When Networking Doesn’t Work, but Real Connections with People Do
Last week’s blog about networking events not working, got me thinking about the word ‘networking’ itself. I have often thought it a rather unfortunate choice of word for a people skill deemed so important in business. Whilst you may hear that ‘networking’ may help you to run your business successfully, this word really doesn’t convey the power of people and strong relationships in business.
Indeed ‘net-working’ can at times seem slightly contrived and manipulative especially when people only start to network because they desperately need new customers or a new job. Whilst stop-start networking activities also can also add to the feast and famine syndrome in business, networking itself may be unsuccessful when speed seems of the essence. Frequently people simply fail to grasp that good relationships just cannot be rushed!