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Celebrate the Contributions of Women

Let’s hope the day will come when the accomplishments of women are celebrated each and every day. Women and men are working on the critical issues of gender equality, pay equity, board representation and on leveling the playing field for women’s advancement. This month one community leader, Darryl Settles, is doing his part to celebrate … Read more

Season’s Greetings & 20% Discount Offer

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! This is a time for giving, planning for the new year and a time to be inspired. That’s why I am excited to offer you and your network 20% off “A Black Woman’s Guide to Networking.” It’s the perfect stocking stuffer, guide for 2013 planning and an inspirational gift for someone you care … Read more

Seven Tips for Building Cross-Cultural Relationships

There are many aspects of culture — shared language, traditions, norms and beliefs and customs. Regardless of the culture, successful interactions across cultures are built on respect, trust and the ability to communicate effectively. Use the following tips to build your cross-cultural relationships:

Seek to understand. Don’t make assumptions. Ideally you want to learn about different cultures through a variety of credible sources – your own personal relationships, books, travel, research and ongoing education.

Keep an open mind. Avoid stereotypes. Expand your base by building a broad cross-section of relationships – gender, race, sexual orientation, country of origin and people who think differently from you.

Start with “who you know.” The best place to start is with others who you know inside and outside of your organization, business, and social organizations.

Attend multicultural networking events. Professional organizations, cultural events, conferences, diversity forums, minority business expos and community events are all great places to network.

Part II of Harlem World’s Q & A with Juliette C. Mayers

A continuation of Danny Tinsdale’s interview with Juliette Mayers, author of “A Black Woman’s Guide to Networking, Advance Your Career. Grow Your Business!”

You talk about strategic networking. How does that play out from a practical standpoint? First, let me start by defining what I mean. In my book, I refer to strategic and productive networking. Strategic networking entails development of a plan with clear objectives, versus randomly connecting with people with no clear objective in mind. Part of that plan includes the process of managing your relationships. As it relates to your plan, not all contacts have equal value and therefore, you need to manage your network to yield the highest level of productivity. In the book, I’ve outlined a three-tiered Strategic Networking Model for inner-circle contacts, high-value contacts and moderate-value contacts. In this instance, value tiering is relative to alignment with your goals and objectives, degree of trust and the allocation of your time. In short, you want to spend the most time with the people who have a high degree of alignment with your goals and people you trust.

What makes your book unique? In addition to addressing professional networking, my book acknowledges and addresses the realities of gender, race and class in

Part I of Harlem World’s Q & A with Juliette C. Mayers

How do you define networking? Networking at its core is about relationship building. As a best practice, you want to establish and nurture professional relationships on an on-going basis by being supportive of others and finding ways to add value both within your work environment and in the broader community. Think of it as sowing good seeds into the “networking garden.” You want to establish a strong brand as a “giver,” and as someone who does great work. There will come a time when you will need help with your career or business agenda. You want to have solid relationships in tact that you can draw upon to advance your career and grow your business! The time to build those relationships is long before you need them.

What inspired you to write the book? Almost nine years ago at the age of 57, my mom lost her battle with breast cancer.