Having a great network is the difference between success and lonely Saturday nights. I’m going to share a couple of tips that I have learned over the years that keep my network as powerful as CTU’s.

Networking has been done very wrong for years. It’s not a ‘cool kids’ club as most have turned their contacts into. It’s actually much easier than that.

Fame doesn’t matter. People do.
Whenever you meet someone of note, make it count. Show them that you are interested in them as a person first, and as a contact second. At the core of networking is mutual respect. Get to know that person well, and they will return the favor .

Don’t wait. Get to the point.
The #1 mistake people make in networking is failing to quickly identify what they actually want their new special contact to do. Don’t waste another email. “Maybe…. If you could….Not now, but soon…..Hey, I was wondering” are the kiss of

Have you ever felt validated?
Maybe you won an arguement, recalled an obscure fact or simply felt like you were smarter than your peers because you scored an A+ on your last exam. Validation is great…for yourself. But rarely does being validated have a positive effect on groups of other people.

Sure you feel awesome, high-fives all around. But what can other people do with your validated thought? Not much.

However, if you simply change your personal validation into a team-driven expression of progression or creativity, you create something much more powerful.

 Influence

Changing the behaviors, speech, emotions of others is far more valuable than validating your own thoughts. It is important to validate assumptions before digging in on an idea. That’s true in most cases. There are sometimes when you need global buy in to your assumption that takes you past validation to the