Thursday, November 19, 2015

Build your networks slowly and steadily...just the way nature does everything

Your network creates your net worth. - Sam Crowley

May be. Just know one thing - Net worth is not same as the self worth.

Build, enhance, nurture your networks. Fine. But like everything else in nature, let it happen naturally. Stop posturing to build fake relationships / networks, whether it is personal or professional.

As part of annoying corporate posturing, please stop inviting me to a quick coffee or even more ridiculous quick bite. That is what I call insufferable posturing. If our professional relationship is meant to develop into a fabulous win-win proposition, it will happen at its own time, at its own pace as long as you are fair to me. Be loyal. Be friendly. Deliver on your commitments. Be trustworthy. Be punctual and most importantly not a corporate a*$hole. I offer all this. That's why I expect and demand them in return.

Coffee people, quick bite people who forget their commitments or show up late to appointments because they were doing coffee or whatever else with others, forget it. You are just not going to jell with me. Coffee time, lunch time are my zen times. At those times, I rather enjoy my solitude than your company however nice you may be. And I don't drink my coffee quickly. And food, I eat leisurely and not quickly BITE! You do all that and that's why you carry Tums or whatever similar antacid shit wherever you go! Result of poor eating habits. What else you expect if you keep on doing quickie after quickie!?

Invite me to a meeting, working session, brainstorming session. That's fine. I will even show up 5 minutes ahead of time. Let's get some work done in a focused and disciplined manner. Let's repeat that. The feeling of accomplishment / achievement that follows will build the relationship slowly but steadily. No number of quickies, be it coffee or bite, going to get us there. Got it?

All my longstanding relationships, whether at work or elsewhere, have taken long time and a lot of time. They are all slow cooked to perfection. Somebody connecting with me on LinkedIn or Facebook and then expecting such a connection to leapfrog into a longstanding, solid relationship in one or ten stupid Starbucks visits (which I hate) is simply deluded. Move on.

PS: Not directed towards anybody in particular. Just my thoughts on what goes on at corporate workplaces. I do not have any such annoying people at work or elsewhere for which I am very grateful.

* Copied from my Facebook status

2 comments:

sunaath said...

I am not a corporate being but I can say that your advice is sound.

Mahesh Hegade said...

Thanks Sunaath Sir.