Next Move, Best Move

Chapter 6Relationships Are Still Everything

Career Affirmation: I am attracting relationships that support the long‐term vision for my career.

I used to be one of those people who hated networking. I thought networking was what affluent families and business owners did at the local golf club on weekends.

As for me, I had to rely on my hard work to get wherever I wanted to go, and I figured relationships wouldn't help me much. I always came back to my dad's three pieces of advice:

1. Work hard and focus on being the best at whatever you do.
2. Excellence is always important; be excellent.
3. If they hit you first, hit back.

Dad was right and wrong at the same time. I needed to do all those things, but I also needed to build relationships to support those three things at the same time.

My first professional job out of college was at a small office supply company in New York City, and I got this job because I had a cousin in the sales department who introduced me to the CEO of the company. My second job in financial services as a personal banker was attained through a referral from one of my undergraduate classmates' wife. Trust me, I could go on and on how relationships helped me, but I never thought of them as a huge contributing factor early in my career. In my mind, I was able to get into these roles because I was hardworking and interviewed well. I didn't yet understand how crucial it was to have a solid professional relationship in order to get a warm introduction to a company. ...