Where to turn to; Your network of knowledge for effective and ongoing business development

What's going on with the Healthcare market? Is the corporate market starting to come back? I saw a story on the news last night saying that all manufacturing is leaving the state. Where do you get your construction news? We all have our sources, but until the elections are mercifully complete this fall or your crystal ball is finally correct, our traditional sources are only educated guesses. If your job title has anything to do with business development or marketing, you have few options other than to attend all those industry events physically possible and that apply. Each week, we see the same exhausted faces and tell the same exhausted stories..."yeah, we think it looks a little better, lots of proposals...blah, blah, blah." If however you also have a job title that includes production or management of some sort, you have to find the shortest effective line to the goal of new work when you're also doing business development. If you've not yet discovered the secret, you soon will. An effective "network of knowledge" is your best tool for effective and ongoing business development. Targeted multiple touches, with multiple qualified people is the ticket for surviving the remainder of the current doldrums and thriving into the next economic boom (yes it will come eventually). In times of trouble (present economy definitely still included), it's only natural to revert back to your circle of trusted advisors; the network of professionals, your friends, those in the mix of it with you. I've become involved with many worthy associations in the past, both to increase my knowledge base, as well as my network base. There are so many organizations to choose from - specialty groups that have a very specific and targeted audience and groups that deal with a certain market or industry. Yet, there is only so much time in the week, remembering you have a family. Close to my heart, the Connecticut Building Congress is one of those groups that have become part of my inner circle. One of this century's best science fiction writers you've never heard of, Robert Heinlein, once said, "Specialization is for insects"...and went on to list 10 tasks a person should be capable of performing (look it up and see how many you can do). Our culture has created specialists for everything, with little to no cross pollination or idea sharing. The beauty of the CBC is that the membership is comprised of all the disciplines from the A/E/C community. I feel like a mere plebe with only 3 years of membership. Some folks have been members for more than 20 years and obviously reap the advantages of the friends they have created. Like anything worthwhile, getting really involved in the organization has made this experience the best possible for me. A dedicated board and our committees, devoid of apathy, are the key to the CBC's success. When you show up and get involved with an association with dedicated and involved members (and there are others to be experienced), those tired and huddled masses actually smile at each other and enjoy one's company. Find one that works for you and you'll find the work you put into it will actually pay you back, maybe even with an added benefit of helping the community. The regional indicators show some positive movement in healthcare, education, multifamily residential and manufacturing. The AIA billings and inquiry indicators are also holding or trending in the right direction. Let's get through the elections and I think we will see even a few more smiles. Ron Goodin, LEED AP BD+C, is president of Connecticut Building Congress and senior project manager at Fletcher-Thompson, Hartford, Conn.