OK, what I was really thinking was, “Aw, jeez! Now I’ve got to shovel… again!”
But I know if I hadn’t been thinking about my aching back, I would have been thinking much more profound thoughts about the nature of networking.
Think about it. Each snowflake is tiny. A miniscule spec that can disappear in the slightest breeze. Put enough of them together, though, and you have drifts and piles in which a small child could build a castle.
Networking is similar. Each individual activity doesn’t add up to much. A phone call or an email, while appreciated, are easily forgotten. Build up enough of them, though, and over time your network will grow to support you in whatever goals you might have.
So many people make the mistake of thinking that they can start networking and suddenly have “drifts” of contacts who are ready to pass them business. Unfortunately, that just isn’t the case. Instead they need to focus on how they can build and strengthen their network one “touch” at a time.