Will Sampson talks about how woodworking businesses can use networking to improve. Then he interviews Jim Bouchard, founder of the Sensei Leader Movement, who will be speaking and doing workshops at the upcoming Executive Briefing Conference in Colorado Springs.
This episode of the Woodworking Network podcast was sponsored by the Executive Briefing Conference. It’s really easy for woodworkers to stay stuck inside, focused on their shops and production. But over the last couple of years, the pandemic has forced them be even more isolated than usual. And it’s even harder if what you want is to network with the top-level executives in the industry. Where and how can you do that? The answer is the Executive Briefing Conference coming this September at the spectacular Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. This is an unparalleled opportunity to boost your business with intelligence on techniques, tools, and technology and to feed on inspiration from real leaders in the industry. Not to mention take in all the high-altitude hospitality, beauty and recreation offered by the Broadmoor. Learn more at ExecutiveBriefingConference.com. See you there.
Woodworking Network is a home for professional woodworkers, presenting technology, supplies, education, inspiration, and community, from small business entrepreneurs to corporate managers at large automated plants.
You can find all of our podcasts at WoodworkingNetwork.com/podcasts and in popular podcast channels. Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. Thanks again to today’s sponsor, Wood Pro Expo. If you have a comment or topic you’d like us to explore, contact me at will.sampson@woodworkingnetwork.com. And we would really appreciate it if you fill out the survey at woodworking network.com/podcast-survey. Thanks for listening.
Intro music courtesy of Anthony Monson.
Need for networking
Networking comes easy for me. If I have a question that I can’t answer, I pick up the phone or dash off an email to someone I think might know the answer or might know somebody who knows somebody who knows the answer. I revere and collect knowledgeable friends and acquaintances, who get used to me sending a random call or text their way to answer a question or two.
That all seems normal to me, but I know it isn’t natural for everyone, particularly in smaller woodworking shops. Too many shop owners must think they need to discover or create all the answers to the questions of life and business themselves. They rarely take advantage of powerful, low- or no-cost tools available to find those answers through networking.
For example, I love trade shows even if I’m not buying or selling anything. I always meet new people willing to share their knowledge, and I always learn new things, sometimes things that I realize aren’t actually new, and I probably should have known before but didn’t. If someone as connected and loving of networking as I am is often surprised by rediscovered knowledge, what must it be like for those folks struggling in isolation in their shops?
Networking can take all sorts of forms. The easiest networking is to join associations, clubs, and other organizations that allow you to meet new people, share information, and build your network. That includes trade associations like the Cabinet Makers Association, service clubs like Rotary and Lions, business groups like your local chamber of commerce, and even a local woodworking guild that caters mostly to hobbyists.
There are online networking opportunities like LinkedIn and Facebook. Keep an eye out for friends of friends you can connect with to build your network.
Networking can also mean looking out for events like conferences and promotional demonstrations that could be opportunities to learn more and meet more people. Woodworking Network hosts a number of events every year in the U.S. and Canada, and we actively participate in the IWF and AWFS shows, with special symposia and educational programs.
One of the really great high-level networking opportunities is the Executive Briefing Conference that will be held in Colorado Springs September 15-17 this year. Not everyone can have top industry executives on speed dial to answer questions, but you can come to Colorado to enjoy an information-packed event that gives you tremendous opportunities to meet with those executives face to face.
As a lifelong journalist, I’m used to approaching people I don’t know and asking questions. The more you do it, the more comfortable it gets. The real problem is getting access to the right people at the right time. Building a network of your own is a crucial tool to keep you from having to reinvent the wheel over and over again.
On that note, I want to get to our interview with Jim Bouchard, but first let’s pause for a word from our sponsor.
It’s really easy for woodworkers to stay stuck inside, focused on their shops and production. But over the last couple of years, the pandemic has forced them be even more isolated than usual. And it’s even harder if what you want is to network with the top-level executives in the industry. Where and how can you do that? The answer is the Executive Briefing Conference coming this September at the spectacular Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. This is an unparalleled opportunity to boost your business with intelligence on techniques, tools, and technology and to feed on inspiration from real leaders in the industry. Not to mention take in all the high-altitude hospitality, beauty and recreation offered by the Broadmoor. Learn more at ExecutiveBriefingConference.com. See you there.
Now let’s get to our interview with Jim Bouchard.