A VC in Vacationland

Mark Mason wrote an interesting piece recently on the disconnected professional. It was an admission that, although he dutifully collected people in his network, he realized that he was really not networking. It's worth a read and I'd like to offer a few more thoughts on why networking is important.

Full disclosure–I am not the world's best networker. In my group, that honor belonged to Bill Copacino, a dear departed friend who never missed the chance to meaningfully connect, and not just to get something from the person. Bill was genuinely interested in people, their aspirations and their challenges. May he rest in peace…

But I digress. Here are the few more thoughts:

• Don't live on a one-way networking street–remember that person that always calls you but you never call him or her? You need to take the initiative and do outbound calling. Today, to start the New Year, I pinged about 10 people in my network that I have been meaning to contact…a New Years resolution.
• Make an effort to meet important people in your industry–well, duh, of course, but do you actually do it? You will be surprised how many will be interested in speaking, especially if you have something meaningful to talk about with them. Too often, I hear people say that a person would never speak with them. Wrong…especially if you never tried..
• Don't be a LinkedIn connections addict–I have turned down or ignored at least  2000 people wanting to connect with me on LinkedIn. Why? I don't know them and am not interested in having a big network that I cannot stay in touch with. 
• Do post on LinkedIn–I send out three or so posts a day, with interesting articles that pertain to people in my network. Why? I enjoy reading the articles myself, so perhaps my network will as well. It's an easy way to stay in touch, people often comment, or get back to me and we have a conversation.
• Finally, look up from that smartphone–I've attended a few industry conferences this year. Everyone walks around glued to their smartphone and not making eye contact. Look up! Perhaps you could actually meet some people who could help your company or career.