Networking Insight

How Social Networking Sites Can Reveal Your Social Security Number

It is kind of scary to know that some of the information that you put into your social networking profiles can be used by some to predict your social security number. 

According to a recent study published in the research journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,

"researchers correctly guessed the first five digits of a person’s Social Security number about 40% of the time, just by knowing his or her hometown and birth date. Given those two pieces of information, they could predict all nine digits of his or her SSN 8.5% of the time with fewer than 1,000 attempts."

Sounds like an opportunity for cyber criminals! Think carefully about what you reveal about yourself on social networking sites. You never know who could get access to your information.

To read more about this, go to the story, How Social-Networking Sites Can Reveal Your Social Security Number.

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The Story of the Mousetrap & Farmer's Wife

Fellow networker, Amy Zagroba of Sparque recently shared the following anonymous story.

Amy's introductory remarks
So often I think we go to networking events and we meet someone and we think that what they are facing doesn't pertain to us, or that they can't help us so we become disinterested and move on to someone else. I think the story below is a great metaphor for how we should learn how we can help every person we can meet, who we can introduce them to, if our network can help them out, etc. Just felt it was a powerful message in these times.

Story
A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package.

"What food might this contain?" The mouse wondered.

He was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.

Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed this warning :

"There is a mousetrap in the house!

There is a mousetrap in the house!"

The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Mr. Mouse,

I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me.

I cannot be bothered by it."

The mouse turned to the pig and told him, "There is a mousetrap in the house!

There is a mousetrap in the house!"

The pig sympathized, but said, "I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers."

The mouse turned to the cow and said, "There is a mousetrap in the house!

There is a mousetrap in the house!"

The cow said, "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose."

So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected,

to face the farmer's mousetrap

. . . Alone. . .

That very night a sound was heard throughout the house -- the sound Of a mousetrap catching its prey.

The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught.

In the darkness, she did not see it.

It was a venomous snake whose tail was caught in the trap.

The snake bit the farmer's wife.

The farmer rushed her to the hospital.

When she returned home she still had a fever.

Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup.

So the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient.

But his wife's sickness continued.

Friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock.

To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig.

But, alas, the farmer's wife did not get well... She died.

So many people came for her funeral that the farmer had the cow slaughtered

to provide enough meat for all of them for the funeral luncheon.

And the mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness.

So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and you think it doesn't concern you, remember ---

When one of us is threatened, we are all at risk.

We are all involved in this journey called life.

We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another.

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What is a Key Driver to Building a Relationship?

Many steps take place when building a long term mutually beneficial relationship. However, one of the most important aspects that needs to be addressed from the beginning is “trust”.  Trust takes time to build and without it you will have difficulty with any relationship.

According to Wikipedia, Trust is defined as the following:

Trust is a relationship of reliance. A trusted party is presumed to seek to fulfill policies, ethical codes, law and their previous promises.

As stated above, trust is based on reliance, which means that both parties rely on each other. Once this happens, you should be comfortable interacting with people at all levels. If you need help, then you can reach out to people and know that you will be helped. The same should go for you too.

At the same time, trust is built on an ethical code of conduct. You should be able to know that your contacts will always act in the highest integrity and by associating yourself with them that you will be seen in a positive light.

Spend time getting to know people, show your value by helping, and demonstrate your expertise. Over time, you will have built a quality relationship of trust.

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Five Ways to Engage Someone in a Conversation

Having a good initial conversation is the key to building a relationship with people that you meet at an event. If you have a good dialogue, then people will want to follow-up and talk again. Without this happening, you will be wasting a lot of your valuable time.

Below are five ways to engage someone in a conversation:

1. Ask good questions – Show that you care by asking insightful questions
2. Demonstrate good listener skills – Have good eye contact, smile, and don’t interrupt people when they are talking
3. Ask how you can help – Great way to show that you care about building a relationship and gives you a reason to follow-up
4. Find similarities – As you are getting to know someone, look for similar interests so you instantly bond over certain topics
5. Offer to make introductions – During a conversation, offer to connect people to others at the same function or in your network

What others ways can you think of?

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Book Review: Start With the Answers by Bob Seelert

Start with the Answer: And Other Wisdom for Aspiring Leaders was written by Bob Seelert who is the Chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi, which is a leading global ideas and advertising firm.  Bob is a graduate of Harvard Business School and has been the CEO of five companies. During his exceptional business career, he has built brands and businesses, been involved in two mega-mergers, and performed several turnarounds.

As a serial business man, the author shares a collection of ninety-four real life stories from his successful forty-year career.  Seelert does an excellent job providing practical insight and guidance for anyone who wants to succeed in business. Regardless of whether you are an executive or not, you will come away with some great business advice.

The book is broken up into the following sections:

Section One: Preparing for a Career in Business
Section Two: Managing Your Career
Section Three: Planning and Other Essentials of Business Strategy
Section Four: Business Operations: Looking Beyond the Obvious
Section Five: Finance and Economics, or Dollars and Sense
Section Six: Lessons in Leadership
Section Seven: Building Culture Through Communications
Section Eight:  Personal Style and Spirit

Within each section, the author dives into real world examples and shares what he has learned along his journey. Seelert believes that every leader must master these eight dimensions to succeed.  In his storied career, Seelert has been exposed to a very diverse set of people, events, and institutions.  He draws upon all of these experiences to share strategies, practices, and decision-making and problem-solving approaches.

Start with the Answer: And Other Wisdom for Aspiring Leaders is a very easy read because each story is only 1-3 pages. You can start and stop at any time and won’t feel like you are behind in the book. While each story is independent of one another, they also do build upon each other.

If you want to learn how to enhance your career and become a more successful leader, then this book is worth a read. 

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