Deeper, not wider

I was at a conference over the weekend, where there were so many great minds. Usually, when that type of opportunity presents itself, we think of networking - having conversations and the contacts of people whose goals, vision and or values align with ours. I mean, you never know what could happen in the future.

However, I have a different opinion. And from my observation from last week conference, I am much more committed to it. Often times, you see people fascinated with getting as many contacts as possible. They rarely care about making genuine connections or having common interests. There's usually this hassle to just get so many contact, which at the end of the day may not be useful.

This is what has worked for me. I have only a few friends and I am not one to jump at every opportunity to connect with someone.

What I do before I attend any program/conference is to write down what I am open to achieve at the conference. Maybe I rarely attend events and when I do, I want it to mean something.

Then I connect with people or someone who aligns with that goal. Or who really is of like minds and brings fresh perspectives to me. It is never about having many connections for me. It is about meaningful ones.

I go deep instead of wide. Instead of touching base with everyone, I prefer to make only one or two connections that I know will serve me. That’s the reason I have very few friends. The people who are closest to me are friends from secondary school and my masters program. That's over 30 decades and close to a decade ago respectfully. Every aspects of my life benefit from the bond I share with them.

And those I have only began to cultivate are also turning out to be an integral part of my life and future pursuit. And I, them.

I learnt to go deep when I was a sales marketer for a logistic company some years ago. I observed that the number of business cards I was getting was not commensurate with the number of sales I was making. So, I started to focus on making fewer sales calls, but more deep connections.

And the few connections I made connected me to organisations that I have been trying so hard to get into for months.

That’s what happens when you go deeper instead of wider.