Networking is simple; it’s just not easy. If it were easy, everyone would do it and do it well… and people don’t! This not a blog piece about the step-by-step process you need to employ to network effectively. No, this is to get you to stop and think about all the articles, books, blogs, podcasts and audios that you have read or listened to and aren’t following. This is an article to get you to stop and think about what you should be doing rather than what you know (or should know).
I do presentations around the world talking about how to apply networking to your everyday life. Sometimes I have someone come up to me and say, “I’ve heard people talk about some of those things before.” Hearing it for a year versus doing it for a year are completely different things. Success is about the “doing,” not just the “knowing.” In fact, I believe that ignorance on fire is better than knowledge on ice! The only thing more powerful is knowledge on fire.
There are so many things in life that look simple but are, in fact, not easy. Cooking is one of those for me. It always looks so simple. My wife can go into the kitchen and put a gourmet meal together in 30 to 40 minutes. Then I get into the kitchen and burn water.
Small repairs around the house–these things look so simple. Then I pick up a hammer and, well, it’s just not pretty. That’s when I’m reminded that I’m missing the”handyman gene.” It skips a generation in my family. My dad can fix anything. He’s incredibly capable with a toolbox. I’m not. When I was 17 he brought me into the garage and solemnly said to me, “Son, you’d better go to college, because you’re never going to make a living with your hands!” Good advice, Dad. Thanks.
Golf. Looks simple, right? I’m not talking about professional competition, I mean just going out and smacking the ball around some grass. Looks simple. I’ve learned however, that it’s not easy.
There are so many things in our lives that look simple but are not easy. Networking is one of them. It’s a skill. A skill that takes commitment and effort to learn and apply consistently.
So I’m giving you an assignment (sorry, my inner professor is coming out). Your assignment after reading this blog today is to think of one idea in a book, article, recording–anything–that you’ve read or heard over the past year or so that you wanted to apply to your life but never got around to doing. Your assignment is to find that article, locate that “something” you wanted to do and do it within the next seven days. If it’s something you do on an ongoing basis, then find a way to incorporate it into your life and/or your business. All excuses are equal – just do it.
Success is the uncommon application of common knowledge. You have the knowledge. Now apply it with uncommon commitment. It won’t be easy. But I assure you it’s simple.
This entry was posted on Thursday, June 19th, 2008 at 6:00 am and is filed under Business, Emotional Intelligence, Ivan Misner, Networking, Networking Education, Self Development. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
6 Responses to “Networking is Simple But Not Easy”
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June 19th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Very much true Mr. Ivan Misner. Neyworking like everything in life takes work. Even building a business from absolutely nothing is harder but possible. We would like to learn more from others. Contact us
June 19th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
You are accurate in that many people read up on things and never implement them! I have had my eye on a few tools to help enhance my sales on the blog that I have been running and I finally gave in and obtained a software called glyphius. In stead of sitting on my duff I have been using it to clean up my copy write and as a result my sales have been increasing. It is certainly worth while to turn a thought into action.
June 22nd, 2008 at 12:55 pm
In my experience as a Career Strategist, I would go so far as to say that without the ability, willingness and commitment to networking, it is virtually impossible to reach your career goals. The difference between the “do’s” and the “don’t do’s” ( or the “don’t do wells”) is significant.
June 26th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
Though I agree that all the knowledge in the world is useless unless it is put to work, it is helpful to have a plan. I just finished reading Get Noticed… Get Referrals by Jill Lublin. She uses straightforward plain talk to explicitly describe how to business network and build relationships. Like you said, if you were to just take one of the many concepts Jill suggests and put it to work, it is bound to make a difference. The cool thing is that the book is really full of ideas, surely you could fine ONE GREAT ONE that would work for you. Get Noticed… Get Referrals is already a bestseller on Barnes&Noble.com, and she is giving away thousands of dollars of free gifts on her special website: http://www.GetNoticedBook.com You even get a chance to attend her Crash Course in Publicity as her guest.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:02 am
[...] episode is based on a blog post Dr. Misner wrote. Successful networking isn’t about what you know, it’s about what you [...]
June 15th, 2009 at 10:52 am
Your post is very well crafted and I have learned. I’ve added your blog to my reading material. Thanks for the update!