began to hear the
statement “make lemonade out of
lemons” and began to incorporate
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