networking

Why We’re Bad At Networking #4: Narrow Focus, Narrow Interest

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So I’ve been asking – why are we so bad at networking sometime? So far I’ve covered the fact that we’re tired of hearing about it, incoherent issues on the basics, and too much confusing new stuff.

I mean let’s face it, it’s rammed down our throats, the basics are treated incoherently, and every week there’s Some New Networking Thing.

All of this crazy creates problems that are further amplified because we’re actually taught a very, very narrow view of networking.

Networking is for jobs. That’s what we hear about. That’s what we’re told. Spend all that time getting ready to network. Get that site together. Remove the embarrassing picture of you dressed as Jack Sparrow from Facebook. This is all about your job.

This kills it. This kills the fun. This kills the enthusiasm. This kills the humanity. I’ve covered this before, so let me put it succinctly.

The idea that networking should primarily be about your job is pure grade-A bulls**t.

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Why We’re Bad At Newtworking #3: The New Skew Review

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Last week as I explored why we’re bad at networking, I covered how the basics are actually poorly handled, taught, and communicated. Somehow among all the books and lectures, we manage to get the actual basics of networking made boring, repetitive, and incoherent. In turn, that turns us off to networking and misinforms us.

However there’s a flip side to Basic Buzzword Breakdown that also makes us bad at networking; The Onslaught of The New.

Look I’m a big Neophile in my own way (that means I like new things, not that I love Neo in The Matrix). I love new stuff. I love interesting stuff. However there’s a lot to be said for the basics, for the old school, for known things, and that “lot to be said is “this stuff works and is reliable.”

Unfortunately, as part of the Hammering On Of Networking (which I don’t think I’m a part) we get the latest new thing dragged out and shoved in our faces and shot into our eyeballs. There’s always some Big! New! Networking! Thing!

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Why We’re Bad At Networking #2: The Basics and Incoherence

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Last week thanks to a Twitter conversation, I decided to wade into a subject near and dear to my heart; why a lot of us aren’t that great at Networking.

This is not to saw I’m awesome, of course. I think I’m pretty good at it, though my goodness level is a bit erratic as it were; I think I could improve in several areas. But I do feel I do it well enough to be able to analyze it and give advice – if only because everyone else is bloody well asking me questions about it.

Last week I noted we got tired of being told to network and told how to network, drowned in hearing about it constantly, lost in details or generalities, lost in BS. We were overwhelmed with being told about it, and we tune it out – rather understandably.

Networking got buzzworded badly.

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