It Does Not Matter What You Know, It’s Who You Know That Matters Most

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“Networking is all about connecting with people. But then again, isn’t that what life is about? The more time you can find to get out of the office and build true friendships, the farther your startup will go. Entrepreneurs need to remember to spend as much time working on their business as they do in their business.” — Jay Samit

What most people don’t realize is that it truly isn’t about what you know. It’s about whom you know. And if you’re serious about making real progress in your life and achieving big goals, then it’s time to start?knowing more people.

Being good at work doesn’t make you successful but it is a prerequisite. If gaining power and status isn’t about being right all the time, then what is it about? It’s about getting started from a power base— getting sponsors and building alliances. It is within these central power bases that you build your alliances with the decision-makers. Young people who are trying to get more power should go for jobs that are nearer to the current seat of power. Nowadays, many are doing the same in our current situation nothing is more or less.

?Nobody makes it into jobs without a senior, powerful sponsor who can,

?1.??????Give them opportunities to prove themselves;

2.??????Put their name forward for good jobs; and

3.??????Defend them when they’re made a mistake.

If you think you deserve what you ought to be by your mere actual performance or competency alone you are lost. Rather you win at least two enemies on top of other things. Who are the two enemies?

1. Your immediate supervisor/boss

2. Your colleague/s reporting to the same boss with you having the same or equivalent status.

The main reason underlines your boss's turn to hostility emanates from unrealistic fear of your immediate boss encountering that he puts himself under distrust. Because, if any change likely happens around her/his new position, you may take over her/his position. On the other hand, the colleagues/s around you fill themselves with fear that if the immediate boss position is left vacant for whatever reason, you may assume it is better than them.

Therefore, both of them try their level best to ridicule your competency by blackmailing and gossiping around including propagating through their individual network.

Remember, competence is the most important determinant of professional success; but if it is, it is only over the long run. Anyone who is an expert in a particular field can point to someone preeminent in that field who does not know enough to justify his or her lofty position and reputation.

Some people become “famous for being famous.” Usually, their relative incompetence is more or less a private matter, attested to only by workers in the same field; but there are those who fail publicly without loss of reputation. ?

Don't get me wrong, "what we know" is still very important. The more we learn in school and through our experiences, the better equipped we are to handle new experiences. Our skills and knowledge will be our gateway to post-secondary education and earning more in our future careers.

Let me explain by example, what about a situation where there is a new job position opening up at a prestigious company, and two final candidates remain? Although one candidate may have a better educational background and slightly more relevant work experience, let's say the other candidate knows someone who is respected within the company. It's possible that a specific respected person personally referred and recommended the second candidate, giving them a valuable vote of confidence. Who do you think has a better chance of getting the job? In both cases, it's likely the second person has a better chance. According to a study done by CareerXRoads, referrals are the number one source of new hires. Almost 28% of new hires come from employee referrals.

The Bottom Line is everyone seems to put a lot of emphasis on the importance of building "what we know," but many fail to mention how important building "whom we know" is. In some cases, "whom we know" can be even more important than "what we know." Even though many of us aren't taught how to properly build our network of connections from our peers, there are a variety of ways we can do so. Whether it is online or in person, we have the opportunity to build "whom we know." You never know whom you'll meet next. The sponsors can be people or an organization like being a member of a ruling pollical party or getting supported by an influential person may help in the case of my county context.