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Networking: The Way to Win Favors, Funds, and Friends
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15010 |
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LIFE
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9 / 1988 |
1,544 Words |
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Patricia Harrison
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At a recent reception attended by more than four-hundred executives in private industry and government, a friend enthusiastically waved me over to have a drink.
"This is the most fabulous conference," she said, plopping a lime into a glass of club soda.
"You think so?" I replied, surprised at the assessment. "The speakers are terrible and the format is adequate."
"Oh, I agree," she said. "But the networking is fabulous!"
"Networking" may be the most overused but least understood word of the eighties. In theory everyone is doing it, yet no one is very clear on just what is supposed to happen.
What does networking mean to you?
Check one:
(a)musical chairs with business cards; (b)what the trapeze artist asks right before he swings; (c)a good way to kill an enjoyable dinner, party, or meeting.
Those of you who checked (c) probably have vivid memories of those early days of networking excess when we put on our dress-for-success suits, registered for the nearest "How to Succeed in Twenty Minutes" seminar and, armed with a year's supply of business cards, proceeded to hand them to anyone upright and breathing. We collected as many cards as we handed out, yet one week later could not remember which face matched which card. Neither did we know what was supposed to happen next.
The choices were murky: Should you call and suggest lunch or a power breakfast? What was a power breakfast, anyway? How much time should pass before calling? When was it too late to follow up?
At most meetings, the most successful person in the room was the speaker, so a lot of energy was expended elbowing one's way up to the podium to make "contact." Following "contact," you dusted off your resume, attached it to an obligatory note, and sent both into the abyss:
Dear Lee Iacocca:
I enjoyed your remarks. Enclosed is my resume. I will be calling you early next week to set a lunch date.
Sincerely,
It is easy to understand why some people still cringe whenever networking is mentioned, especially those who were often targeted for favors and funds.
Women: Too Transparent?
Joan Whalen, president of Worldwide Information Resources, Ltd., has seen erstwhile networkers come and go.
"Don't be insincere," she warns. "I think a great many women were too transparent when they tired to network--so much so that you could see a big
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