A personal welcome to new Twitter followers

Hello!

I wanted to say a special welcome that was longer than 140 characters, and let you know what to expect for your follow...

I am on Twitter with a purpose. You won’t see pictures of my lunch, or me with celebrities or my kids making cute faces (much). You WILL find content on:

• Fundraising, philanthropy and charitable giving
• Business, management, strategy and leadership
• Networking, career and personal development
• Learning to use Social Media for Social Business
• Local content on Toronto , Canada

You’ll find other social feeds and my mission statement HERE

This is not a social profile. It’s 95% business ( 5% Other )

I am obsessed with the future of “Social Business” and “Social Profit” and I’m excited to find more business and fundraising professionals who are too. 

I help tweeps with career development, job searches in the end - I exist to help passionate professionals succeed.

So please, engage and share your wisdom and stay in touch. Thank you for investing your time on twitter with me!

Enjoy this quick video on ‘social business’ 

Paul Nazareth

Networking while walking! Netwalking Tips

Click here or picture for today’s Paulcast. 6min

Thanks for investing your time with me today!

Stuff I mentioned:

• What is netwalking?
• Nilofer Merchant: Sitting is the new smoking
• My first group netwalk
• Why Starbucks rules for networking
• Why Moleskine note books rule for networking
• Following up after networking
• Mitch Joel’s book : Ctrl + Alt + Del
• Two great netwalking articles: 1 & 2

Let’s make our meetings move!

Thanks for listening,

    Paul Nazareth

Last night an author saved my life….

I used to be a long weekender. But time has marched on, being a Dad x 2 now and having a job that engages every part of my brain, pushed me to take a break this past summer. But I realized…

I kind of forgot how!

Now it’s no secret I’m a business book addict ( if you haven’t seen my blog on the topic here it is ) and many of my peers know me as the “social business” guy. But with endless events/evenings like this even I know, it was time to disconnect.

So I took the digital vacation but it was really hard to have this time and not use it to read. Now, I was a staple at the nightclubs in University, but libation + gyration no longer provides me with euphoria or peace.

It was then a mentor gave me permission to read fiction again. A random tweet had reminded me that my favourite artist Douglas Coupland had put out a book ( about the disappearance of bees and our over-connected culture ) and had published an awesome lecture-story he told about the end of the world on radio across the country.  

Recently great article hit the pages of Canada’s national magazine Maclean’s asking “Do Books Have the Power to Heal?”

Darn right they do.

My brain had been circling the drain for weeks, frustrations, negative thoughts, challenges were gumming it up. I gleefully read several thousand pages in 4 days ( if you haven’t read Steve Jobs’ biography, it’s worth it! ). One night, I sat outside, under a veranda in a thunderstorm engrossed in a book…I looked up and realized. Wow. I’m clear. I came out the other end of my vacation mentally refreshed, happy, rejuvenated and excited at the brain-reset and the creativity it jumpstarted!

This is your brain on fiction indeed.

As Lisa below tells the TED folks, books have power in life. It’s a nice reminder that the office and cubicle crowd have much to gain from it too.

So – tell me dear reader. Who is your favourite fiction author? CanLit celebrity Margaret Atwood just put out the final book in her latest trilogy – Thanksgiving approaches…

Thanks for reading, please, share in the comments below!

Paul

 

Handwritten cards in a digital world

A boss of mine once publicly referred to me as “the king of schmooze”. Yuck

If I had to wish for an epitaph on my business headstone it would be “the King of cards” – they have been a business and networking secret of mine for my whole career.

A secret I hope you find value in as I share today.

Many peers pat me on the head saying “oh that’s cute, you are a nice guy Paul and it’s sweet you like to send out cards to our donors ( as a fundraiser ), clients ( as a service professional ) and peers ( as a human professional ). Let me be clear, these people always need a selfish reason to do the right thing. So let’s talk selfish, ROI, WIIFM, whatever:

Cards = Cash. And if Cash is King then Cards are the King of Cash.

In a digital world, sending cards is SO rare, even the Harvard Business Review agrees! Besides showing that you took more time than an email, a Tweet, or even the post conference/ networking event dreaded cold-call style LinkedIn invitation.

Most of all it’s a way to actually increase the return on investment for the time you spend networking. If you entertain ( or if you eat ), you’ll know that making good food isn’t enough, it’s how you present and plate it that matters too! Well if you spent an evening at a networking event, or a whole week at a conference sending a card to show someone they stood out, that you value them, what you talked about, what you do and where to find you is HOW you ensure your time there was well spent.

So here are my four tips to conquor card writing:

1. Stay stocked . I have 50+ cards in my office at all times. A few for sympathy ( I work in legacy philanthropy which intersects with the estate planning world ), many ‘thank you’ cars but the vast bulk are blank cards. Buy in bulk at art or discount stores ( if you’re in Toronto like me, here is a list of some great places to buy cards ).

2. Be ready and make the time. Before a conference I prepare, self-address and hand-stamp over 100 cards. I complete them and mail them before I leave the hotel ( or if I include a picture from the conference, the day I return to the office ). Read this great article on how to write a great note ( I love that it includes making a habit out of writing them and quotes my favourite author on sales skills Michael Port ). If you use a CRM or keep donor/client files remember to photocopy/scan it, code, and keep it on file. This IS a move in your moves-management strategy!

3. Include a business card, every time. Yes, even if someone knows you what if they just moved jobs ( or if you moved jobs ). Yes even if you came back from a conference, they have 100 other cards in their luggage! My secret is these double sided photo stickers. But if you reminded them about business you should be doing in the card, shouldn’t they know how to find you? Right now!

4. Be a Real Human Being ( like Dave says ) – those 1000 cards your department sends out at the holiday season with illegible first names of people your donor/client don’t event know is so 1980’s and impersonal. Business IS personal, so make it specific and yes, authentic. Because as much as I love Jimmy Fallon you don’t want to use his card philosophy!

I hope this has been of value, please, share your suggestions in the comments below or with me on Twitter!

    Paul Nazareth

 

Ps. When watching the video. Replace “job” with anything else you want in life.

I don’t have a new job! Sort of…

Everyone has that buddy who is a super-fan and sometimes goes overboard. That’s LinkedIn for me. 1,300 “Endorsements” – Thanks buddy, I don’t know what that means but I’m grateful for the support.

A couple days back LinkedIn told my entire 1,900+ person network “Congratulate Paul on his new job!”

But, I don’t have a new job. Kind of….

A few months back, with the support of my current team, already one of the coolest jobs in philanthropy in Canada… I achieved step one of a career dream, a life dream of mine.

I became an instructor for with my professional association, the Canadian Association of Gift Planners.

Most people who know me, know that I love my profession, I love what I do so much when anyone else wants to do it too I’m there to help, always. I’ve given over 500 presentations through jobs and on my own time about legacy philanthropy, planned giving, bequestification whatever you want to call it.

This is me in 2001, a year after I started in the sector. Standing on a mountain in Banff. I was actually thinking “man I am so out of shape, I may die here” I was also thinking “after a lot of floating, this is what I’m meant to do, I feel it in my gut, in my soul” and just then our leader Brian Shea snapped this shot.

This is me, almost exactly 10 years later in 2011. At the summit of that same mountain taking the Advanced Course in Gift Planning. I have worked on over 100 million dollars in philanthropic plans, have helped launch dozens of powerful careers in my community and am still madly in love with what I do.

And although I started teaching the Planned Giving Course at the Georgian College Online Fundraising Program in 2010, teaching with the Gift Planning Association is a dream I dreamed all those years ago on that mountain.

One more thing we both know I couldn’t have achieved without YOU dear network. Every mentor, every coworker, every boss, peer, fellow volunteer has got me to this place.

I’m humbled and grateful but also this is why I fight so hard for the happiness and professional success of others.

Because you’ve helped make my dreams come true.

Like Jiro dreams of sushi ( below ) I dream of Gift Planning.

Thank you for dreaming with me!

Paul

Netwalking Simcoe ! 11 Aug 2013

While I was putting together my first netwalking event ( networking while walking ) a few peers in the Barrie, Orillia and Collingwood area reached out to me suggesting we run one in Simcoe.

Yeah, I’m a Toronto guy, but I’ve always had a strong connection with the Simcoe area, covered it for years as a fundraiser and the Planned Giving Counsel of Simcoe County ( a philanthropic bizdev org ) has always been supportive in my work and career as have the great folks at the Barrie Public Library.

So! Thanks to fellow business networking enthusiast Rebecca Palmer who reached out and is co-hosting #NetwalkingBarrie on August 11!

Why netwalking?! Check out my original premise for the idea, or how it turned out – it was a great way to talk business in the fresh air!

Target attendee is the same, fundraisers, entrepreneurs and people who care about career development. Cost is the same – nothing!

We’ll start off at the always awesome Casa Cappuccino, my business go-to in Barrrie and we’ll walk the waterline and end up back in town for an optional lunch. Meet around 8:30am, we’ll leave by 9am and be eating lunch around noon!

Business-Tweeters we’ll use the hashtag #NetwalkingBarrie

Everyone not using it, consider joining Twitter! Here’s a couple tips

Are you ready to take a walk to build your career, your business?

RSVP HERE < I’ll introduce us all before the day of.

Hope so, Rebecca and I will see you there!

Paul Nazareth

#NetwalkingTO a note of gratitude

This is a Paul Nazareth original :

Today I hosted my first “networking while walking” or “netwalking” event and it was for me, a roaring success. I had hoped to get 8 to 12, we had about 25 even with the threat of thunderstorms. And not a drop of rain fell on us all day, until the very moment we were done the walk – a testament to the power of positive networking!

A big thanks to those who came ( here’s a list so you can stay in touch with each other ) for investing your day with me. And as I mentioned, for investing your day in yourself, something I am always proud to facilitate.

After all, that’s what my twitter handle “U invited U” is all about!

I had some great discussions and truly learned from the those I talked to. I  met some new peers who are going to help me with my work and career. I hope you did too. Thanks Nizam and tweeters for some great pictures too!

We walked through the beautiful University of Toronto campus, down the floral unexpected oasis of University Avenue, popped in on the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition and ended up for lunch at SkyDragon in Chinatown!

Networking is about human connection, today many of us learned more about the human side of each other. It will allow us to engage in better business too – hope to see you at one of my events one day soon!

Thanks for reading, I’ll always be walking with you dear reader. Supporting you as you seek success,

    Paul Nazareth