Mo asks Kim Davenport: What is your personal development of business development? And he asks Kim how she goes about addressing D&I.
- Kim looks at business development as a three-part concept. There’s helping the client, then there’s building a relationship with them. And, lastly, there’s helping a client or an organization get better.
- Kim goes beyond the dollar sign. She focuses not only on how a potential opportunity might impact an organization or a client in general terms, but individual people too. It’s important to understand the impact of different projects and how they could impact the individual person or contributor.
- Being proactive and staying on top of things isn’t easy, as Kim admits, but you need to carve out time. Kim, for instance, blocks out time in her calendar from time to time, and spends that time sitting down, thinking about the conversations she has been having and where everything is headed toward.
- When it comes to getting things done in D&I, Kim uses a three-step approach. First, it’s about truly making that a passion and a priority. Step two is about doing whatever is needed – surveys, focus groups, etc. to talk to people and try to figure out where things are at. And, thirdly, try to close the gap.
- Focusing on D&I makes people feel as if they’re operating in an environment where they can be successful, feel valued, and where they want to give it all to the organization they’re part of.