By Kaitlin Villanova
My close to two year stint at the ANA has been nothing short of fun and exciting. Some of my favorite memories are: the dinner cruise around Manhattan on the Forbes Yacht, a lot tour of Universal Studio’s, meeting cast-members of Grey’s Anatomy, getting a headlock from Gene Simmons, regular trips to fun (and warm) places like Florida, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. Visiting the chic New York offices of Google, Yahoo, RG/A, Publicis, Deutsch and many more…
The ANA is a wonderful place that has provided me with, what feels like, a free graduate degree in marketing and advertising. As a content writer, I have had the opportunity to attend most of our industry leading conferences such as the Masters of Marketing, Brand Innovation, Marketing Accountability, Integrated Marketing, Business to Business and various committee meetings. Little me sitting in the audience looking up at the “industry celebrities,” such as Steve Ballmer, Beth Comstock, Becky Saeger, Cammie Dunaway, Steve Sullivan, David Lubars, Linda Kaplan Thaler and many more.
With so many fond memories here, it’s hard to say goodbye, but it is time for me to continue on my path of career building. Working at an organization like the ANA I have learned the value of a personal network. I have made so many wonderful connections with colleagues, business partners, and conference attendees.
One of my favorite chapters of Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point is titled “The Law of the Few.” In this chapter, Gladwell describes a type of person he calls “Connectors.”
Connectors:
1. People with a special gift for bringing the world together, people specialists
2. Know lots of people
3. Have an extraordinary knack of making friends and acquaintances, making social connections.
4. Have mastered the "weak tie"; a friendly, yet casual social connection.
5. Acquaintances represent a source of social power, and the more acquaintances you have the more powerful you are.
6. Social glue: they spread the message
[Excerpt from: The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell Chapter 2 Page 30]
I am in no way claiming that I have even come close to this type of social idealism but this excerpt reminds me of the true value in every business and personal relationship.
I encourage you to keep your network alive. Now it’s easier than ever to stay connected with business partners and former colleagues with sites like LinkedIn and Facebook. However, never underestimate the power of a good old fashion phone call or lunch meeting just to catch up.
Well, that just about concludes my participation with the ANA Maestros blog. Cheers blogsphere. It has been a pleasure.
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