You know you need a network, but do you know why? Here are 10 great reasons:
1. A network replaces the weakness of the individual with the strength of the group. There are a gazillion groups to join with the experts you need. We all should belong to some of these groups, and probably should belong to more. They’re the basic building blocks of any networking system.
2. Mirror, mirror on the wall. A network is the magic mirror that can show you how the dress really looks on you before you wear it to the party. Anyone who writes or sells for a living, whether it’s called “marketing planning” or “copywriting” or “just plain peddling” needs to know if his or her stuff works. Who is going to tell you? Your network.
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3. Know thine enemy through thine network. Michael Corleone in “The Godfather” movies may have said it best: “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” You have to know what the competition is up to. Who will tip you off if a key employee may be ready to jump ship? Who can help you counteract someone circulating negative gossip about your company? Who will tell you when others are making inquiries about you? It’s always smart to have some pipeline, however informal, into the enemy camp.
4. My network can help you expand your network. A network isn’t like a stamp collection: something that sits in an album that you take out and look at from time to time. It’s not for show … it’s for go. One of the big mistakes you can make when you’re starting your career is being afraid to use your network to ask for help. Ask mom or dad, or better yet, a family adviser, particularly a lawyer or a banker, a successful relative, one of your parents’ bosses at work – anyone old, experienced in business, with a wide range of contacts and some personal or professional connection to your family.
5. A network can enrich your life anywhere in the world. How many non-Americans are there in your network? With phone, e-mail and fax rates measured in pennies these days, it’s just as easy to build a global network as a local one. If you’ve got a network here, you can have a network anywhere. How do you find them? For a start, try your banker, lawyer or accountant. Start a blog. Or try the nearest university. You’ll find students and faculty with contacts everywhere in the world.
6. A network can provide you with new experiences and knowledge – a no-brainer.
7. Networking can help you help others. Networking can be very rewarding for people who work the system on their own behalf. It can also be rewarding for people who work it on behalf of others. Many alumni are active in recruiting promising students to their alma maters; others enjoy giving career advice and counseling.
8. Job security? Don’t rely on the corporation. Rely on your network. If layoffs are looming, don’t rely on your boss to save you. He or she may be just as vulnerable as you are. Network and establish ties across the entire organization.
9. A network can make you look good. No salesman ever went broke who knew the names of his customers’ kids. You have to keep your network fine-tuned. Two years is too long between tune-ups. You change the oil in your car every 3,000 miles, don’t you?
10. A network expands your financial reach infinitely. So far, we’ve talked about networking among individuals. Barter, sophisticated modern barter, is networking among corporations. What makes it different from personal networking is that barter is networking stripped down to the bare essentials; cold-blooded tit-for-tat exchanges. The list of companies engaged in bartering reads like a Who’s Who of the Fortune 500. Corporations understand that barter is a form of networking that can get you what you need for what you don’t.
Mackay’s Moral: If I had to name the single characteristic shared by all the truly successful people I’ve met in my lifetime, I’d have to say it’s the ability to create and nurture a network of contacts.
Harvey Mackay is author of the New York Times best seller “Pushing the Envelope.” He can be reached through his Web site, www.mackay.com; or at Mackay Envelope Corp., 2100 Elm St., Minneapolis, MN 55414.
