Lately, I have been spending quite a bit of time talking with quite a few people about networking.

 

The people I meet have disparate views about networking.

 

At one extreme, some think every person they meet is a potential client. They spend a great deal of time explaining [to almost anyone and everyone they meet] what they do and why that’s so important, etc. At the other extreme, some cringe at the thought of attending another cocktail party. As the years pass they get deeper and deeper into their shells, isolating themselves. In between the extremes, the majority of people go about doing what they describe as ‘networking’ without setting plans or guidelines or assessing the results of their activity.

 

In addition, many people are now saying, “What used to work does not work any more”.

 

Many have asked for simple answers…”How can I improve my networking?”

 

Obviously, everyone is different. What works for some folks will not work for others. One person’s comfort zone will not necessarily be the same as the next person’s comfort zone.

 

So, the first Networking step is spending some time thinking about oneself:

• What are my interpersonal strengths?
• What are my interpersonal weaknesses?
• Have I educated myself and learned enough about 21st Century networking?
• What do the results of my past-actions tell me about my networking skills?
• On a scale of 1-to-10, how do I rate my networking talent?

For business:

 

Networking is meeting new people and re-meeting people in a business or social context.

 

That’s the way I define networking.