Something made me think the other day where a person was asking everyone they knew for help. Basically, it was done in a throw it out in the universe and see what comes back type of direction. While I did help in the minimum way that was requested, to me the request was very cold where it was like everyone was simply a number to them. Therefore, even though I believe I could have probably done more since I have more than average knowledge of the topic, since they didn’t take the time to essentially ask me personally it gave me the impression that this was more of a talk to the person when you need something routine where I then place the person in like an acquaintance category.
It makes you think, for all that time a person is spending to make as many contacts as possible wouldn’t it be better to actually develop a real genuine relationship with your contacts? This doesn’t mean you have to be like best friends. Instead, taking the time to actually understand what the person does professionally and how you can help them as well. I have always found the lottery mentality in trying to network with as many people as possible is not my cup of tea personally.
Instead, I personally would rather build actual relationships with people and see what I can offer them. Therefore, the other person should know too that if I am ever asking them for help for a business situation then they should know it’s because I trust them personally and professionally. Don’t we all tend to work and try harder for those who we have an actual genuine connection with too? It definitely takes more work to learn about people of course. But I think in the end it benefits everyone.