Last night I went to see the principal of a college to congratulate her on moving into a new house and also for a New Year wish. Me and my wife had a great time where in we talked to this lady and for the first time got to meet her husband. We spent about 2 hrs and felt that now our relationship with this lady principal has improved a lot and moved beyond mere professional level. Come to think of improvement in the relations, sometime back we approached this lady principal and she was kind of brusque and we thought that she is not very get along type. The meeting yesterday changed all that. Not only is she warm and cordial but very good by heart and we could know all this because we continued our relationship and didn’t give up and slowly she also got comfortable with us. Through this experience we felt that networking is a slow process and it take a long time for the relations to develop and nurture. Time and again I have felt that relations are fruitful when they move beyond just professionalism and get more personal.

In India networking is not a very well developed art and still looked down upon. Getting a job through networking is not considered ethical and is frowned upon. The case in US is exactly opposite. Most of the jobs come through networking.

After having done my MBA from US, and working in the corporate sector for more than nine years, I know that some people are smarter than others at getting things done. Now, I understand that the source of their effectiveness is their networking and relations building skills. Being an entrepreneur, I have realized that almost 99% of any business is about networking. However the process is laborious and time consuming but it is worth the effort. The networking is also all about proactiveness. The people who are proactive and are not afraid to make a blind call are good at connecting with others. The biggest stumbling block on the road to network is to have an inflated ego. Good networkers never have big ego and are always down-to-earth people.
If I were to write five ways to network I would say, in order of preference

1. Never Judge a person in the first meeting
2. Always initiate the calling process or make that call that you have been postponing for so long.
3. Do not expect big result in the first or second meeting but let the time take its course
4. Always have genuine interest in people and their work
5. Listen attentively

In India, unfortunately, networking is not something that is taught in school and colleges…though it should be. It is surprising that even b-school do not have any structured classes or curriculum on the benefits of networking. One probable reason may be that b-schools in India are churning out job-seekers and not wealth creators or entrepreneurs. The job seekers always think that it the duty of the college to get them a job. Training and placement officers should call the companies and network with them and not the students. This mindset has to change and the young people should learn this great art of networking. It is not only about MBA or about any particular career but in almost every possible sphere of life, networking can be put to great use. If not use, it is always nice to have someone to talk to and share ideas and opinions. We humans are social animal and to live in a society we have to learn the art of socializing and be adept at it to be successful. When Mahabharata was destined to take place, Sri Krishna said to Arjuna to go and seek the blessing of every possible king. He asked Pandavas to send ambassadors to all the Janpadas to network and invite the kings to fought from their side. Networking is an old and useful art and will never loose its shine.