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En A Beautiful Breeze for Strategic Networking
Who do you know and how do they know you
As of 2020, McKesson was America’s largest drug distributor. It was also among the eighth largest corporates in the US. Jay wanted to know someone from the company, so he dove into Linkedin and started networking in strategic fashion that wouldn’t come forth as spamming. Within days he had established contact with three executives from the company. Two men and one lady. How possible was it for the company to ship tons of Covid-19 drugs to Kenya? He asked them in brief, data-laden messages. He was doing so on behalf of a pharmaceutical chain in Kenya whose CEO was a friend of his. They had forged their friendship during three bike rides in Karura Forest. Every single week without fail, Jay builds his social capital.
Ants are networking wizards. Photo by Sandeep Handa
Who are the people that you know and how do those people know you? The answer to this question constitutes your social capital. The CEO of that Kenyan pharmaceutical company knows Jay as a resourceful, solution-oriented person. The three Executives of McKesson, the American Drug distributor have also started knowing him as a resourceful, solution-oriented person. Their knowledge of him is borne from his authentic, albeit strategic interactions with them.
Go ahead and build your social capital deliberately, strategically, patiently and consistently. Cultivate symbiotic relationships with the right people. To do so effectively, ask yourself this question - how can I add value to this new contact even as I seek to gain value?
