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During the past 20 years, the author has watch China move from being a developing country into an industrial superpower
Money Moves, 5/24: Chocomize Co-Founder Fabian Kaempfer talks with Bloomberg’s Deirdre Bolton about the business of customizing chocolate
The president's campaign has a new rule—no cell phones allowed
In honor of remote control inventor Eugene Polley, we recognize other influential but neglected inventors who have felt the sting of stolen glory
Forget Adderall. Traders now pop chia seeds to stay focused and energized
The Italian automaker and others are adding hybrid technology to elite cars
The storied bridge that links San Francisco and Marin County changed the face of California
Schools cultivate ties with startups before they're big successes
Dave McClure's traveling venture capital show scours the world for promising startups
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3. Treat your network well. It is not a renewable energy source. As Whitney Johnson elucidated, a network needs to be cultivated and nurtured. You are a steward of your network — use it for yourself but more so for the benefit of others. The more you share your network, the more it grows and increases in value and meaning to everyone.
When I first moved to Oberlin, OH, I commuted weekly to my AT&T office in New Jersey or somewhere else in the world. AT&T provided me all the network tools: a cell phone, voice and data network in my home, PC, laptop, etc. Commuting grew old, but when I decided to start my own business in Northeast Ohio, I didn’t know anyone in the business community. I contacted the Cleveland chapter of the Brown Alumni Club and although it took work, everything flowed from there — my clients, the VC Company I’m a partner in, collaborations and amazing friendships. In turn, my expanding network has been a joy to share with others as I watch them discover opportunities — from students I mentor to adults looking for new jobs.
For me, the network is literal survival. My family, throughout history, escaped to places where we had family or friends who would support, hide, and in the case of America letting my mom and grandparents enter, sponsor us. No sponsor, no entry; no entry, Auschwitz. Without the network, the odds of survival were slim to none. Fortunately, for most of us this is not the case. But don’t let that negate the importance of the network for your survival.
Without the network, you don’t get new ideas into your organization, you don’t see trends and issues that affect you and your customers, you don’t grow and develop your people with new challenges and opportunities, you aren’t attractive for young talent, you don’t learn about new technologies or business models, you don’t create new markets and you risk deluding yourself with your own ideas. You don’t increase your own value and advance your own career. Without the network you stagnate, you become stale. With the network you grow, provide meaningful and valuable solutions to your customers and not just survive, but thrive.
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