Home > Issue by Date > October 2007

Tim Springer, Ph.D.

No One Of Us Is As Smart As All Of Us

Springer gives The Kevin Bacon Game a new facility management spin.

By Tim Springer, Ph.D.

For many in facilities management (FM), the following vignette should be familiar:

A phone rings.

FM: “Facilities management, may I help you?”

Caller: “Help! There’s green goo oozing out of the air vent in my office!”

FM: “Yes ma’am, just relax. We’ll have someone there to deal with it right away.”

It’s likely the person answering the phone or whoever is sent to deal with the problem has no idea what the green goo may be, what causes it, or how to deal with it. That doesn’t change the fact it is FM’s job to solve the problem. The question becomes, “What to do?”

Dr. Samuel Johnson once remarked, “Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it.” So where would Dr. Johnson suggest we find information about green goo?

The truly inquisitive types could fire up a favorite Internet search engine and see what turns up from a inquiry on “green goo.” Using Google, “green goo” yields 2.4 million hits. Wading through all those citations would take hours and result in greater confusion and less knowledge than when the person began.

Another approach would be to look for “goo” experts, if such a thing exists, and see if they could help determine what the goo was and possibly explain what caused it.

Considering the problem from a more pragmatic standpoint, chances are that someone, somewhere has encountered green goo or something like it. Or more probably, someone knows or has heard of someone else who has. So most experienced FM professionals will turn to their network of colleagues and friends to solve their weirdest (or most challenging) problems.

 

Talk to any successful facility manager (fm) for any length of time, and it is apparent they practice Dr. Johnson’s type of knowledge by regularly seeking where to find appropriate information. Put another way, a good fm is a well networked fm. They’ve learned the old saw, often the hard way, “no one of us is as smart as all of us.”

Their network may reside in an address book or Rolodex. If they are more tech savvy, their connections may be found on one of the growing number of business networking sites like LinkedIn (www.LinkedIn.com), Ryze (www.ryze.com), or FastPitch (www.fastpitchnetworking.com). These are a business focused answer to the widely popular and often wild social network Web sites like Facebook and MySpace.

In practice, this phenomenon of “connect the dots” personal interaction relies on something called “six degrees of separation.” For those unfamiliar with the phrase, this concept refers to the idea that, if a person is one degree away from each person he or she knows and two degrees away from each person those people know, then everyone is no more than six degrees, or connections, away from every other person on Earth.

This concept was originally described in a 1929 short story called “Chains” by a Hungarian writer named Frigyes Karinthy. Since then, the theory has been tested and confirmed by mathematicians, psychologists, and computer scientists.

In more informal terms, you may have heard of this idea (or even played it) in the form of “The Kevin Bacon Game.” Invented in 1994 by two students at Albright College in Reading, PA (as a play on the concept of six degrees of separation), the goal is to link any actor to Kevin Bacon through no more than six connections, where two actors are connected if they have appeared in a movie or production together.

So what does Kevin Bacon have to do with the “green goo” problem? Picking up the phone or sending an e-mail to several people you’ve met and whose knowledge and experience you trust seems like a better way of finding a solution than searching for the knowledge yourself.

If success in FM relies on a strong network, how do you go about building, expanding, and strengthening a business network? Here are several suggestions:

Stay in touch with existing contacts. This is easy, especially for anyone who may be uncomfortable in social situations. Maintaining ties with valued colleagues and friends leverages the hard work you’ve invested in building your network in the first place.

Take advantage of every opportunity to build your network. You’d be surprised where opportunities present themselves—the grocery store, gas station, or golf course. You never know when that person you just met may help you solve a problem (or you may be asked to help him solve his). That’s the essence of networking. Be on the lookout to build yours.

Be prepared to card everyone. Business cards are cheap. Don’t save them, pass them out—but only when asked. Or if you see a good connection, ask for a card. That person will probably ask for yours in return. Recently, my son and I were playing golf. On the fourth hole, a single player caught up to us and asked if he could join us. As we played and chatted, we found that we had business interests in common and had worked for some of the same client companies. At the end of the round, we exchanged business cards. Luckily, we both kept a small supply of them in our golf bags.

Networking is not selling. These are two completely different things. You aren’t selling anything—not even yourself (as some advise). Networking is simply making a connection with another person with the knowledge that helping others and allowing others to help you is key to success in both business and life.

Get to know the other person. If you are genuinely curious about others, it is easier to start conversations. People usually love talking about themselves or describing what they do. The goal is to connect rather than impress. You’ll discover treasure as you learn about the other person. The more interests and experiences you have in common, the easier it is to connect and remember each other.

Give first. Harvey Mackay’s networking book advises “Dig Your Well Before You Are Thirsty.” Make yourself a valuable resource to others, and it will pay you back many times over.

Ask yourself, what’s in it for them? How can I help them? By helping others succeed, you will succeed too.

Help others build their network by making connections and introductions. Do you know somebody who would benefit by a connection with someone else in your network? Make the connection! Introduce them! It will help everyone involved.

Don’t apologize for what you don’t know. Einstein once remarked, “You can never know everything about anything, or anything about everything.” Ask others to share their knowledge and offer what you know to them.

Remember six degrees of separation. Listen to people as they talk about themselves. They may have similar hobbies or interests. You may find you are related to someone, grew up with someone, or now are friends with someone they know. Ask, listen, and connect—the results will surprise and amaze you.

Today more than ever, and for FM professionals more than many others, the difference between success and failure depends more on who you know than what you know.

That’s the way I see it from where I sit. Of course, I could be wrong.

Springer is president and founder of Geneva, IL-based HERO, inc. ( www.hero-inc.com) and frequently writes and speaks on a wide variety of issues affecting organizations, work, and workplaces. For past columns from Springer, go to www.todaysfacilitymanager.com/fromwhere.php.

Discuss this topic in real time with Springer and other facility professionals by visiting http://www.todaysfacilitymanager.com/facilityblog.

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