Getting Involved

Last week I wrote about the importance of networking and industry gatherings like the HDI conference I attended last week in Las Vegas. I’d like to expand on that idea a bit this week.

While it’s great to attend these meetings, read industry blogs and forums, and generally try to educate ourselves on where our business or industry is going, you can truly expand your horizons even more by getting involved in one of these industry groups.  Many of them have local chapters that hold regular meetings where experts from your own back yard will come and speak to various relevant topics.  These meetings also offer the opportunity to do networking at your local level, with business you are already familiar with and may already be doing business with them.

Getting involved may also open up other opportunities for you, like being on the board of one of these groups, or writing for industry publications.  It could give you the opportunity to speak about how you handled a difficult issue at the local meeting or even at a larger gathering.

This type of involvement can benefit you at work because it exposes you to new ideas or novel solutions to problems you may not even know you had, or ones you’ve been struggling with for a long time.  In turn, you can aid others to deal with issues they’re facing at work, making great networking connections as a result.

So the point is, don’t just become tied up in your daily routine and avoid becoming mediocre. Get involved with others in your field and whole new worlds can open in front of you!