I often get asked, “Wow, kareem! How do you do so much stuff?” and I often reply “I’ve got a great network”- ok that never actually happens…but I do have a great network that I can rely on (and take your mind out of the gutter, I’m talking real people not Twitter network or Verizon network, I’m talking about real life people that you can call.)
The great thing about growing your network is that it benefits your life both personally and professionally. There is a huge crossover appeal of having a large network.
1. Make Friends
This is a very easy thing to do. You find people who you want to get to know better and you talk to them. Hopefully, your personality doesn’t suck. There is a saying, “Never have lunch alone.” and I think that if you like to have lunch alone every once in a while, go for it but you should really try to have lunch with someone else.
Take it a step further by doing things you wouldn’t normally do. If your buddy invites you out to his weekly Knitting Club meeting, go with him. Make some new friends and step out of your element.
2. Collect Favors
Collecting favors is easy. When someone asks for your help, help them.
Example: “Hey Dick, I really really need to give my wife a ride to her job at the gas station night shift, do you think you could edit this report quickly and bring it down to the boss man?”
At this point you may be thinking to yourself, “It’s 4:45pm. I want to go home and watch True Blood for 4 hours.” Well, that’s too bad, Dick. Do this guy a favor and edit the report. He needs your help. Do this kind of stuff as much as possible. Do as many things for as many people, because in the end it pays off.
3. Redeem Favors
Now for the best part. All of those favors you’ve done for people over the years have added up into something great. Need some new tires? Call that guy you had lunch with that sells tires. Need to get your kid into a private charter school? Call that guy you met at the Knitting Club meeting. Forget to email a report to your boss before leaving for a vacation? Remember Jim? The guy that you edited the report for? Redeem your favors.