Hello everyone, and welcome to another poem for another day during this 30 poems challenge. This one is going to be directly influenced by an event that we were just a part of, in which networking and meeting new people was the mission of the evening. Networking is certainly a topic that most people tend to avoid, if not ignore and/or run away screaming from altogether. It definitely has often been a burden to us as well, not because we did not want to meet new people or difficult situations, but more so because of the formality and rigidness often depicted within networking events. Hopefully, what you take away from this piece are not only situations that you have encountered and can either learn from or reinforce what went well, but also that there are many others out there just like you that are not fans of this process. So, without further introduction, let’s begin:

Networking

I’m not talking about the way in which your internet service is wired to you,

or how individuals work together in various means within a company structure,

forged for efficiency and large growth with even larger profit margins.

I am talking about

How you talk to the older gentleman who sits next to you at the bus stop every morning,

reading the newspaper or apparently reflecting on days long gone by.

I am talking about

the person you always purchase your gum and morning coffee

from at the gas station across the street,

who

while you may not know their name,

you have known since they started and

who you have seen grown up or become more accustomed to their job or

at the very least become more comfortable in their environment.

That is networking.

No, it isn’t business cards, ties and pant suits, making sure your handshake

Is just firm enough without at the same time crushing the other person’s bones.

It isn’t the rigid schedule of

light refreshments and

listening to a morning keynote speaker before

breaking out into workshops and then lunching with fellow networkers and

then hearing the keynote speaker for the day.

By standard definition, that is how you network..BUT

that is not how you build a network.

You build it by occasionally speaking with the older gentleman in the cold mornings.

You build it by seeing how the clerk at the gas station is doing.

You build it by being you, realizing who you are, and striving to be better than you were

yesterday.

The rest of the infrastructure will come when you lay a foundation

that others want to build upon.

 

 

That’s going to do it for today. Make sure to check the previous six NaPoWriMo 2016 entries, and check back tomorrow for the 8th edition. Peace!