Build Meaningful Connections with Strong and Weak Ties
The Resource Guide is created by Grace Liu and Gabriella Velazquez
Updated on Janurary 8, 2022
Study showed that start-ups with varied strong and weak ties have significantly better performance than the firms that have homogeneous networks. The study explained that there are multiple paths to success, while “there is a likely path to failure when the student entrepreneur is unable to diversify his network and sticks to a homogenized network over time,… [thus unable] to acquire the resources critical to an organization's success” (Haring, 2018, p. 70).
Table of Contents
Self-guided Tutorials and Courses
The courses selected can be audited for free and you can find the audit instructions for Coursera and Edx courses.
Attending a Networking Event (University of Washington)
Improve your ability to meet new people. Learn to give an “elevator pitch” (speech) to introduce yourself to new people and to highlight your key qualities. Make connections with people and use your skills to attend a networking event.
For courses related to connecting customers, refer to the Guide
For course related to connecting to investors and funders, refer to the Guide
Open Textbooks
Building and Connecting to Networks
By the end of this section, you will be able to: Define networking and describe its role in entrepreneurship; Describe networking opportunities; Describe local and trade organization networking opportunities; Identify nonprofit and governmental agencies offering networking opportunities
Podcasts and Webinars
J Kelly Hoey - Build Your Dream Network (The Accidental Entrepreneur Podcast)
J. Kelly Hoey (jkellyhoey.co), author of “Build Your Dream Network”, joins Mitch to discuss how to build a network, stay in touch and be memorable to the people you meet and connect with.
Career Building: Introduction to Networking (Carnegie Mellon University)
Presenter: Will Sanders, Recruiting from Scatch. Learn the basics of networking your way into an opportunity. In this session you will learn the basics of building your network, and simple things you can do daily to accelerate your career and opportunities generated.
The Lost Art of Connecting | Susan McPherson (Talks at Google)
Susan McPherson discusses her book The Lost Art of Connecting: The Gather, Ask, Do Method for Building Meaningful Business Relationships. Even before the pandemic gripped the world, we had become a nation engulfed in loneliness. People have hundreds of “friends” on Facebook, and countless “connections” on LinkedIn, yet real connection remains rare and elusive.
Networking with Curiosity (Stanford e-Corner)
Amy Chang is an executive vice president at Cisco. Following the acquisition of her startup Accompany by Cisco in 2018, she led Cisco’s multi-billion dollar Collaboration business and its Webex portfolio. In this talk, she describes an approach to networking that’s built on affinity and even friendship rather than short-term, transactional goals. She shares how her relationships and network shaped her career as she navigated a path from electrical engineering at Stanford to her current roles at Cisco and on the Proctor & Gamble board, with formative stops at McKinsey, Google, and elsewhere.
How to Build Instant Connections (Stanford e-Corner)
In this illuminating lecture, bestselling author Ori Brafman explores subtle drivers that can help you spark immediate work, life, and romantic connections. Based on insights from his latest book, Click: The Magic of Instant Connections, Brafman teaches leaders and aspiring entrepreneurs how to make every chance meeting count, using examples from the workplace, collegiate life, and the battlefield.
Entrepreneurship & Networking (Michigan Business Network)
Business advocate and serial entrepreneur Chris Holman gives an inspiring speech to millennial entrepreneurs at Lansing Community College.
Confident Networking Strategies for Entrepreneurs with Carolyn Landesman
Networking develops the skills of self-leadership, self-awareness, and self-management all of which give you the momentum you need to develop a powerful network that gets results. The author of the book The Power of Networking: How to Grow a Powerful Network to Get The Results You Want discusses confident networking strategies.
Workshop your Network: Cultivating Mentors, Peers and Mentees in Business (eCornell)
Michelle Y. Talbert, ‘00 Human Ecology, will guide you in setting your personal intention, identifying the pressing needs in your business, and creating a strategy to connect with the right people to not only achieve your goals but also to help them achieve theirs.
Creating and Maintaining Connections Effectively | Talks at Google
In this talk Jordan Harbinger teaches us how to effectively create, maintain and leverage connections with people, in a way that feels good and natural (even if you're an introvert!), and is beneficial to everyone involved. He also talks about how to "gamify" the process and turn things most of us dread into a competitive advantage.
Stop Networking, Start Connecting (Harvard Business Review)
A conversation with consultant Susan McPherson about revitalizing professional relationships post-pandemic.
Networking Doesn’t Have to Be a Drag (Harvard Business Review)
The characteristics of a strong network, common challenges for women building theirs, and how to manage those challenges.
Networking Myths Dispelled (Harvard Business Review)
David Burkus, a professor at Oral Roberts University and author of the book “Friend of a Friend,” explains common misconceptions about networking.
Dr. Ivan Misner, Building a Powerful Personal Network In-Person and Online (Columbia University)
This focus on access to world-class resources, lifelong career guidance, and access to a global network of thought leaders brought Dr. Misner to the HCM Club virtually for a webinar on September 24, 2020, titled “Networking for Success,” and led by the HCM Club’s own Thalia Charles (President), Jane Zelenko (Vice President), and Jay Niblick (Secretary).
Online Articles
You can search Harvard Business Review to learn more articles on this topic. You can also check if your university library has a subscription to the Business Source Complete database, which provides full-text access to Harvard Business Review articles, or use the library’s interlibrary loan service to access the article.
Easy Networking Tips for the Networking Haters
Do you feel awkward making small talk when meeting new people? Do you hate the feeling of walking into a large conference hall and seeing a sea of strangers? Whether you are attending events in the real world or confined to the virtual realm, networking doesn’t have to be scary or hard.
The Awkward Person’s Guide to Networking
Networking is often transactional and this type of interaction is unnatural for most — but especially for those of us who feel awkward or shy to begin with. Maybe you take a bit longer to open up to people. Maybe your mind goes blank when you’re trying to make a good impression…
How to Network When There Are No Networking Events
Even though networking events have been canceled, there are still many ways for you to build professional relationships while working from home. The authors outline three strategies: 1) Turn canceled conferences into private networking opportunities. Identify participants who were supposed to attend or speak and choose 5-10 you’d like to connect with and send them a message on LinkedIn. 2) Rethink geographic boundaries. Organize virtual events and invite people you normally wouldn’t have because they weren’t local. 3) Invite senior leaders to your online working group meetings.
“I hate networking.” It’s a familiar refrain. But in today’s world, networking is a necessity—and fortunately, an aversion to it can be overcome. Drawing on laboratory experiments and on studies at a large law firm, the authors have identified four strategies that can help people become more excited about and effective at building relationships.
Networking Event (and Invite the Right People)
While attending conferences or scheduling meetups are great ways to network and connect with others, an often overlooked (or avoided) approach is organizing a larger gathering yourself. Hosting your own events enables you to build relationships more strategically...
How to Keep Networking from Draining You
Whether it’s attending startup events, social gatherings, or happy hours, networking is a necessary part of every entrepreneur’s life. But networking can be extremely draining, sometimes robbing founders of the energy they need to work. There are techniques you..
Start Networking with People Outside Your Industry
Most professionals build their network over time through proximity — people from your business school study group, or colleagues from your current company or past jobs. You may have a few outliers in the mix, but unless you’ve been deliberate about your networking…
When Networking, Being Yourself Really Does Work
Imagine you’re hanging out at a job fair, and you’ve identified a few key recruiters you’d like to approach. Or maybe you are attending your company’s annual retreat and are interested in talking to senior colleagues who are potential mentors who could provide support throughout your career….
5 Misconceptions About Networking
A good network keeps you informed. Teaches you new things. Makes you more innovative. Gives you a sounding board to flesh out your ideas. Helps you get things done when you’re in a hurry…
5 Ways to Make Conference Networking Easier
Networking at a conference typically means rushing into a teeming crowd for coffee breaks and trying to make small talk. As an introvert, that scene isn’t for me. While I enjoy getting to know people one-on-one or in small groups,
This is how startups should network
How to Become a Networking Master with Jordan Harbinger
Thinkers and Influencers
Dr. Ivan Misner is the Founder of BNI, the world’s largest business networking organization. Founded in 1985, the organization has thousands of chapters throughout every populated continent of the world. Each year, BNI generated millions of referrals resulting in over billions of U.S. dollars worth of business for its members. Dr. Misner’s Ph.D. is from the University of Southern California. He has written more than 20 books, including his New York Times Bestseller, Masters of Networking, as well as his recent #1 bestseller, Networking Like a Pro.
J. Kelly Hoey (jkellyhoey.co), author of “Build Your Dream Network”, joins Mitch to discuss how to build a network, stay in touch and be memorable to the people you meet and connect with.
Books
Click the link to find a Worldcat book record; enter a zipcode to check which library nearby has the book you can borrow.
Hoey, Kelly. Build Your Dream Network: Forging Powerful Relationships in a Hyper-Connected World, TarcherPerigee, 2017.
Hilliard, B. Networking like a pro - turning contacts into connections. Entrepreneur Press, 2017. Print
Harper, Steve. The Ripple Effect: Maximizing the Power of Relationships for Your Life and Business. Austin, Texas: SWOT Pub, 2010. Print.
Carnegie, Dale. Dale Carnegie's Lifetime Plan for Success: How to Win Friends & Influence People
Grant, Adam. Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success. 2014. Print.
Halvorson, Heidi G. Reinforcements: How to Get People to Help You. 2018. Print.
Harvard Business Review. Hbr Guide to Networking: Branch Out, Give and Receive, Make Smart Connections. 2012. Print.
McMakin, Tom, and Jacob Parks. Never Say Sell: How the World's Best Expert Consulting and Professional Services Firms Expand Client Relationships. 2021. Print.
McPherson, Susan. Lost Art of Connecting: the Gather, Ask, Do Method for Building Meaningful Business Relationships. McGraw-Hill Education, 2021. Print.
Read More Books on This Topic
Related Topics
References
Haring, M. (2018). How Student Entrepreneurs Develop Their Social Network Over Time During the Process of Starting a Company. Business and Management Studies, 4(1), 68-80.