You don’t have a good network if you know a lot of people, but if you are at the centre of a group of people who know each other.
The better people in a group know and appreciate each other, the more resilient and useful this network is. So it is important for you to create regular opportunities for your contacts to get to know each other or to intensify their relationships.
Regular events are still the best way to do this. Face-to-face meetings are the most effective way to bring people closer together. Online meetings or telephone conferences are no substitute for face-to-face meetings.
But you don’t always have to be the organiser. You can also arrange for members of your network to invite you to theirs, you can invite your people to other people’s events, or you can simply identify someone in your network who likes to host or organise events.
The important thing is that in the end everyone knows who brought all the people together, namely you.
Gatherings of your network also have another advantage for you: they make your network visible and tangible to everyone.
Just like a demonstration makes political interests visible, meetings of your contacts are a manifestation of your network strength.
Whether it’s garden parties, standing receptions or meetings in the forest: Get into the habit of making your relationships visible to all at regular meetings.
