Chris Ekrem, MBA, FACHE, serves as Vice President of Business Development and Operations for Wiederhold & Associates. Chris brings two decades of hospital administration experience in healthcare operations, management and financial leadership. He led highly successful business development projects during his tenure in operations and administrative leadership roles at community hospitals, academic medical centers and Critical Access Hospitals in Texas and Kansas. Chris began his career as a financial analyst at Florida Hospital in Orlando, Florida, and expanded his skill set through project manager and decision-support positions before advancing to the C-suite in roles as a Chief Operating Officer (Kansas) and a Chief Executive Officer (Texas). Most recently, he was Vice President at Tyler and Company; a retained healthcare executive search firm in Atlanta, Georgia.

Chris earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from Baylor University in Waco, Texas and his Master of Business Administration from the University of Redlands in Redlands, California. He holds a board certification in healthcare management as a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE). In addition to his long-standing membership in ACHE, Chris also has been active in state healthcare leadership as a Texas Hospital Association Leadership Fellows graduate and a Kansas Hospital Association Leadership Institute graduate.

Miracle-Gro® or Roundup® - Which One Are You Using on Your Network?

Why is it that some people thrive and others survive in business? Much of it comes back to their network. A network is like a garden. You have to water it on a consistent basis for it to grow. However, most of us put our heads down and focus on daily tasks. We say that we are too busy to network. We end up neglecting our networking garden and focus mainly on what others can do for us. Unfortunately, this self-referenced behavior is the equivalent of spraying Roundup® on your lush networking garden that you worked so hard to create. So what’s the cure?

Reciprocation is the Miracle-Gro® of networking. Without it, your network will shrivel up and look like you won a pallet of Roundup®. Here are three ways to rethink how you network, which can start to produce some Miracle-Gro®:

  1. When you talk to an executive recruiter next time, see what you can do to help them find a new client (not only a referral to a candidate). Go out of your way to introduce them to someone you know that might take their call. This can do wonders for your relationship with the recruiter.
  2. Instead of thinking of suppliers or vendors as another salesperson, invest time in getting to know them personally and see if you can introduce them to someone that might make a difference in their business. Remember that vendors may visit hundreds of organizations each year and their network could be very large.
  3. Focus on informational networking rather than looking at how you can find a new position. Invest in the relationship, find out about their journey and see what you can do to add value to the conversation. You might decide to follow up with writing an article that is relevant to the other person.

By investing in relationships over the long-term, thinking of others first and finding ways to reciprocate, you will develop a beautiful networking garden for many years to come.

Connect with us on LinkedIn, join our Active Network Program and look at the other areas of connection we offer.

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