Nice one Joshua.
My view on networking is that a lot of people don't think about who they network with and whether their network is going to help them meet their objective. With a bit of thought, you can make your network so much more effective. By knowing what you want to achieve, you can proactively grow your network with the RIGHT people.

What do I mean by RIGHT people? Well, draw a simple map of you network and try to categorise who they are and how they can help you.
For example, do you need EXPERTS who can help you with product/technical/industry/professional advancement? Do you need INSPIRER who can bring fresh thinking and ideas and opportunities into your world? How about NAVIGATORS who can tell you who the players are or point you in the right direction. Maybe UNLOCKERS who can give you access to resources (people, money, time etc). Or SPONSORS who would be prepared to support you and your ideas to other people.

Is that it? No! There are INFLUENCERS who would work behind the scenes to win you support. And CONNECTORS who can make introductions and connect you with people who will help you reach your end goal. Sometimes you need a reality check and some honest talking... so do you have IMPROVERS in your network who are prepared to give you constructive feedback? Or CHALLENGERS who confront your views and ideas and help you see errors and blind spots. At the personal level you need NERVE-GIVERS who give you strength at difficult times and help give you a sense of purpose - they spur you on when the going gets tough. And when you need to be grounded and concerned about your well-being, especially outside work, do you have access to ANCHORS who can put the pressure of work into perspective and hold you to account for the balance in your life.

So... Networking.... its not just about making connections.... it's about making the RIGHT connections....the ones that help you reach your objectives, whether work or home life. Having 150 Facebook friends and 500 connections on LinkedIn is NOT proactive networking. Be selective, be organized about the connections you make. The end results could be far more effective than you ever dreamed possible.

Chris Starke ( chris.starke@sas.com )
OE&D NEMEA