Math is beautiful. It helps to bring order to our world and is surely the most universal language. I’ve been fascinated with numbers my whole life and rely on them as I bring analytical thinking to my daily operations. As such, it should come as no surprise that I believe that it plays a role in networking, too.
Perhaps you’ve heard of the theorem from statistics and probability theory called the “Law of Large Numbers,” first introduced in the 18th century by mathematician, Bernoulli. It claims that the more you do something, the closer and closer to the expected outcome you will get.
To that end, as I believe that most networking interactions are positive and additive in nature – and lead to happier, more successful people – based on the Law of Large Numbers, one might conclude that the more one networks, the happier and more successful he or she will be! That’s the X-Factor in networking.
You’re not going to find this in the dictionary or on some website. No math professor is going to lecture you on this topic. I made it up. Suffice it to say, I believe that there is a multiplier effect to networking. The more people you know… the more you establish and nurture authentic, meaningful connections… the more you have to work with. This is not about stockpiling relationships. This is about building strong relationships over time, connecting the people you know to one another, expanding the proverbial pie (pi?). We’ll call it my Law of Large Networks.
Happy Networking!