We love to hear about the power of networking from people whom we admire. We know that networking can get a bad wrap, and that oftentimes, it takes the influence of those whom we deem “successful” to say something on the subject to make it resonate to those of us who may still not see the full value and power of networking.
We were recently reading one of Russell Simmons’ books and found this gem inside of it:
“…that experience not only introduced me to people but also to the art of networking. A dedication to hard work is always the most important quality, but an ability to make and maintain relationships is probably the second most important skill you need to make it in this business.”
Did you catch that? Second only to hard work (not skill or experience), in his opinion, is your network (i.e.: your ability to build and maintain relationships). That is so powerful! Why don’t we then spend equal or greater time and energy developing our networks as we do enhancing our skills?
Stay tuned here (and dig through our blog history) to get more tips and tools on how to cultivate and maintain your network. We at Network Under 40 believe deeply in this powerful concept and want to be a resource for you to do it well and see the fruit of it in your own life.