Work Smarts: What CEOs Say You Need To Know to Get Ahead

Chapter 3

How to Network

There are few scenarios at work that I dread more than having to go to a cocktail party to network. It’s all part of the job but there is nothing natural about walking around to groups of people you don’t know with dorky looking Office Depot nametags hanging off your lapel.

I asked Harry Wilson, the private equity partner turned political candidate turned bankruptcy expert, how he does it. “First thing I do is go to the bar. Usually people there are lining up and getting drinks and that’s easiest to meet people,” he said. “Most people are likable and like to talk and it’s easy to strike up a conversation. I did that a few weeks ago—I didn’t know anyone at this function so I went up to get coffee—I don’t drink coffee—and struck up a conversation with the guy next to me. Turns out we knew some people in common and from there, I met more people.”

I had a chance a few weeks later to experiment with Harry’s method. I was invited to a cocktail event held at a bank’s headquarters and hundreds of people were gathered. I knew I’d know some people but I wouldn’t exactly consider them friends. After a quick hello to the host who was like the father at a wedding reception, greeting well-dressed people as they emerged from designated elevators, I briskly walked towards the bar and ordered a glass of wine. At that moment, another man—an older gentleman—was also ordering a drink so I struck up a conversation. Turns out he was with Traveler’s Insurance and frankly, we ...