[BISxBIJ EVENT] June 27 (Mon): Business is Social x Business in Japan, @ANA, Akasaka, Tokyo


Japan and Business interested professionals:

BIS x BIJ events aim to help you make substantive contacts that turn into real relationships, as well as build and nurture a community both online and offline


Business is Social and Business in Japan are excited to team up for our second networking event together on Monday June 27th. Held at the fantastic Mixx Bar at the ANA InterContinental hotel, we are very please to announce two great speakers for our second event; Verena Hopp and Jason Ball.

Our guests will speak for 5 minutes or so each followed by a group Q&A and social networking after.

Not your usual ‘run of the mill’ Networking Event, put this night in your schedules and come along to meet GoodPeople and hear some solid ideas about how to get the most out of Networking.

WHAT: Business is Social x Business in Japan June Networking Event
WHEN: Monday, June 27th, 19:00~
MAPS LINK: https://goo.gl/maps/Dq5zKfQzFhx
WHERE: MIXX Bar & Lounge, 36F ANA InterContinental, Akasaka, Tokyo
COST: 2,000 yen (includes 1 drink)
SPEAKERS & TOPICS:

[1] Verena Hopp – PR Manager and Sumo-scientist, German Verena Hopp is the leader of the movement “Internship Japan” ( http://www.internshipjapan.org ). Verena will be speaking on “How to find interns, business and intern expectations, and how interns can boost your business.”

[2] Jason Ball – Owner of the 8 year-old BusinessInJapan Group on LinkedIn, Jason will share some ideas about “Professional Networking in the age of Social Media overload”.

RSVP please: https://businessinjapan.doorkeeper.jp/events/46886
BISxBIJ
Business is Social and Business in Japan intend to run events on a regular basis, so keep an eye out for more of them here on Jason’s GoodPeople Japan website or in the Business In Japan group on LinkedIn.

To make sure you don’t miss them in the future, you can register at either or both of these Event Management links:
[BIS@MEETUP] http://www.meetup.com/Business-is-Social/
[BIJ@DOORKEEPER] https://businessinjapan.doorkeeper.jp/

Connect with:
Jason https://jp.linkedin.com/in/goodpeople
Josh https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-barry-37b85a8
Will https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-murray-9a7b228

Verena https://www.linkedin.com/in/verena-hopp-m-a-31613234
Recent interview with Verena [EN]: http://www.myeyestokyo.com/13811
[JP] http://www.myeyestokyo.jp/53330

Business is Social x Business in Japan, May 30 (Mon), @ANA, Akasaka, Tokyo

Business in Japan and Business is Social are excited to team up for our first networking event together on Monday May 30th. Held at the fantastic Mixx Bar at the ANA InterContinental hotel.

Not your usual ‘run of the mill’ Networking Event, put this night in your schedules and come along to meet GoodPeople and hear some innovative ideas about how to get the most out of Professional Networking and how business too, is social

WHAT: Business is Social x Business in Japan Networking presentation and joint Events kickoff
WHEN: Monday, May 30th, 19:00~
MAPS LINK: https://goo.gl/maps/Dq5zKfQzFhx
WHERE: MIXX Bar & Lounge, 36FANA InterContinental, Akasaka, Tokyo
COST: 2,000 yen (includes 1 drink)
SPEAKERS & TOPICS:

Nicolas Koreni – “Designing a “real”, not “virtual” community: Tokyo 1 mile, 100 miles”
Gary Bremermann – “Beers for networking”

RSVP: https://businessinjapan.doorkeeper.jp/events/43830

Business in Japan and Business is Social intend to run events on a regular basis, so keep an eye out for more of them here in this group, and to make sure you don’t miss them in the future, you can register at either or both of these Event Management links:
BIS@MEETUP
BIJ@DOORKEEPER

The BIS x BIJ events strive to create a networking community for business professionals that want to make substantive contacts that turn into relationships and real business. By offering more networking opportunities than standard networking groups, we bring more than typical business card exchange events. Our focus will be on monthly downtown Tokyo events with topic or industry specific guest speakers. Feedback on the type of speakers or industry you want future events to focus on welcome.

Connect with:
Jason https://jp.linkedin.com/in/goodpeople
Gary https://www.linkedin.com/in/garyb
Nico https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolaskoreni
Josh https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-barry-37b85a8
Will https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-murray-9a7b228

Understanding Personal Branding, beats ‘LinkedIn Profile’s that rock’ advice

There seems to be an abundance of information on the Web suggesting that being ‘found’ on LinkedIn is the main goal, and if you can just achieve that, then everything will start working for you…

“Whew, LinkedIn would be so easy, if I could only get my Profile looking right!”

What utter rubbish. Given the opportunity, I try to share with everyone I meet and in groups & forums related to the subject, that I believe there is a disproportionate amount of information about using LinkedIn being published, that is about doing something Passive, in the hope that by doing it, people/opportunity will come to you without you having to do much else – the ‘Build it and they will come’ and ‘post & hope’ strategies. Just Google LinkedIn or visit LinkedIn use themed groups & Blogs, and you’ll see just how much we’re swamped with such advice.

I think it’s doing an incredible disservice to folks who are trying to work out what to do with LinkedIn, to focus so much on the passive parts of using (& setting up) LinkedIn and so I’ve begun to mention and Blog about it, and about Proactive LinkedIn use.

I often labor the point a bit, so to be clear regarding my thoughts on how people view you on Social Media; I do in fact recommend learning all you can about ‘Personal Branding’ – which is nothing more or less than what other people think of you AND your ability to influence that – because a minimal understanding of Personal Branding & a quick Google about (the logistics of) setting up your Profile on LinkedIn really is, IMHO, all the time you need spend on planning your LinkedIn ‘Profile’.*

[* Unless maybe you’re looking to become a LinkedIn guru, then as I understand it, every quarter or two you need to produce 2-3 articles about tweaking your profile on LinkedIn, about being found, and about lovingly crafting a ‘compelling reason’ for others to take action rather than you, based on your LinkedIn profile. Not sure why, but it must be frightfully important because so many LinkedIn teachers/trainers/Bloggers do it. 😉 ]

So as I mentioned, Personal Branding just means what people think of you, how you are perceived, how you come across – and for people who don’t yet know you at all, at least begins to answer the basic questions that initially come to all our minds:

  • Who is this person?
  • Are there any Red flags?
  • Is he/she trying to sell me something?
  • What does he/she want from me?
  • How might this person help me?
  • What do we have in common?
  • Am I interested in anything he/she seems to be involved in?

LinkedIn is an extremely good platform and tool when used proactively, for presenting yourself the way you wish to be perceived and in answering the initial questions for people you approach or anyone who wants to know a little more about you.

From people who know you well, right through to those people who’ve just come across you, you will definitely be better prepared on Social Media if you understand at least the core aspects of Personal Branding. For this, there’s no better place to start than the Blog and perhaps the book written by Personal Branding expert; Dan Schawbel.
His Blog is http://www.personalbrandingblog.com/
His Book is Me 2.0: 4 Steps to Building Your Future.
A good little summary from Mashable: http://mashable.com/2009/02/05/personal-branding-101/

And here’s a famous article from 1997 by Tom Peters; The Brand Called You http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/10/brandyou.html

Are you in Japan? Kansai, specifically? If so, why not reach out to Peter SterlacciJapan’s Personal Branding Pioneer *** Trailblazing a Culture Shift One Brand at a Time!” and follow him on Twitter for tips on Personal Branding with a Japan perspective @PeterSterlacci

A Profile on LinkedIn set up by someone who’s read a bit of information about Personal Branding and thought about what they want to achieve, will be absolutely fine, you can skip that Webinar on clicking through LinkedIn’s menu’s and working out which Keywords to use in which text field.

While others do that, you can instead dive into learning, or more correctly I mean becoming comfortable with, taking proactive action to identify people in your network, on LinkedIn and in the World that you’d like to sit down with, have an enjoyable conversation with, build some rapport and a relationship for the future.

To LinkedIn guru’s, Trainers & Consultants who might stumble upon this earnest post

Please, the bulk of us are not idiots, we can work that simple stuff out ourselves, honestly (especially anyone who can use Google at all lets say ;-)). Please, please, share with us your strategies on actually doing something proactive on LinkedIn. On doing something that isn’t just me editing some text, posting to a group & hoping, adding an application or my High School, then waiting to see who contacts me!

Please de-cloak the word ‘Engagement’ as you truly believe it to be, and somewhere between sitting back & waiting for others, and useless broadcasting into the cloud, there’s some solid opportunity among the people I know, and the people they know.

Please share your ideas on Proactive use of LinkedIn that not only creates space for opportunity, but puts myself & someone else firmly in that space together, to communicate.

Where the rubber hits the road with LinkedIn, Social Media

Why are you interested in Business Networking at all?

The mindset that will help you on LinkedIn more than any other I believe, is that it’s an Active sport, not just a Passive ‘post & hope’ kind of thing, or worse, a place to self promote, a broadcast platform or a half baked attempt at SEO/Website traffic generation.

Sure you need a profile that puts up no Red Flags when people click on it for a 7 second look on their smart phone, that presents you how you want to be perceived & if you’re job hunting or selling something, tells effectively who you are, what you’re capable of & how you can help others.

Beyond that though, my philosophy (and I implore you) stop worrying about all the things outside your control on LinkedIn and Social Media like ‘tweaking your profile, 100%!’ & ‘being found’, and do the hard yards (which just means take a bit of time & effort) and do three things consistently:

1. Regularly ask yourself and be able to articulate what you want out of business Networking. Never lose sight of the fact you are in fact just Networking toward a real & defined goal. Base all your business networking related activity on this.
2. Research, research, research: Industries, Companies, roles in Companies, People in those roles, People connected to People. I estimate 80-90% of people don’t do this at all, let alone effectively (excluding the most proactive of business development professionals, and any recruiter worth his salt of course).
3. Proactively reach out to people in a non-threatening, not ‘all about me’ way, don’t sell anything, just ‘Network’ to start with. Like you’re meeting, casually but professionally in person for the first time.

Multiply the above exponentially with ‘Massive Action’ – don’t do it 10-20 times, do it 100-200 times, do it constantly. Coupled with being very clear & concise how people can help you, over time & at the right time, you will grow exactly the type of network of people, real people with real relationships focused on how you can help each other, that you want to (see point 1.)

LinkedIn, Social Media for business I suspect, is that simple, that misunderstood.