Networking is overrated

I write weekly about the strategies, habits, and tactics around cultivating the connections that matter to you.

“Networking is overrated… Go do something great and your network will instantly emerge.”

Naval Ravikant, one of the most respected Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and investors, has been pretty public about his disdain for networking.

Despite spending the past ~13 years publishing tools and insights around cultivating your network - I agree. Well, I mostly agree.

I do believe one of your most critical assets is your relationships.

I know how transformational relationships can be for your business, career, and life.

Your relationships will help you get referred. It’ll help you get that first meeting. It’ll help you open the door.

But you still have to be good at what you do.

If you grind hard to get that introduction, it’s a lost cause if you bomb the project.

That referral does you no good if it turns out your skills are at/below average.

Scoring that first meeting is a waste if your presentation is zilch.

If what you’ve built is junk, “nothing kills a bad product faster than good advertising.” (Jerry Della Famina)

When I used to host large tech meetups, I’d sometimes see the same people in the room every time “networking” for their startup - when it was clear that their “startup” was nothing more than a napkin sketch. There’s a term for that - wantrepreneurs.

This might seem obvious to you, but even I need the reminder from time to time. Being good at what you do has to be table stakes.

My love and interest in what I do now came from getting referrals out of the blue not because I was out there “hustling.” I happened to be a pretty solid freelancer, who happened to know a lot of people.

My focus these days in my CRM and training is to reduce the of time you need to spend on your “network” - so you can spend the majority of your time doing great work with great people. And watching the debut of breakdancing as an Olympic sport, obvi.

Whatever it is. Be good at it.

Until next week,

-Zvi

If you found this valuable, have you snagged my course on cultivating your network?

I’ve spent the past 12 years helping people like you grow their businesses and careers by cultivating the relationships that matter. I took everything I’ve learned and practiced and put it in a professionally produced online course.

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