The turn of events in life forced me to move out of my comfortable paid job as a Human Resources Manager. The paid task was routine, laid back and not taxing. The loss was not life threatening as financially I do have the option to retire, sit at home and relax. But that was not what I wanted. The options with me were limited; first to apply for another HR job, second to start my own consultancy in my skill strength areas, and lastly to retire. Working again in the commercial world did not seem attractive anymore and retirement was not an option that I wished to consider. Consequently, I decided to start a new consultancy business.
At that time, the “network” that I had, came into play. No excuse was acceptable as I was myself squarely to blame for having ignored the strength and potential of a strong network of friends, acquaintances and well-wishers. A sheltered existence in having worked in amazing organizations all parts of the world in mid-level to senior positions led me to believe, wrongly, that I will not need a network to support me in life. This ill-informed belief was further evident when I needed someone to go to, to seek an opinion in my chosen field of consultancy of Strategy, Risk and Leadership. I had contacts but not at the level where I could get could mentorship, guidance or support. Starting a new business was difficult when I did not have many prospective clients or anyone in my network who could refer me to a client. But I was resilient enough to realize that it was never too late to build a complex web of people who could be my support system.
The fault was always mine. My usual refrain used to be that I hate networking and here I was cursing myself to not have developed a network who would stand by me. I realized that my sheltered work life had given me the distorted notion of being self-sufficient. In reality, network leads to more job and business opportunities, broader and deeper knowledge of subjects of interest, improved expertise to innovate, faster advancement in career, expanded skill set and greater authority. Additionally, building professional relationships leads to skills acquired to increase the quality of work and increased job satisfaction.
How have I managed to bring this change?
The most important reason is the urgent need. If I have to succeed in my consultancy, I had to create a network of dependent experts. The overarching need is inter-dependence on each other to prosper and help each other. Did I get a brainwave to arrive at this idea? Not at all, this idea came from a successful HR expert in my network. He explained in detail how he had succeeded and the idea was born then.
How did I choose to approach these brilliant individuals? The basis was need and focus. What did I have to offer to them and what did they bring to the table to make a complete service offering for a prospective client. Which of my experiences complemented their experience? What learning was there from the current industry and trends? In essence, we mapped each other’s interest and common work areas. The entire research was based on honest appreciations and due diligence of facts. This was easier said than done. It was critical to evaluate what we could offer each other in place of what we could benefit from each other.
The strongest reason for our togetherness and respect for each other was the purpose of our individual work, values and beliefs. We had a common goal. Anytime that we connected with an individual thinking of what benefit we could get out of that connection, was something that indicated lack of authenticity in the relationship. The networking seemed “dirty”. Have you noticed when people walk into an event with a wad of business cards to be distributed in exchange to make connections? I could read such minds and what was happening in their brain. The entire exercise of knowing people seemed phoney.
It is almost a year of hard work and making new connections. Maybe it will take another year to have a meaningful circle of experts around me to rely on. Has my business grown? No, it has not but my confidence has most certainly strengthened. I am eagerly looking forward to networking with talented professionals from whom I can learn and start creating ideas for others to benefit. This last lesson that I have learnt is to network without looking how and what I will benefit from the relationship. Only then it would be a genuine relationship based on strong foundation of identical values and beliefs.
Ajit Sinha CPHR SHRM-SCP
Published on 26 Mar 20 on Linked in. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/importance-networking-ajit-sinha-cphr-shrm-scp/
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