An issue with networks is really, how does one get into them and how does one get results from it? I didn’t get to do any of the networking I’ve done without BSN, so that’s obviously a great first step, but it’s very much a find-your-own-way-in because it’s hardly advertised. Typically, 99% of our issues in the store revolve around, well, our store. Some people just don’t get the bigger picture: they care about their immediate supervisors and maybe the DM down the block.

The other issue with getting into the network is wondering who to talk to. One suggestion that my fellow Growth Accelerator made was that there should be an extra field in the Outlook e-mail portal that displays what the person actually does. Titles are generally . . . generic, so to have something like ‘this guy is in charge of the Napster acquisition’ or ‘this guy is responsible for the Social Gaming Experiences in your store’ is invaluable.

Then there’s the issue of following up with new, innovative ideas. The Loop Marketplace exists, but there’s no team to pick out which projects should be done and then fund them. It’s a drill, rather than an extractor. If there can be some sort of mining group at corporate that can pick through the good ideas (and not just minor SOP tweaks) then advertise that ‘this idea came from the stores! Literally!’ (although i’ve seen this been inaccurately appended to a variety of ideas that corporate took over a mere suggestion by a council) then you will begin to see innovative ideas take form and business cases formed.

My $.02