Years ago, when I was running a company for the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, I had the chance to meet Eric Ries, author of the The Lean Startup, and gleaned some excellent advice that I have taken to heart ever since: Treat everything as an experiment.
That’s the premise for Tip #3, “Experiment and Pivot Fast,” from The Luck Field Manual by The Polymath Investor. Try things quickly, see what works, and change course if it is not working. The goal is fast feedback loops. Do not get stuck stubbornly on a failing path.
This can be liberating wisdom. It turns out that not every approach to connection works for every person. Not every networking format suits every personality. Not every outreach strategy resonates with every audience. The temptation is to find one approach that feels comfortable and stick with it indefinitely. The smarter move is to keep experimenting.
Try the breakfast meeting format. See how it goes. Attend a conference in an industry adjacent to yours. Notice what happens. Host a small gathering instead of attending a large one. Pay attention to the quality of conversations that result. What works, do more of. What does not, modify.
When we test, observe, learn, adjust, we enter a virtuous cycle that is just as applicable to how we invest in relationships as it is to how we build products. The best connectors I know are tinkerers. They are always trying something slightly new, always curious about whether there is a better way. They do not confuse loyalty to a method with integrity. They stay loyal to the goal, which is genuine, meaningful human connection, and they stay flexible about how to get there.
Your network is a living thing. Treat it like one. Experiment, adjust, pivot, nurture, grow.
Happy Networking!
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This post is part of a series inspired by The Luck Field Manual: Rules for Engineering Serendipity by The Polymath Investor. The full manual is well worth your time. Read about it and download it here.