hierarchy jumps draft
Opportunistically strategic networking
I recently noticed while attending offline events (applicable to social media, too) how terrifyingly strategic some people are about networking:
- They meet you and then they identify if they can use you to get access to other people âaboveâ you in their subjective representation of some hierarchy.
- If ânoâ, they immediately drop the conversation.
- If âyesâ, they charm you. You donât even notice that. You introduce them to your friends. They make contacts. They forget about you and move further âclimbing the hierarchyâ.
When I first time noticed that, I thought it was a coincidence. But then I started to notice that pattern more and more.
Examples
1. Social media
Given:
- You have 10K followers and âsome 50K followersâ people follow you.
- A new kid in the town arrives.
The kid observes you and checks whom you interact with. Helps you in every way possible, you almost feel it is an obligation to help them back. You befriend online. You introduce them to your â50K followersâ friends. They drop you and repeat the same with your friends.
2. Offline events
Given:
- CEOs of popular companies arrive with their C-level managers and developers.
- A new kid in the town arrives.
The kid goes to talk with developers or friends of the targeted CEO, and then from there, they jump straight to the CEO or are even introduced by the CEOâs friends. Then they see if they can pitch their product to the CEO or ask them to introduce them to other CEOsâ.
Thoughts
Insights, lessons, or a few thoughts about this kind of strategic networking.
1. It works!
I am not going to judge if it is a good or bad approach to get familiar with people. It depends on your values. But it works!
The moment I noticed that, I saw many people practicing that approach in networking and it seems to function effectively for them. They get quickly what they want from life.
Why did nobody teach me that? Could I have done much more in life if I had been more strategic about networking?
However, it requires knowing what you want exactly, otherwise, you wonât be able to see who can help you achieve your objectives.