How to Leverage Your Network

How To Get Your Network To Support Any Project

How I get old friends and my network to support my projects.

We're getting closer to launching our Kickstarter campaign at Rugby Bricks, and I've asked my team to drum up some support for our campaign from their networks.

The problem is they haven't spoken to many people in their networks for quite some time.

So we need to do what marketing peeps call re-engaging an audience.

The most important thing I do when calling on 'old friends for help is to make my approach as comfortable and expectation-less as possible.

So there are a couple of rules I like to follow when I do this.

• I make my ask quickly - in less than 30 seconds

• I make what I'm asking for clear

• I acknowledge this is a favour, and I offer to return it

• I give them an easy out

Here's what I've sent to relevant people in my LI network, and I have asked my team to do the same.

"Hey (first name),

How are you?

I just wanted to reach out as we're about to launch a Kickstarter for

Rugby Bricks at the end of September, and I would love some help.

I've got a couple of quick asks:

We're launching a new type of grip sock for speed and performance in

the wet. It may not be something you're interested in, but I'd love to

grab your email and add it to our pre-launch list here:

https://rugbybricks.typeform.com/kickstarter1

We will flick you an email a few days before we launch. If you could

Share this link with anyone you think would want to know about this

product, it would be a massive win for us.

Let me know if I can repay the favour or do anything to give you a hand. No stress if you're too busy.

Cheers"

So far, 64% of my network has replied to this message. This shows how happy people are to help and support you if you ask.

I think too many of us are afraid to take that first step because we fear the no.

Notes: Make it easy for them when you ask for help. The easier it is for them to help you, the more likely they will.

One Question That Helps Me Keep Moving Forward

The question I ask myself before working on anything

I don't think we need to be as productive as advertised - if we can answer this one question.

Will this action move me closer to or further away from my objective?

Productivity systems, tools, frameworks and all that jazz are supposed to help us get more done. Which is great, but only when getting those things done takes us closer to the outcomes we want to achieve.

What generally happens when we follow those productivity protocols is we get more stuff done, but much of it doesn't matter.

Naval Ravikant thinks "99% of all effort is wasted" - I think a big reason why is we do the wrong work.

There is work you can do that is more likely to shift you towards your goals than other stuff. There's also work you can do that will help you take bigger leaps forward than other stuff. And it's probably a smart idea to figure out which is which.

But the first, more important step is getting good at recognising the work that moves us in the right direction.

Most doesn't.

Notes: Doing work moves you in the right direction matters more than how much work you do.

WHERE WE'RE LEARNING

• ​We’re weaker than we think we are - A short story by Nat Eliason highlighting how far we’ve let our physical health standards fall.

How To Push Past The Minimum Viable Effort Problem

A look at the minimum viable effort problem.

We want the behaviour of our directors to be driven by the effect their decisions will have on their family's net worth - Warren Buffett.

We're a selfish bunch, and that's okay.

Our desire to improve ourselves and our livelihood drives this world forward and, over time, makes it better for everyone.

But the incentive structure of our workplaces misses this point. There is little incentive to do more than show up.

If I get paid the same, whether I show up and do jack shit or show up and transform the company. All else being equal, why would I want to put in a lot of extra effort for the same reward.

I see this as the minimum viable effort.

All jobs require a minimum viable level of effort for the job holder to keep said job. And some jobs have much higher minimum viable effort than others.

Many baristas, for example, take pride in their work and like to be known as good baristas, so their minimum viable effort might be their best effort when brewing a cup of joe.

Other jobs require almost nothing.

The problem for business owners is we want employees to give as much of themselves as possible, and we think they should because that's what they're getting paid to do.

But given what I've laid out above - it seems obvious to me - that's never going to be the case unless we start changing their incentive structures.

If we want employees to give something close to the same effort we give our businesses, we need to give them skin in the game.

So when the business goes good - so does their paycheck. When the business goes bad - so does their paycheck.

And sure, it's not possible to give everyone skin in the game in a way that affects a family's net worth, as Mr Buffet suggests.

But getting close or closer to that point for each person in your organisation will go a long way to solving the minimum viable effort problem.

Notes: To get more than the minimum viable effort from your team, you need to give them skin in the game.