A Smarter Way To Network

I'm back after a two month hiatus from graduate school at Notre Dame. Homework and exams have consumed much of my time, but its all worth the effort in the end. 

I recently read an article in the HBR (Harvard Business Review) that mentions successful executives connect with select people and get more out of them. Obviously this caught my attention, since I base much of my business activities around networking. Below are a few excerpts that are worth reading.

We all know the old adage, "it's not what you know, it's who you know" is true. But it's more nuanced than that. In spite of what most self-help books say, network size doesn't usually matter. In fact, they've found that individuals who simply know a lot of people are less likely to achieve standout performance because they're spread too thin.  

Yes, it’s important 

to know powerful people, but if they 

account for too much of your network, 

your peers and subordinates often perceive 

you to be overly self-interested, and 

you may lose support as a result.

The data collected pointed to a different 

model for networking. The executives 

who consistently rank in the top 20% 

of their companies in both performance 

and well-being have diverse but select networks 

made up of high-quality 

relationships with people who come from several different spheres and from up and down the corporate hierarchy.

Finally here's four important steps that came about from this article to implement inside your networking strategy;

1. Analyze - Identify the people in your network and what you get out of interacting with them.

2. De-layer - Make some hard decisions to back away from redundant and energy-sapping relationships.

3. Diversify - Build your network out with the right know of people, energizers who will help you achieve your goals.

4. Capitalize - Make sure you're using your contacts as effectively as you can.