You've seen me write before about the power of networking - what a good network can do for you, and why creating of a broad and deep network for yourself not only pays dividends for you, but for all who participate. I thought today I'd illustrate just how powerful and profitable a personal network can be by using a real life example.

One of the non-profits in a nearby municipality recently held a fund raising event. It was one of those trivia night parties. They're tremendously fun. Everyone enjoys trivia; and in this format you're playing along with a table of your friends as a team against all the other tables in the room. Each table is its own little party, so inevitably, everyone has a great time. Trivia nights are also great fund raisers. A creative promoter can utilize any of dozens of opportunities - games within the games - to extract a few extra dollars from players.

I was one of the players at this particular event. Unfortunately for the beneficiary and all the players that night, the event largely fell flat on its face. The organizers clearly had heard that trivia nights were good fund raising vehicles, but they had not the slightest clue how to run one effectively. The evening ended with a whimper. There were plenty of polite smiles, but not much excitement and enthusiasm for "next time". Here's where I sensed an opportunity.

In my own personal network I knew someone who had carried off a number of trivia nights successfully over a period of years. He has it down to a science. His trivia nights are productions, where everyone leaves feeling spent after a night of high-energy fun and entertainment. And spent is an operative word for the players in another sense. A room full of people having fun in a rousing party-like atmosphere are always more motivated to part with their cash.

Now, I couldn't exactly charge in and declare how poorly this non-profit had done by offering to put them in touch with this man. That would be a bit like auditing an honest taxpayer, wouldn't it? I phoned a friend who knew the organizers of the trivia night and suggested we all attend one my trivia night expert was putting on.

Well, you know how it goes from here. The organizers of the first trivia night were blown away by what they saw at my friend's production. We weren't fifteen minutes into the fun when they asked how to get in touch with the experts behind this show.

People want to be helped; but people don't want to be told they need help. I simply gave those who I though might want help a chance to ask for it. Had they not wanted help, they could just as easily have taken a pass on asking for it and taken notes. Either way they came out ahead. And just as importantly, the focus always remained on building their successes, rather than dealing with failure.

As for me, I got to have two enjoyable nights with friends playing trivia. Plus now I have two non-profits working more closely together, sharing notes and best practices; and making my community a better place in which to live.