Networking will make you Streetwise

Many years ago, networking was regarded as slightly underhanded — akin to pulling strings or joining some country club cartel. Now, however, networking is an essential and wholly legitimate part of commercial life, scheduled on the agenda of every business event or conference.

Some people excel at it, while others hate it. There are plenty of successful entrepreneurs I know who see coffee cup conversations as a waste of time.

However, if there is one gift I was born with, it is the ability to speak to anyone, whatever their job or background. My mother told me she spotted it when I was very young. From very early in my career I used a conversational gymnastics to vacuum up knowledge and know-how from people with experience and contacts. Let’s face it, I love to talk to people! Very quickly, I realized how much better at business this made me. Over time I have become an experienced networker.

You can look at the art of networking from various perspectives. One is that if you have a business idea you can get it in front of the right people. Not necessarily by buttonholing the richest or most influential person in the room. That can work if you’ve got an utterly compelling plan, but if you just have a hunch you risk earning a reputation of being a little too conniving, and it never works.

Still, if you do meet someone with real clout, give them a quick, sharp idea of what you have in mind, in the hope of arranging another meeting. But in my experience Warren Buffet, Masayoshi Son and the representatives of the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund are seldom seen asking for a coffee refill at trade fair “networking sessions”.

The other view is that talking to business people often generates ideas in the first place. We all know of occasions when the first whisper of a great opportunity is heard during a snatched conversation in a noisy room. In effect, networking can be a form of crowdsourcing, especially if you mix with multi-generational people in business who spot opportunities in a different way. Each generation has its own mindset and a different set of shared experiences.

"Networking helps you share insights and generate your own ideas fizzing with youthful potential."

You should certainly take networking seriously, especially if you are at ease talking to people. Work out who can help you and be open to anyone with interesting insight or an idea. Don’t push too hard but be ready to cut through the noise. You can waste a lot of energy on pointless conversations with people who just like talking and have little to offer.

Networking is an inescapable part of business and I’ve gained so much from some very quick conversations in crowded rooms. It can also be extremely enjoyable and therapeutic to share challenges and learn about alternate solutions. Business doesn’t have to be a humorless grind. But don’t regard networking as a shortcut to success.

"There’s no substitute for great ideas and hard work allied to the execution of a well-drafted and streetwise plan."