Tulsa Author Teaches Power Through Networking
By DAVID JONES
Contributing Editor
PROLIFIC NETWORKER: Tulsan Peter Biadasz has authored or co-authored dozens of books on networking. He currently works as the Tulsa Metro Chamber’s “networking expert.???
ALICIA SHRUM for GTR Newspapers
As Peter Biadasz sees it there are a lot of powerful people out there, only some of them don’t know it.
“People don’t do things for one of two reasons: They either don’t know how to or they don’t want to. We provide the ‘how.’ Nothing can be done for the people who don’t want to.”
Biadasz has authored, or co-authored, a series of books in what he could call his “powerful people” series. You can get the gist of these books, all either published or soon to be published, just by reading their titles. Just put “Powerful People” before the title and you have the name of the book.
“Have Powerful Character.”
“Overcome Powerful Failures.”
“Play Powerful Golf.”
“Have Powerful Health.”
“Are Powerful IT (information technology) Professionals.”
“Are Powerful Learners.”
“Are Powerful Listeners.”
“Are Powerful Leaders.”
“Have Powerful Money.”
“Are Powerful Networkers.”
“Have Powerful Personalities.”
“Have Powerful Relationships.”
“Are Powerful Risk Managers.”
“Are Powerful Teachers.”
“Have Powerful Chee (the balance between body, mind and spirit)”
“These are the tip of the iceberg,” he says. “We have 56 titles we will be working on. More will undoubtedly be added.”
Not a bad output for a man who readily admits he hated writing. “My first book, the only one I wrote entirely by myself, is ‘More Leads’ and deals with just that—how to get more leads in business.
“I tried to write it for 10 years. When I found a way, the book took only three weeks.”
The journey from reluctant scribe to multi-volume author took a circuitous route.
“I graduated from Florida State University in 1980 with a degree in psychology. I took a job in Tallahassee as an adolescent counselor. When a similar job opened up in Atlanta with a little bigger paycheck I took it, decided I was in the wrong business and switched to banking.
“In banking I dealt with a lot of businessmen, one of whom thought I would make a salesman. He offered me a job with Sharp Electronics and I took it. I discovered I used my psychology training a lot more as a salesman than as a leader of troubled youth.”
The job required conducting some seminars and Biadasz found he loathed public speaking. He would have to put a smile on his face, mutter under his breath “show time” and get up to make his presentation. Once he described his terror to an audience but they didn’t believe him. The very next week he had to address primarily the same audience and when they heard him whisper “show time” they knew he was in earnest. They gave him a great reception.
He and his wife divorced and she moved to Tulsa along with their children. Biadasz, unwilling to be a long-distance dad, relocated to Tulsa as well. He hooked up with the Tulsa Metro Chamber and soon became its resident expert on networking.
“I wanted to do a book on it but I was frozen. By this time I had become much more at ease as a public speaker and a friend said, ‘why don’t you just give your address to a computer?’ I did, and in three weeks I had written ‘More Leads’.”
A conversation with a friend, Richard Possett, led to “Powerful People are Powerful Leaders,” the first of the “power” series. Other conversations with other friends led to still more books. “I like to come up with a subject and then find someone who knows a lot more about it than I do and co-write a book,” says Biadasz. “That’s why I can have so many books in progress at one time.
“We have different co-authors for different subjects and everyone works at their own pace, so we may have nothing turned out for months and then suddenly, as is the case at present, have a host of books out.”
One of his latest came as a bit of a surprise: “Increase Your Sales and Lower Your Golf Scores,” with PGA tour veteran Matt Erdson.
“We would get together. I would talk sales and he would talk golf and we suddenly discovered we were saying the same things, just using different terminology. For example, a salesman wants to close the deal, the golfer wants to sink the putt, and both want to finish the business at hand. When a salesman is prospecting he is like a golfer planning his hole strategy at the tee.”
Is Biadasz now a scratch golfer? “Hardly, although I have knocked about eight strokes off my average (in the 90-100 range). My enjoyment of the game, however, has increased enormously.”
As for networking, how can people help themselves?
“People who want to network seem to seek out kindred spirits, but if someone is really having trouble making contact, the local Chamber of Commerce is one of the biggest and most organized networking groups around.”
For more on Peter Biadasz and his books, visit www.getmoreleads.net or www.bepowerful.net.
Updated 06-26-2007
READER COMMENTS
About Post Author
