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“Thank you” isn’t enough anymore. It’s become an expected part of human etiquette. There’s not much thought behind it and it doesn’t have any real acknowledgement of the impact the interaction has had on you.

On the other hand, saying “thank you for” is intentional and impactful. By taking the extra time, you can show appreciation for the information and time the other person gave you. It can be hard to know where to start which is why I created a framework to walk people through the process.

Step 1 (T) Thank You For: Whenever you make a new connection, take a moment to reflect on how that person impacted you. It could be their work, their presence, or something they said – the important thing is that it’s genuine.

Step 2 (A) Ask: The next step is to extend an offer to help or provide further assistance, which will deepen the connection. Many people push back here and say they have nothing to share, but I promise you that is not true. I’ve never known anyone without anything to offer, nor have I ever been asked for something I couldn’t provide.

Step 3 (D) Do Something: Finally, you need to be proactive in continuing your connection. This could be scheduling a follow-up meeting to update them on your progress, or to discuss collaborating, it could be providing them with information they asked for, or even just a commitment to reconnect at a later point.  The first steps are about intentionally connecting and this final step is about turning that intention into action.

I hope this episode will inspire you to give the TAD framework a try. Not only does intentional gratitude build networking success, but it also makes the world a little brighter every time you do it. So add these three extra steps and watch your connections (and opportunities) flourish.  

Until next time, keep shining bright!

Hi there and welcome back to another

episode of Unleashing Brilliance.

Now, over the last few weeks, I've been

speaking to many audiences about the

power of building a transformational

network and one of the strategies

I've shared during those keynotes has

had such a significant shift for so

many people that I thought I'd share

it with you on my podcast this week.

Today, I want to share with you the

three letters that will change everything

for you when it comes to networking.

These three letters will ensure that you

play in the top 1 percent of networkers,

that you stand out from the crowd,

and that you become known as someone

who is interested and interesting.

And most of all, that you are

remembered amongst the masses.

Now, a couple of years ago, my eldest

son Flynn went for his first job after

finishing school and after his interview,

he came home and I asked him how he

went and then I said, okay, Flynn, now

it's time to be the 1%, to which, as

you can imagine, any teenage son does.

He rolled his eyes at me and said,

seriously, mom, can you stop coaching me?

God, you got to laugh at that.

Don't you?

But anyway, he did do it.

He followed through on

this 1 percent strategy.

What he did was, is he sent a text

message thanking the interviewer

for spending the time with him

and answering all his questions.

He then asked if there was anything

else that he needed from him.

And he then went on to inquire

as to what was going to happen

next, finishing up with, I look

forward to hearing from you soon.

Within 24 hours, Flynn was offered

the job and he was actually

the youngest ever to be hired.

Now, I don't doubt that he did a

great job in his interview, but I do

believe it's what he did afterwards

that gave him the advantage.

And this is what I call

my thank you for strategy.

Thank you.

This simple framework uses three extra

letters, F, O, and R, to become one

extra word that turns a transactional

thank you or thanks into an intentional

and thoughtful thank you for.

It helped Flynn secure his first job.

And I've seen this strategy, this

thank you for strategy, build and

bloom amazing client relationships.

It's helped dream jobs be achieved,

new business opportunities

secured and powerful networks

built using this framework.

Now I've shared this framework with

thousands over the last decade,

from conference stages around the

world to being in the front of

room of small workshops to large

workshops, and every single time.

I've done those keynotes or

been in front of the room.

I've actually invited people to try it.

I said to people, do the 1 percent

strategy, do the thank you for strategy.

It's simple.

You know, send me a text or an email

that says, Hey Janine, thank you for

the time you spent with us yesterday.

I loved hearing about your strategies

to build networks strategically.

Please let me know if there's

anything I can do for you.

And I'll make sure to keep in touch

and let you know how I go with

this strategy in terms of building

the network of me for my success.

I ask and I invite everybody to

follow through on that strategy.

And yet very few of the

audience follow through.

And this is why I call

it my 1 percent strategy.

Because those that take the time to

say thank you for, and who follow

the three step framework that I'm

about to share with you, those

are the people that I remember.

Those are the people that I continue

to support, and those are the people

that I keep connected with, and who

over the years I've continued to

support as they've built their careers.

You see, I believe that a simple thank

you or thanks is no longer enough.

It's transactional and it's expected.

It's what we say to each other

in passing with no real thought.

It's what we say to the barista

after we've beautifully been

served our morning coffee.

It's what we say to Uber drivers when

they drop us off at our destination.

We say thanks.

Thank you.

There's no real passing on of anything

apart from obviously the beautiful

human etiquette of saying thank you.

There's no real thought.

There's no acknowledgement of impression

or impact that interaction or that person

has made it's just a simple thanks.

And I believe that thank you

or thanks is no longer enough.

On the other hand, thank you for

requires a little bit more effort.

It is intentional.

It's unexpected and it is the very

thing that becomes memorable and

it's the very thing that helps

you stand out from the crowd.

Thank you for shows an appreciation

for any connection and any information

shared or the conversation had.

It shows a respect and a gratitude

for the time you spent together.

Thank you for forces you to get present.

It forces you to think about

and get curious about the impact

that person or that interaction

or that meeting has had on you.

Thank you for is about value exchange.

It shares with other people how

they and that moment matter.

So here's how I want to share with

you now this three step thank you

for or TAD framework as I call it.

I want to share with you

this framework and I really

encourage you to give it a go.

Give it a go today.

Give it a go this week.

So the three step.

T A D framework is this.

Step number one, T,

stands for thank you for.

After every meeting, every work

connection, or every single

networking event, think of the

people that you have interacted with.

And think about one way that

something they said, their work, Or

just their presence impacted you.

And I want you to take this reason

and put it into the sentence,

Thank you for dot, dot, dot.

The important part about

this step is being genuine.

Nobody appreciates a fake compliment.

But I want you to think about how

that moment, how that person mattered.

For example, it could be, thank you

for the feedback on my proposal.

It could be, thank you for taking the

time to share with me your thoughts about.

It could be, thank you for

inviting me to this meeting.

I really appreciated you sharing

more about your company and

the challenges you're facing.

It could be, thank you for taking

the time to take my call today and

answering the questions I had on.

It could be, thank you for

the dinner conversation about.

It could be, thank you for the

conversation about blah at the blah event.

I really appreciated your insight.

It's intentionality.

It's a value exchange.

It is about giving back to that

other person an appreciation for

the time that they spent with you.

So that's step number one.

The T, thank you for.

Now, step number two.

A stands for ask.

This is where I want you to go after

you've done your thank you for.

You introduce the A, ask, and it is simple

as, is there anything I can do for you?

Is there any more information

you need from me right now?

Is there anything more I can do?

Every single person, every single

one of you listening or watching

this podcast has something to give.

And this offer is the question

is the value exchange.

It's the very thing that deepens step one.

Now, when I share this, a lot of

people push back and they say,

Oh, but I've got nothing to share.

Yes, you have.

They worry about, Oh gosh,

what if I can't help?

Let me tell you that the recipient may or

may not even take you up on this offer.

But by making the offer of, is there

anything I can do for you, of making

the offer of the ask, it gives time

for the recipient to pause and think.

And to think that is once again,

reinforcing the value exchange.

And the years that I've taught this

strategy, I have never once personally

been asked for anything that I

cannot help the other person with.

I really encourage you to get out of

your own way to quit worrying about

asking this question and instead

be present with serving the person

that is the recipient of this.

So step number one is T, thank you for.

Get present and think about what you

want to thank the other person for.

Step number two, A is ask.

Don't overthink this.

Just simply go, is there

anything more I can do for you?

Is there any more

information you need from me?

Is there anything else

I can help you with?

Just ask that one sentence.

The A stands for ask.

Now we've got three

parts of this framework.

We've got the T, thank

you for, the A is the ask.

The final one is how we actually

nurture, cultivate, and build our

relationship, build our network.

The third part of this framework

is D, and it stands for doing ask.

Something.

This is where Flynn said, please

let me know what the next steps are.

I look forward to hearing from you.

You've got to do something.

You've got to take control

of this conversation.

So commit to the next

step and do something.

It could be offering to catch up again

over coffee, and you might suggest a time.

It could be that you're

going to book in a meeting.

To discuss a potential collaboration,

it could be that you're going to

book a meeting to update them on the

action that you've taken on the back

of the feedback they've given you.

It could be that you're going

to forward some information

to them that you promised.

It could simply be a commitment to

connect again in two weeks time to

update, them on any progress you've made.

You've been intentional about

connecting, and now it's your turn

to turn that intention into action.

And it's really as simple as that.

The T A D framework.

Thank you for step number one.

A, ask, is there anything

I can do for you?

And then D, do something.

Now why does this very

simple framework work?

Here's why.

Because it shows that you were present

enough in that moment to take notice,

to remember who they are, that you were

interested in them and what they do or

what they had to say, and that you are

committed enough to follow through.

This is intentionality.

You can't bulk send the same message

to everyone because this message has

been specifically personalized to them

and the impact they've had on you.

It helps you be memorable,

and it can drastically shake

up your network for the better.

You know, I recently presented, at

a workshop, to a team of leaders of

upcoming leaders, I was sharing the

strategy of networking and I was

sharing this particular strategy.

The next day I rang my contact for

some feedback, and they said that the

leadership team, the C suite, had actually

contacted them to ask what had happened

during the workshop, because they had

never received so much fabulous feedback.

They'd never received so many requests

for further information, and they'd

never received so many thank yous for

the impact that they'd had On their team,

they couldn't believe how in the space of

one workshop, engagement, communication

levels, collaboration levels, gratitude

levels had actually increased in

that organization on the back.

Of this one strategy, the TAD

framework, the thank you for strategy.

So I really invite you to

give it a try this week and

see what difference it makes.

And I'd love you to share that with me.

I wanna hear what difference it makes.

And by the way, I wanna invite

all of you listening to this.

Why not try it with me?

Try the thank you for strategy with me.

Send me an email, send me a

message with thank you for ask.

And the D, the do something, give it

a go, because here's the thing, if it

can land my teenage son, Flynn, his

first job, it can absolutely help you

build a network for you that inspires

you, that motivates you, and that

drives you to achieve your goals.

Oh, by the way, I'll let you

in on another little secret.

If you want to go one step

further, here's what I do.

I allocate one hour a week in my

calendar, and it is called my R A K hour.

My R A K hour.

This stands for random hour.

Act of kindness hour.

And what I do in that hour, every

single week is I think about the

people I've met that prior week.

I reflect on the conversations I've had.

I reflect on the messages

I might've received.

I reflect on the commitments

that I may have made.

And I use that one hour, that RAK hour

to follow the three step TAD framework.

Thank you, ask for, do something

framework that I shared with you today.

So why not start allocating an

RAK hour in your calendar every

single week from this week.

And think about this week, the word for,

the three letters F O 4, and give a thank

you for this week to the people that come

into your world that have had an impact.

and give it a go, try it and

see what difference it makes.

I look forward to hearing from you and I

will catch up with you again next week.