Reid Hoffman (founder of LinkedIn) and Ben Casnocha , in their new book entitled The Start-up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career
Many people are turned off by the topic of networking. They think it feels slimy, inauthentic. Go figure. Picture the consummate networker: the high-energy fast talker who collects as may business cards as he can, attends networking mixers in the evenings, sports slicked-back hair. Or the overambitious kid in your graduating class from college who frantically emails alumni, goes to cocktail parties with the board of trustees to schmooze, and adds anyone he’s ever met as a friend on online social networks. These people are drunk on net-working Kool-Aid and await a potential nasty social and professional hangover. Luckily, building and strengthening your network doesn’t have to be like this.
Old-school “networkers” are transactional. They pursue relationships thinking only about what other people can do for them. And they’ll only network with people when they need something, like a job or new clients. Relationship builders, on the other hand, try to help other people first. They don’t keep score. They’re aware that many good deeds get reciprocated, but they’re not calculated about it. And they think about their relationships all the time, not just when they need something.
Networkers think it’s important to have a really big address book. This emphasis on quantity means they perhaps unknowingly form mostly weak relationships. Relationship builders prioritize high-quality relationships over a large number of connections.
Good thoughts with regard to building your online presence on LinkedIn, Twitter and other social media outlets.
Read The Start-up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career
