Is Your Trusty Networking GPS Leading You Astray?

GPS technology relies on Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) to provide accurate, real-time guidance. Effective networking also depends on PNT principles to steer yourself in the right direction.

That being said, Episode 107 of The Energy Detox podcast will help you answer the following PNT questions:

📍Positioning: How can you boost your visibility—and your awareness—to make sure you’re not missing potential connections right in front of you?

🧭 Navigation: What tools, cues, and excuses can you use to confidently and authentically weave your way through conversations?

⏱️ Timing: What can you do before, during, and after a conversation to ensure steady, efficient flow—without causing bottlenecks or corrosion?

Download this worksheet to capture your answers and, in turn, enhance your positioning, your navigation, and your timing in networking situations.

1990 Pontiac Trans Port used in CMU’s Navlab 5 self-driving journey from Pittsburgh to San Diego in 1995

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Transcript

(AI training in progress; please excuse any errors)

So did you know that on March 27 the Federal Communications Commission, the FCC, is meeting in Washington, DC, to discuss alternatives to GPS? Because while GPS plays a significant role in our lives, it is not infallible, and so the FCC is taking it upon themselves to discuss other platforms, other technology that are related to PNT, standing for Positioning, Navigation and Timing. Because GPS is just one of many PNT platforms, technologies that, again, can support the all important desire to know where we are at any given time and to help get from point A to B, and of course, to help control so much of our communications technology.

00:47

That being said, in the oil and gas industry, we of course, also rely heavily on GPS, from logistics and transportation to seismic surveys, including, from my own experience working offshore where running seismic, I remember two distinct things. One was the whale watchers that were employed to make sure that there was no sea creatures around when we were taking seismic surveys. But the second element that I remember clearly was how important GPS was, how that precise measurement of timing and location was key to painting an accurate picture of what was going on well beneath the earth's surface.

01:24

And so today, on the energy detox, we're going to take that GPS theme and the importance of GPS, but mostly the importance of looking for alternatives to a tried and true technology like GPS when it comes to you, and your networking. When it comes to you, and your ability to make and form and sustain connections with other people. And to have that conversation today onThe Energy Detox, I'm standing here at Carnegie Mellon University, CMU, for a couple different reasons. One is because we are in the midst of "Energy Week." At the same time that that FCC meeting is going on about GPS here on CMU campus, people are gathering for its annual energy week, conversations that you could be a part of if you're if you're watching this in time.

02:09

But the other reason, more important reason, that I'm here on CMU's campus, because CMU has a long history of connections to GPS. For decades, Carnegie Mellon has been at the forefront of the utilization of GPS when it comes to technology, most significantly when it comes to self driving vehicles. Because if you were in downtown Pittsburgh, or worked in downtown Pittsburgh, as I did back in the 2016, 2017 time frame, you saw many vehicles driving around, self driving Ubers in that experimental phase that didn't last very long, but again, it was a neat sight to see, and had very deep connections to CMU.

02:45

But those connections run much further back than 2016, 2017. In fact, in 1995 CMU had a Navlab project, and the Navlab 5 was a Pontiac minivan that drove from Pittsburgh to San Diego, well over 2000 miles, and 98% of that trip was hands free, a forerunner, if you will (not a Toyota Forerunner, but a Pontiac Trans Sport van) that drove, based on all GPS technology and a whole bunch of other high tech stuff at the time, including cameras to get that vehicle, again 98% of the time, hands free, from Pittsburgh to San Diego.

03:26

And so with all of that being said, with this location laid out there, with Energy Week here, and with the fact that you as an individual in the energy industry rely heavily on your connections and on your network, let's dive into a series of PNT (Positioning, Navigation, and Timing) tips that you can use to become a better networker. But keep in mind, this isn't meant to be a 10 minute exercise and just sharing things that you probably already know or that you can easily Google when it comes to networking. No, instead, we're going to leave you with a series of questions that you could ask to take your networking to another level, to transform your ability to make, grow and sustain connections with others.

04:07

So that being said, we're going to start first with (P)ositioning. And ironically here, as I put my head down to look at some of the notes I have on this note card here, the first tip when it comes to positioning is to keep your head up, physically and figuratively, keep your head up to boost your awareness of what's going on around you. And if you're in a physical networking scenario, it's amazing how often you see people walking around in hallways with their heads down. What are they missing? It's amazing how often people miss small opportunities to boost their awareness of their surroundings. Maybe they're standing in a buffet line at some event, and instead of choosing the side of the buffet where you can have a purview over everything that's going on. They choose the side where their back is basically to all of the activity. They have no sense of who's coming and going or where they might want to sit. Little things like that that can open up your awareness simply by literally keeping your head up. And from a more figurative standpoint, keeping your head up when it comes to opportunities, being aware of those small things, those small things you might notice, say, if you're watching a presentation, if you're at energy week here at CMU and you're listening to speakers, and you're looking for those small things that can form a deeper connection. Because lots of people after the speakers here at CMU are on stage, lots of people will come up to them and say, Hey, that was really great. I really enjoyed your talk. But it's amazing how many of those people will miss opportunities for those small, specific connections that require you to pick your head up, to look around, to find those little details that are going to form much deeper, stronger connections than some generic "Hey, I really enjoyed that, Well done, Thanks for being here today."

05:42

That being said, the next element of the positioning category here in our figurative networking GPS conversation is differentiation. So what are opportunities for you to position yourself in a much better position than everybody else around you? How do you differentiate yourself? And again, it's an open question, with some specific, discrete things you can do, like differentiating the subject of your email that you might send in a follow up to an individual. It's amazing how many people miss those opportunities to hone in on some specific element of a conversation, whether it's related to something in their personal lives and their kids and their family, or some travels, and looking for that opportunity to again form that differentiated connection instead of just hey, it was nice meeting you at that CMU energy week event or whatever it is you happen to be at. So again, continually ask for those opportunities to say, Hey, how can I differentiate myself today? Again, not just to stand out, but to form that deeper connection with the person that you're looking to well network with.

06:41

The third tip under the positioning umbrella is, well, obviously you need to know where you're located when it comes to an event. Why are you at a given event? Why are you in a given position to interact with other people? But more significantly, why are they there? How did they get there? What is it that they're looking to get from potential engagement with you. And again, it's one of those things that's easy to miss. It's easy to say, hey, you know you want to meet people where they're at but what does that actually mean? Well, it means understanding, what are they looking for? What would make them jump for joy? What would make them find that? Hey, this was a truly valuable exchange. This was a truly valuable use of my time if you're not asking that question to say, Hey, what are you hoping to get out of today? Hey, what are you hoping to get out of this presentation? Hey, you know what? What would again leave you feeling like this was a great investment of your time after you walk out of this lunch and learn or this week long event, understanding their position and what they do before jumping into the temptation to share what you do, as human as that might be, it's those little things that if you prepare for again, you're going to put yourself in a better position by understanding the position and the role that the other person has.

07:54

That being said, moving on to the next category of this PNT exercise, this conversation, and that is (N)avigation. How do you actually move through the process of networking and connecting with others? Well, first item there is to ask open, good questions. And again, it flows from that last tip, understanding what somebody else's position is, what their role is, getting deep into that before again, trying to shift gears to yourself. The more you understand others, the more you get them talking again, the more options you're going to have to connect with that individual. But it starts with open ended questions, not these, yes, no questions or hey, you enjoying yourself today? But hey, how are you enjoying yourself? Hey, what have you found to be the most valuable part of this conversation? Good open ended questions is all going back to the positioning piece. One, a good way to position yourself and differentiate yourself from others, and avoid the temptation to just make meaningless small talk and ask the same questions that other people might ask, but again, more importantly, to put yourself in a position to maybe weave your way through some connections that you might have with that other individual that you might not be privy to if you didn't ask those good, open ended questions.

09:05

The next element of navigation, how do you move through the networking, the connecting element of your professional and personal life? Well, it's to lean into your excuses, not be afraid of the excuses that you have. To ask good questions, to strike up a conversation. You know, it's easy for people, whether you're just starting out in industry, early on in your career, or even people who've been around for decades, it's easy to kind of shy away from your excuses if you're the odd person out, if you're new to an environment, versus leaning into them and saying, Hey, look, I have an opportunity to say, look, I'm new here. I've never done this before. You think about somebody on an oil and gas location wearing that green hat, right, signifying that they're new to the industry, what a phenomenal excuse they have to ask all the dumb questions. Well, again, a question for you today is, What excuses do you have to connectto form a bond with somebody else to ask a question? Lean into those excuses. Take advantage of those excuses.

10:01

And similarly, the next tip is to embrace the awkward. So again, you might be in an uncomfortable environment, but I often go back to one tip that I heard from an HR leader five years ago at the onset of COVID, when, again, people were getting used to Zoom meetings and all the awkwardness of the different ways of connecting with people. And her advice was very straightforward. It said, you know, one thing that she saw for employees who were flourishing is the ones who embraced the awkward, the awkwardness, the unease of those virtual conversations that they weren't used to, the ones who leaned in and says, Look, I'm going to make mistakes. Other people are going to make mistakes. Well, it's that same philosophy that you can use when it comes to networking. You know, you might have that awkward interaction, maybe in a bathroom right where you don't really want to say anything, but you recognize somebody, or maybe you messed up somebody's name in a previous engagement and you're afraid to broach it. No! How can you actually take full advantage of those excuses, of those awkward moments and lean into them for your advantage, to differentiate yourself and to form those deeper, stronger, lasting connections?

11:05

That being said, let's move on to the third and final element of PNT, (P)ositioning, (N)avigation and (T)iming. Because when it comes to Timing, again, there's a lot of ways to kind of ruin the established connections that you're just beginning to form, or perhaps that you formed over many years. And so when it comes to timing, the first element here is, well, asking the other party What would be ideal, not just looking for opportunities and windows to follow up and have a conversation, which, again, might be your ultimate goal, but asking that other person, hey, what would be ideal? A nice, again, open ended question to have them say, You know what? What would be ideal is, we never speak again. Or what would be ideal is, you know, might be a little out of the ordinary, but you know, "Friday, late afternoon, even early evening, is really my best time to connect with folks, because my day, my week, is kind of coming to a close, and I love it. So if it's okay with you, then let's go ahead and, use that time." But it starts by you asking that other person what would be ideal. Maybe you can't form that connection when it comes to timing, but at least you know, and at least you can reference it, and at least you can try and again. It's one of those mistakes that a lot of people make when they jump in trying to look for those perfect windows. Instead of saying, hey, you know what? What would be perfect for you?

12:21

The next piece of the timing element is, well, what are those perfect moments? Maybe the person that you're working with or trying to connect to doesn't have an answer to what would be ideal. So let's turn to some rules of thumb, that being when is the ideal time to follow up with somebody, and the answer, at least according to the internet, is Tuesday mornings. So Tuesday mornings, if you know, all else being equal, if you have flexibility, I want to follow up with somebody and send them a note, send them an email, give them a call. Tuesday mornings tend to be the ideal time. Why? Well, they've gotten through the Monday catch up period, but they're not so deep into their week where they feel like they're falling behind. And if they show up Tuesday morning and they check their email, that again, statistically, is one of the best windows that you can have. So there's little tips and tools like that. Again, we're not going to list them all out here, but it's all under this umbrella of, hey, if you're going to position yourself in the best way possible, be mindful of the timing of the other person.

13:21

Moving on, and perhaps somewhat ironic here, as this podcast goes a little bit longer than I planned, and that is to crisp up your message, especially your introduction. Crisp up your introduction so that you can quickly pivot to the other person and again, ask those open ended questions of them. Let them go on, let them ramble on a bit, to give you those insights to give you those potential opportunities to form deeper, stronger, lasting connections. Resist the temptation to launch into your own dialogue, or monologue, I should say, and diarrhea of the mouth, or whatever it happens to be that's long winded, unnecessary and can put the other person off. This is Human Communication, 101, but it's critical, and it's something that a lot of people miss. So crisp up your message.

14:04

And then finally, Always Be Connecting, ABC. I know there's the famous line from some movie that I never watched with Alec Baldwin, where he said, you know, "Always Be Closing" from a sales standpoint, which again, has all kinds of maybe not so positive connotations. But Always Be Connecting. Far better than "always be closing." Always be looking for those opportunities to form, to deepen, to strengthen and to sustain those connections with other human beings, whether you just met them or again, whether you're "just" meeting them for the for the 100th time, it doesn't matter. ABC. Always be connected.

14:36

So with that in mind, I appreciate you tuning in as always. I certainly welcome your feedback on things that would help you and really help anybody in any industry connect in a more sustained way. And as always, I hope you have a great rest of the day. So thanks again for tuning in, and bye for now.

Leadership, Management, Coaching, Energy, Envronment, ESG, SustainabilityJoe SinnottLeadership, CoachingComment