There’s been much written lately in these pages offering great advice to young adults on how to build their networks, but what about those of us who have spent decades building a network? As senior executives, how do we continue to build, mine and reinvest in our network as our careers progress?
The basic tenets of networking haven’t changed during my career. I still always carry business cards, have an elevator speech and welcome the opportunity to meet new people, but the manner in which I grow and maintain my network has evolved.
My peers and I often share advice about how our approach to networking has changed with a few gray hairs. Here’s what I hear most often.
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It’s building relationships, not a network
Many people fail to develop a solid network because they treat it like a one-sided relationship or a transactional interaction. You can’t just connect with someone when you need something. Successful networkers treat it the same as building friendships and relationships with people in other aspects of their lives. At the later point in your career, your network should feel more like a collection of friends and acquaintances. If yours doesn’t then it’s because you treated your network like a personal credit line.
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You have to make time
As managers, it’s hard to find time in the day to do many important things like keep up with email and handling unexpected issues that arise, which means it’s easy to push networking down the to-do list. On a good day, effective networkers spend 50 percent of their time in some form of networking. On a bad day it’s 20 percent. It might seem counterproductive to a work schedule to spend so much time on the phone, email and in informal meetings, but my most productive days are when I dedicate the most time to networking.
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Keep the foot on the gas
The importance of handwritten notes hasn’t lessened, but I find it’s what occurs after that note that really defines your relationship with a person. Consistent and personal contact — again, just like building any other relationship — is paramount to cultivating a network. It’s not enough to send one congratulatory email a year about a business win. You must follow up with handwritten notes about special occasions and phone calls about anniversaries. One note is nice. Three or four over the course of the year grabs my attention.
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Don’t ignore the youth
As you get older, networking with younger people is such an important part of a business’s long-term success. You get to learn new things and better understand how they interact. When you’re conditioned to associate networking with coffee and business attire, it can be uncomfortable to throw on jeans and go to happy hour with younger people. Doing so is such a great way to learn about your staff and meet exciting young talent. Some of our greatest hires have come from friends of teammates we first met at ballgames on a Tuesday night.
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LinkedIn — friend and foe
LinkedIn is one of the best and worst things to have happened to networking. It’s the greatest because it’s made it so easy to aggregate and cultivate your network. With any business opportunity, the first thing I do is check LinkedIn for personal connections. That process used to take hours of phone calls and emails. But LinkedIn has made people lazy. I’ve spent 30 years building a network of friends and acquaintances with whom I am thrilled to make introductions. If I don’t know you then I’m not introducing you to my network. You can’t click a relationship.
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Reach across the aisle
It’s a natural tendency for people to be well-connected within industries and industry segments. With shared experience comes a natural camaraderie and common knowledge, and calling up a friend who manages a line of CPGs can provide an amazing amount of insight on a competitor in a similar business. Many times they’re acquainted with that person and can make an introduction. We’re fierce competitors within our industry segments, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have close friends in the opposing dugout.
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Take it out of the office
Formal networking events are great places to make introductions, but higher-level networking occurs outside work hours and in places that don’t have name tags. You have to take it out of the office to truly push your network to the next level. You have to sit in the suites, hang out on the field and in the clubhouse. You have to work the lobby at conferences and attend charity events. Networking happens everywhere and you have to be prepared at all times.
Networking is important for young people but it becomes even more integral in your life as you get older. Your network and reputation are the only two things you take with you as you move through your career; think of them as your own personal intellectual property.
The good news is that it’s never too late to start networking the right way. Need a jump-start? Pick up the phone and call someone to whom you haven’t spoken in 10 years. You’ll find you have plenty to talk about.
Mike Boykin (mike@bespokesportsmarketing.com) is CEO of Bespoke Sports & Entertainment.
