Page 124 - Roy W. Rice - CEO Material How to Be a Leader in Any Organization-McGraw-Hill (2009)

You Accept the Need to Stand Out and Be Visible • 105

Look for reasons to get in touch, stay in touch, and get back in
touch. Follow up with whatever you started. Get out

■ Of your cubicle
■ Of your office
■ From behind your desk
■ From behind the wheel
■ Of your comfort zone
■ And meet new people or touch base with previously engaged
people—keeping in mind that they are just as uncomfortable as
you are.

People tell me that they like the idea of staying connected with
people but find it difficult to come up with ways to do it. Here are some
practical ways to build relationships that I recently used and the amount
of time it took to execute each:

■ I learned about a reporter writing a story about nonprofits in
Chicago, so I called a CEO friend who heads a Chicago-based
nonprofit and suggested that he contact the reporter to be a
source for the article (3 minutes).
■ I called the CEO of Krispy Kreme after I heard a new country
and western song by Brad Paisley that referenced the product.
I thought it would make my friend smile, and I suggested that
it gives him a reason to contact Paisley and introduce himself,
maybe get an autographed album for his teenage daughter in
exchange for a Krispy Kreme T-shirt or ball cap (4 minutes).
■ While shopping for some rock art for my garden, I found that a
national artist at The Rock Garden was interested in placing a
stone cross sculpture at a church. I offered to help and ended up
getting it placed at the church my parents had attended when they
were alive. The day it was being installed, I called the newspaper.
The paper sent out a photographer, who put a picture of it on the
front page of the local paper (couple of hours over a few weeks).
■ When I was being interviewed by a New York Times reporter on
my executive coaching practice, I volunteered the name of a CEO
the reporter might want to interview for a different perspective.
Then I called the CEO to give him a heads-up (1.5 minutes).