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?
Audentes fortuna iuvat.
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?
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).
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.
An excerpt from McBethernet. I’ll see myself out.
The kind of people who stick around because you pay them aren’t the people you want to stick around.
Coincidentally I notice that Conagra Brands, Inc. (CAG) is trading down at the moment (28.01-0.28) so if you’d like to buy some shares in one of the biggest producers of popcorn in the world now’s a good time lol
lolirl :) I did not get the joke at first and genuinely thought there was a new condition called AD4K… (facepalm)
Well, I’m reading and writing about it on kbin and haven’t been back to reddit since, so the protests were 100% effective on me. I’ve had to learn that if I’m in an abusive relationship there’s no point trying to get the abuser to change. I have to make sure I’m not under their control anymore. So on that front the protests were the push I needed to leave and find a better community. 100% success :)
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.