I'm sad to say I wasted a few decades of my life before I grasped the real value of networking. The 1987 dictionary defines it as"establishment and use of a system of professional contacts in business and industry for such purposes as mutual guidance and exchange of information about jobs". Multi-level marketing was more popular in that day and was sometimes called network marketing. With the high unemployment in today's economy, these more traditional views of networking still exists. The Pensacola Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a "networking" event this week that appears to be no more than matching up employers with unemployed people. It all seemed to be an unpleasant situation of meeting strangers and taking turns using each other, so I avoided any opportunities involving networking.The on-line dictionary "The Free Dictionary" today defines networking :To interact or engage in informal communication with others for mutual assistance or support. The social networking site MY SPACE kicked off this more updated view of networking. FACEBOOK took the market by storm and now has well over 100 million "subscribers". LINKED IN and PLAXO are several of the business networking sites that more closely resemble the networking of old. The big difference is that geographic areas no longer confine the contacts that can be made, and the software provides all the information about each person so you don't have to ask questions in a conversation to find out the facts you want to know. This is also a weakness as the rest of this blog will show.
The start-up of our office in Pensacola (see the April 2008 issue of this blog) involved moving to a city where I knew very few people, and hiring people from outside the area who were in the same situation when they moved. Through church, Toastmasters, and business I soon met hundreds of people, many that I got to know over time. The Brand and Advertising Manager that moved here from Texas purposed to get to know the people she met, so that she would meet the people they knew. In the same way that FACEBOOK growth has been exponential, one of her contacts who owns a sports marketing agency seems to know everyone in our key markets. As I'm able to meet the people she met and the people he knows, for the business reasons presented, the real advantages of networking are so clear.
The number of "friends" I have on the social networking site FACEBOOK continues to grow, across all age groups, states, and even countries. The number of "friends" I have off-line are just acquaintances until I take the time to get to know about them. Unlike website versions, people don't walk around with a way to know their beliefs, their dreams, their interests, and their goals. It requires time and conversation to have those discussions. The result of those conversations are how friendships are built. The mutual guidance and exchange about LIFE, not just employment, is where networking has the greatest value. Understanding the needs of others allows me to serve, often by finding people who can meet those needs. It's not taking turns using each other, as the first paragraph said, it's about helping each other.
Galatians 5:13 says "You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature, rather, serve one another in love". The fewer people you know well enough to be aware of their needs, the more focused on yourself you will become. Philippians 2:3 says "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourself". Jesus explained it this way in Mark 10: "Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many".
Networking is just an extension of our purpose, and the new technologies a quicker way to be aware. If your focus when you meet people is how you can help them, your list of friends will grow quickly. When you can link them with someone you previously met so their need is taken care of you are networking correctly.
