I found a note tucked in my bag when I got to the airport after a speaking gig. "I really need Mark Cuban's advice on an idea I have," it said. "I will be forever grateful if you ask him to get in touch with me."
One, I didn't know him. Two, it was kinda creepy that he made his way backstage, found my backpack, opened it, and slid the note into my closed laptop. Three, I have no more ability to get in touch with Mark Cuban than the next person. (Okay, I probably could if I asked someone at Inc. to help me, but I wouldn't.)
But it did remind me of something I used to do. When I started writing for Inc. I wanted to interview famous entrepreneurs. So I did a lot of cold-emailing. A lot of pitching. A lot of networking.
No matter how cleverly targeted or crafted, though, none of that worked. (Which comes as no surprise; a study published in Fast Company found that while 45 percent of executives opened a cold email they received -- a surprisingly high email open rate -- only 2 percent actually responded.)
Instead of interviewing people like Richard Branson or Ray Dalio, I had to talk to the entrepreneurs I could get. Like the person who launched a thriving business by making cat litter out of coconuts. Or the person who created software to free up PC hard-drive space.
Notable people? Absolutely. Famous people? No.
But that was okay, because I was no longer focused on networking. I was focused on doing, and the doing led to building a bigger network.
In time, instead of pitching, I got pitched: Richard Branson's folks contacted me. Ray Dalio's folks contacted me. Aside from a few exceptions (howdy, Kirk Hammett!), the network came to me.
As Adam Grant, who also initiated our connection -- and who later agreed to blurb my book -- writes:
If you establish a track record of achievement, advantages tend to accumulate. Who you'll know tomorrow depends on what you contributed yesterday.
Whatever network I've managed to build is based on doing, not networking. Some people I know as the result of having done what they at least perceive as good work. (Imposter syndrome, while not my best, is certainly a constant friend.) Others are the result of my sending a note of praise or congratulations for something they did that I admired.
Others are because I passed on something -- a resource, a tip, a connection, etc. -- that I thought might be valuable, with no expectation of return.
As Adam writes:
Building a powerful network doesn't require you to be an expert at networking. It just requires you to be an expert at something.
If you do great work, those connections will be easier to make. Let your insights and your outputs -- not your business cards -- do the talking.
Start networking less. Start doing more. Stop asking. Start giving. Stop trying to find a way to connect, and start trying to be the person with whom other people want to connect.
In time, the network you want -- the people you want to help, and who want to help you -- will come to you.
"network" - Google News
July 28, 2023 at 05:45PM
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Trying to Build a Great Network? Stop Trying So Hard to Make Connections, and Start 'Doing' More - Inc.
"network" - Google News
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