Notes from an Open Life

Last SLA question: Letting go

The last question for SLA candidates was: What should SLA let go of to be more effective and focused?

I think, at a basic level, we need to simply be willing to let go of things. We need to be willing to commit to what we can do, and stop doing those things that just don’t make sense any longer. If you’re like me, this isn’t a strong suit. We like to say yes much more than we like to say no. That’s part of the reason why I’m here speaking (and writing) to you now!

I don’t think I can accurately speak to what specifically we need to stop doing, without more detail around SLA operations. I believe we do need to have some kind of criteria to help us make the right decisions, to be able to identify and prioritize those things that we need to keep doing, and those things we can drop.

At Sun Microsystems, our library group developed a set of criteria that helped us to rank our projects, and to be able to re-evaluate our current projects against new projects that came along. It wasn’t entirely objective, but it at least helped us to be able to more objectively look at what we were doing and understand where we were getting the most benefit for our efforts.

In SLA’s case, we obviously need to fulfill our financial and ethical obligations. But we also need to develop or modify a tool like this to help us divorce ourselves – and I include myself in this – from our personal attachments, and to effectively and efficiently serve the membership.

Connecting

Last week, along with my fellow Division and Chapter Cabinet Chair-Elect candidates, I got to participate in a call with SLA unit leaders. It was a really good session - great questions from the moderator, SLA President-Elect Cindy Romaine, and from the participants. I continue to be impressed by the quality of all my fellow candidates. No matter who wins this election, you're gonna have excellent leaders!

A question came up around the difference between networking in-person and networking online, and I wanted to share my reflection on this. It's a thought-provoking question.

Typically, the opinion is that "nothing beats in-person networking". I would agree that in-person networking is a unique experience. As we were talking on the call, though, I realized that in-person networking and online networking really compliment each other.

Let me share two examples:

I've been connected with a person on the Board of the local Rocky Mountain Chapter of SLA for several months. I hadn't met this person locally - we only met in-person for the first time at the conference in New Orleans in June. What was striking was that, when we did meet in person, it was as if we already knew a lot about each other. It felt as if I was meeting a long-time friend, and meeting in-person was icing on the cake.

On the opposite side, I met many people in-person at the conference. Afterward, we quickly connected via LinkedIn, Facebook and/or Twitter. These tools, in many ways, have allowed us to continue the conversation we started at the conference. We've gotten to learn more about each other. We've gotten to know each others' interests more.

Previously, I may have only interacted with my new connections at the next conference - if we both attended, and if we connected beforehand, or if we were in the same place at the same time. Maybe we would have exchanged a few emails, but likely many of those connections would have grown cold. Social networking tools are keeping our connections "warm", so to speak. We may not be talking directly all the time, but I know what's going on in their world, and they know what's going on in mine. It's pretty nice!

I don't think online connection replaces in-person connection, or vice versa. I think the two compliment each other nicely. I'm glad I had a chance to reflect on this, because it has had a real effect in my life. My SLA membership, and my connections with SLA, have made my personal and professional life richer.

How have social tools complimented your life?