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Reap Management Series (9) Are you Networking Right?

Reap and Arcenciel
May 14, 2017
4 min read

One of the commonest words in the business of success motivation is networking. I don’t even know if it is a verb or a noun. Its etymology is in engineering but it became a terminology in the fast-growing inspiration industry when practitioners, in search of esoteric phrases, colonised it and imported it into the world of entrepreneurship, the new world where every Tom, Dick and Harry has been advised to join if they must escape the poverty trap that killed their hardworking forefathers. Thou shall network, that is the first commandment. The message is this: If you don’t know how, you must know who. If you know both how and who, the better. But “know who” is key, especially in Nigeria, because to know who is to have access, access to ears, access to minds and ultimately, access to the big pot.

Many people spend millions, calories and precious time searching for the access. They go from highbrow city clubs to gold-layered worship centres, looking for men and women in power. They hang out with friends after work, pepper soup, beer and all, sniffing, just in case the information that might be the next career move drops. Networking has become so loose that it is almost a euphemism for late night outs, binge drinking or irresponsible lifestyle.

Well, for all it is abuse, networking is key to business success. But doing it is one thing, doing it right is another. Doing it right is getting the desired results from it, getting the deals, doing the transactions and ultimately, making the money. That is the only time all the nights in the club, all the complimentary cards in the drawer and all the time attending wedding and birthday parties, are worth the while.

If you must know, networking has a strategic content. It gives you what you want if you give it what it takes. We have ideas as to how you can flesh it out if only you follow the guide the questions provided below:

What is in it for them?

Many people go into a friendship or join a club, obsessed with the receiver mentality. They think more take-take than give-give. What contracts can they get from that Minister? Which CEO can they meet that will give them that account? What project will that friend allocate? They always forget that the same club needs donors for its projects; the CEO they are so desperate to meet also need to win businesses to stay in that position. So why seeking out the CEO, are you also thinking of what to give first that will blow his mind and get him indebted to you? Reflect. Isn’t there a deal you can have that might just feel like you are the one doing him a favour? Networking works for those who create platforms for giving, in whatever form. Networking is a farmer’s market; the farmer sows to reap.

Has there been any question on my integrity?

People do not buy integrity off the shelf; they search for it beyond the neon lights and the sign boards. They use torchlights and commissioned agents. They know it is scarce, yet highly important. Saying it and doing it exactly the way it is said is very critical in a network. Once integrity becomes an issue, the vehicle stops because people will always check and crosscheck with others. The challenge with integrity is that it is hardly regained once it is lost.

Are my skills or competencies well-advertised?

You are not likely to be the only engineer in the club; so, the Engineer something on your card may not mean so much to anybody beyond the fact that well, you are an engineer. So instead of being known just as an engineer, be known within your network as one of the few engineers that that can construct a bridge from the earth to the moon. Find a way to advertise what we call the “Inner Skills” without being boastful or pedestrian. This is when networking makes sense, beyond the pedestrian level of just hanging out and drinking with the boys.

What objective will this friendship, association or club help me to achieve?

The reason for every relationship should be well known to you. Its ok to have friends, acquaintances or buddies, in whatever arrangements you choose. But you should be clear on the basis and the objectives. Friends may be soulmates but friendship must not flow into business or professional relationship. When a deal goes wrong among friends, sentiment usually stands in the way of common sense and fairness. This is business/career killer number one. The answers to the question may be a lot more revealing to you if you ask during deep moments of introspection.

Is it still making sense?

Reality check is critical in our lives, every now and them. The world is a shifty place so what makes sense three months ago may be nonsense as we speak. It is not inconsistency; it is the tyranny of time and season. So, ask occasionally: is this network-friendship or membership- still making sense? If it is, how about the terms and the dynamics? Do I need to keep coming to the club every day? Do I need to change the session? Should I still be participating in this programme? What is the benefit of hanging out every weekend-now or in the future? No harm in checking your network health, every now and then.

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