From CNO Journal

The Chief Networking Officer (CNO) has gained much interest as more companies and executives  have become open minded to challenging the corporate hierarchy structure.

The CNO as defined in Wikipedia  by my partner Octavio Pitaluga is right on target.  The definition of the role, however, is in the midst of being clearly defined and I also have my additions/thoughts to the role.  I also believe that the CNO role will be greatly influenced by the company he/she is in, its short and long term goals and efforts, current C Executives forte or lack thereof, social/virtual media efforts, et al…

This ever-changing and always evolving role ,I believe, fits right in with those entrepreneur types who, like myself, are driven by being a contributing force to many different layers and projects.  Relationship management skills needs to be assumed natural for the person accepting this role and the ability to be a visionary and share that vision with those he/she is involved in and in some cases in a coaching-type fashion.  Mr. Pitaluga also highlights the fact that many female traits are also on the forefront of the CNO everyday role.

I view a large part of the CNO’s efforts a “bottoms up” grass roots networking and relationship management then approach capturing all and weaving potential win-win opportunities for everyone involved.  Sounds a tad convoluted but that’s an entire other article I'll delve into another time.

There has been inquiry on the major differences between a CNO and a PR or Communications Officer.  I believe these are “top down” often addressing a particular group on a particular topic and/or effort.  I also believe that CNO responsibilities can also overlap on some of the aforementioned responsibilities and in this economic crunch make a case for the CNO as opposed to a few other positions.

Along those lines I believe that smaller companies and start-ups can get the biggest immediate impact by adding a CNO as he/she could take on various responsibilities and eventually evolve into its own over time.  The CNO can immediately assume a few, not so critical, roles while the company is establishing its footprint and growing to the next level.

I look at the CNO as a glue and in many cases a consultant to the rest of C-Level team.  The CNO’s actions and synergies could have an effect on many layers of the company.
Join me in the Chief Networking Officer movement; I would venture to say many of you already are CNOs with different titles.
RRM