Social life is our oxygen for survival. WIthout people around us we cannot live. Well this is a known fact but what is often ignored or rather kept subtly under wraps is the art of networking. I may not have much knowledge to call this a world wide phenomenon but having lived in this city for over 20 years I could fairly say that with contacts and a strong network one can really go far in life. Corporates pay people huge number of lakhs just for using their contacts and getting work done with simple human skills. You need good influential people, who you would love to call friends to do a whole lot of things in life, like getting your children married, if its an arranged amalgamation, to get a secured admission in some college if you weren't that impressive on your mark-sheet, to get publicity of your work, to get potential clients, build a social circle you could invite to your parties, to get authentic information, to get club entries, to get VIP pavilion tickets for a match and just about everything.
Its cheap to take away the genuineness out of relationships and just evaluate them on the basis of what you can gain from them. But its smart to be social and open to meeting people and hanging out with colleagues and just people from your domain of work to get things into smoother motion. It works for both sides. Going out and spending time and money is not a waste if your networking. Meeting friends friends and bosses friends can be cool. But don't ruin chilling with your close knit people and pulling their leg over inebriations. Some relations work without an agenda and should be kept that way.
So how do we start mingling. Its not an overnight change that you will witness, its a bend of mind and more of a mental thought that has to be inculcated. Just be good at your work because that is what people recognize you with and eventually its a give and take equation so only if you have something to offer you have something to gain and execute. Besides that just be wide minded and less judgmental about the different species that you encounter. Its important to learn to simply accept people. Respect subordinates too because they're the ones with more hands on experience. Hang out more and talk more with different people from different professions. Especially breaking the ice with people older than your age. Like chilling with your parents friends can be a debut. Learn more about art, sports and social issues as these are common connects and conversation initiators. Keep in mind public relations is not just for mass media graduates its for the entire race.
"Well all this food for thought is on the house but surely an investment."
"We must rapidly begin the shift from a "thing-oriented" society to a "person-oriented" society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered."
ReplyDelete-Dr. Martin Luther King