By accident today I noticed a networking event. In Starbuck’s I happened to bump into two people I knew simultaneously (neither of which had previously met) and introduced them to one another.
One was a CEO of a couple of companies and the other an independent Management consultant who had been doing his own thing for the last 9 months but who had been struggling to win projects – each of which operated in closely aligned fields to one another – both had notable dealings with the automotive industry and each of which was in marketing but slightly different marketing functions i.e. complimentary but not competitive.
The conversation between all of us progressed a little, talking about the launch of the iPad yesterday which created a rapport, and a bond, and then on to what each of them did. It became apparent they had similar client types, the CEO had some very good relationships and volunteered to make some introductions – like you don’t get any better than Honda do you?
This observation demonstrates what can be achieved when networking in person takes place – even by accident – phone calls are great for networking but networking in person may help you go the extra mile.
