While others are free to talk about business networking in whatever terms that work best for them, as a networker who is deeply depending upon networking
as a way of life, I could care less about the tiresome “quality versus quantity” argument as currently formed. Nor do I care about its latest iteration in
disguise, the “promiscuous versus celibacy” argument and the linguistic traps in which both of these equally banal concepts can corner us.
Neither argument solves my business networking issues - nor yours – nor do they solve much else as far as I can see. For me, neither has contributed anything to the enhancement of professional business networking and neither gets to the heart of the matter to address my immediate needs as someone who’s networking with a business purpose in mind.
Quantity versus Quality is like having the H in one hand and the 2O in the other – WHILE YOU DIE OF THIRST because you never blended them together so that they could FLOW TOGETHER to bring vitality to your life!
When you're thirsty, you need H2O!
I'm thirsty!
Because I don’t believe in trying to dismiss a thing without coming up with a positive replacement, I’d like to suggest a possible alternative
conceptualization of the networking universe. I call it The “C.I.A. T.I.P” Tip.
Let me explain:
Quantity versus quality is about dichotomy, breaking things down, analysis.
The “C.I.A. T.I.P” Tip is about chemistry, a blending of elements, bringing things together, a kaizen, a synthesis of things.
In using The “C.I.A. T.I.P” Tip for your business life, it is okay to visit the subjects of quantity and quality, but these elements must now be seen as
continually FLOWING together towards a centralized PURPOSE.
And that purpose is to get wealth - the purpose behind the purpose of our being in business in the first place.
Deep down we know we want to get wealth so that we can live dynamically – POWERFULLY – and FEEL JOYOUSLY ALIVE, FULLY alive in the process of networking on purpose!
That is all that matters. Not quantity by itself; not quality by itself; but, rather, quantity and quality both interactively alive in our lives, generating the
power to live and to do business - and to do business DYNAMICALLY better.
While the “C.I.A. T.I.P.” Tip is not just about “quantity v quality”, it is also not about charts and lines, nor even degrees. – For if 6 Billion people were 1 degree away from you and you couldn’t influence at least 1 person to come together to help you do business better, you and your business are in for a long dry haul on your way through a short business life.
The “C.I.A. T.I.P.” Tip is about interactivity. LOTS of interactivity. FLOWING interactivity. Kaizen interactivity. The “C.I.A. T.I.P.” Tip is about
communication. Dynamism. Energy. Interacting with people. The very thing life is about. Indeed, The “C.I.A. T.I.P.” Tip is about LIFE! Not charts.
Not lines. Not degrees.
Though Linkedin is my favorite platform and the one I intend to pay even MORE attention to as I seek to earn a 6 figure income in using Linkedin over the next 12
months, it doesn’t matter to me whether its topology is 4 degrees of separation or 3 or 2 or 1.
You can’t interact with degrees or lines or charts.
You can only interact with people.
Successfully finding people, attracting people, bringing people together, retaining people together, and moving them towards a specific business purpose,
towards the light I can see from time to time, is the way I plan to get wealth and to live more dynamically over the next 12 months. (A change from my former 3
month view.)
It is energy and ability and speed that you need. It is power that you need, power from people.
IF you’re going to solve your problems through the concept of networking to get the power you need from people, then the concept of networking boils down to
these three things:
1. Confluence
2. Influence and
3. Affluence
1. To get the power you need, you must bring people together: That's Confluence
2. To bring people together, you must effectively communicate with them: That's Influence
3. To derive power from people, you must interact with them the right way: That's the way to Affluence
1. Confluence is what most people think of as “networking”.
2. Influence is actually closer to networking as I see it. For in addition to practicing effective communication skills here, you can also put into practice such true networking concepts as “givers gain”. It is about such matter as diplomacy, courtesy, respect, persuasion, etc.
3. In the last one, Affluence - the right way – is VERY IMPORTANT. The right way is about the HOW of relationship building from creation to nurturance to
growth to maintenance & repair. It is about power generation at its best. It's about commitment, fortitude, persistent determination, believing long enough, etc.
NOTE: It is intentional that all three C.I.A. concepts suggest “flow”, “water”, “liquidity”, fluidity”. There is so much power in flow that we sometimes look right through it. And for those who think that “flow” as a concept is powerless or anemic, think about the power “flow” displayed on December 26th, 2004.
Humanity was helpless against that particular flow. A flow whose associated earthquake was so powerful, it affected the earth’s rotation and LITERALLY CHANGED TIME that day. The C.I.A. concept can change time for you, too. Giving you more of it by helping you have an abundance of hands continually available to help at just the time you need them: the right time - proactively.
If you can keep your focus on Confluence, Influence, and Affluence, and if you can work on getting them positively interacting in a balanced way in your life,
THIS IS POWER! You’ll be giving yourself power. Real living power. And that’s the best networking power T.I.P. I can give you today.
Thanks!
Vincent Wright
My Linkedin Power Forum
http://www.MyLinkedinPowerForum.com/
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