group. These networking opportunities can be beneficial corporately as well as personally.
The business benefits when its executives and managers have a
more outwardly focused and market-based background that is current. Too often, people inside companies spend an excessive
amount of time meeting with and talking to people inside their
own companies. This creates a risk of market insulation.
In addition to the obvious exercise of spending more time with
customers, executives and managers should spend more time outside their immediate area internally, and outside their specific company area externally.
Moving outside of your office area can be a healthy eye-opener.
“The best place for true enlightenment and motivation is the shop
floor,” says one manager at a medium-sized company. A senior
executive at a small company learns from employees served by the
executive’s department and from customers: “I get the best motivation and ideas for doing my job better from my customers, both
internal and external.”