Networking made easy

As you might recall I made a personal goal this year to do a better job networking. 

As I do, I have been working on this a lot in a very deliberate and focused way.  Sometimes it’s been great, other times marginal, but I have made progress. 

I know that I’m not alone in struggling with the part of me that likes substance over flash.

I have never been one to have a lot of casual friends.  I guess you could say I’m an acquired taste.  I become more interesting and useful when people know me well, at first glance I’m either just too much or not very interesting. 

I also really enjoy the kind of trust and collaboration that comes from a close relationship, so surface and casual relationships seem a luxury that I don’t have time for (read I’m too lazy to bother).

In my quest to find a way to network that would work for me, I got some great help from Patty’s workshop.  I was very happy to see that she put this down in a blog for others who struggle in a similar fashion.  So for those of you who would prefer to hide in your office instead of going to a networking event I strongly suggest you read this Authentic Networking post.   I promise it will give you a whole new perspective on the idea of networking.

The key message can be found here:

Instead of thinking about networking success in terms of the number of people you meet at networking events, or getting big numbers on LinkedIn or twitter, think about Authentic Networking as making real connections with people that you would actually like to meet. 

Bingo! 

No longer am I stressed to meet a lot of people.  Instead I’m targeting getting to know better people who interest me.  After I accomplish that, I’ll move on to finding new people who interest me and lather-rinse-repeat. 

As a bonus, I have really been enjoying this goal.  Who knew?