Networking is just getting to know a bunch of assholes. This picture is 100% accurate.
There’s nothing cringier to me than uttering the phrase ‘let’s connect’ - in a work related context
It’s fashionable to say that networking sucks apparently. Personally, networking has made it possible for me to start a business, help it grow and turn it into a success. Networking has put food on the table, it keeps a roof over my head and it’s given me a life I didn’t think I had a shot at. When I hear people say it doesn’t work it always makes me wonder if maybe networking isn’t the problem.
There are networking rules I live by though. No high pressure, power handshake, traffic light system, dog eat dog, alpha male BS. It’s about really getting to know a group of people and deciding if you like em and if you’re going to help em. It’s about being real, being genuinely helpful and open to suggestions. A good networking group will let you know your iceberg towing business is probably not going to work out that well. A great group will notice how quickly you were able to put together a team of tugboats, refrigerated trucks and distributors and suggest that actually you might want to start a supply chain management business instead.
But networking is so much more than just getting leads too. It’s a life university course for the price of breakfast. About 30 people in the same boat as you who want your help and have lots of help and advice to give you. Starting a business is lonely and confusing. A good networking group helps a lot with that.
Yeah, but a lot of us don’t want to be extroverted entrepreneurs like you apparently are, but we’re forced to do that shit against our will anyway.
It’s not that we don’t think it’s effective; it’s that it’s extremely uncomfortable and we hate doing it.
Lot of us don’t have to be businesmen. We can just get hired and delegate the networking to our bosses.
How are you gonna get hired without networking?
I don’t understand who is forcing people to network against their will. Do you mean that they feel they have to in order to grow their business?
You have to network to get a job – even just as a wage slave, not a boss or a business owner – so you don’t starve.
Don’t think anyone is saying it doesn’t work. Context here specifically is that many people hate having to do it.
When I made my first comment there were only two other comments in here suggesting that Networkers were all a “bunch of assholes” who aren’t genuine and say things like “let’s connect” when they don’t mean it. Since then the conversation has become a lot more nuanced.
what is the traffic light system? google of course failed me
Oh sorry yeah I should have clarified. There’s one global networking group who are notorious for putting members under huge pressure to deliver leads constantly. They developed a system based on traffic lights to assess your worth to the group on a monthly basis. It’s horrible and their excuse is that “it works”. Well… punching yourself in the face constantly will also help you handle punches but is there another choice? According to them… nope. That kind of networking is insanely toxic. How I discovered this was that I was forced by an employer once to go to this group’s meetings for a year and I hated it. Thankfully, I’ve found that there’s a ton of much nicer groups around (often started by ex-members of the super toxic one).
I’m guessing it’s how you need to put everything in traffic light colors to not confuse the pointy haired people. Red = bad, Yellow = warning, Green = good.
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Your comment is insightful and presents a different pov, I don’t think it should be downvoted simply because its point is against the grain of the comic
