Who to network with

(upbeat music) - To kind of put it in context my way of like, understanding who to network with changed from when I started to where am I now. So the analogy I give to how networking has changed in my career. When we started, like say two decades ago, right? Networking was about the Rolodex model, I'm just collecting contacts. I make, I make this joke, but it's like collecting Pokemon you just get them, you put them in a thing and then you're like, you never use them again. But really what's happening is in the digital age when you've got all these networks and ways to connect, we're moving to model where it's not a Rolodex anymore, it's a map, right? that everyone wants to like go through you. And there, and that really at the core of it is the value. When you network within your industry, when you network within the circles you're constantly moving the downside is that the people that you connect to, are going to know pretty much what you know. You're not really expanding the amount of information or the connections you have through them. But what could happen is, you could like, build yourself up to the point where you know as much as they do, and you've built up strong relationships that you could then use to feed others want to get into the space, so that's the value there. But the real value to you is the person outside of that. The weak tie, the one hop away from the people you know. Because they have information that you don't. I'm going to use an anecdote for this, ask someone who's worked in like software, ask someone who's worked in like software, from research to like, teaching, to like, you know, from research to like, teaching, to like, you know, startups and like now and develop relations, sometimes picking people who are completely opposite to you, is the best thing. Because our brains are incredible. They love, they soak up stuff like a sponge and they love to learn. And the minute you find someone who's like away from your domain, you will not only learn something new, you will find a way to apply it to something you already do. A very true of example, art. I know a lot of people who are designers and artists and graphically kind of like very creative sorts. Watching them and learning them has helped me then come up with skills that are like visual note taking that help me refine what I do in my own work. that help me refine what I do in my own work. So broader picture, when you network So broader picture, when you network don't try to always network with people like you. don't try to always network with people like you. Within your industry network either because Within your industry network either because you want to go up and like, you want to go up and like, look for people at a different level from you look for people at a different level from you so you're going to learn something new. so you're going to learn something new. Or look for people outside your industry Or look for people outside your industry because you never know because you never know when the skill that you acquire through that connection, when the skill that you acquire through that connection, might come in handy. might come in handy. Let's face it, you know Let's face it, you know we're going to have ML and AI and all this stuff taking over, we're going to have ML and AI and all this stuff taking over, at the end of the day what is going to really, really at the end of the day what is going to really, really be of value to you, is being authentic be of value to you, is being authentic and having the human nature and behaviors and having the human nature and behaviors that only engagements with people who have experience that only engagements with people who have experience is going to give you. is going to give you. And when you learn from that, you'll always be valuable. And when you learn from that, you'll always be valuable. (Chime dings) (Chime dings)