Words of Wisdom From Brian Tracy

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Building Your Network—Part I
Finding success within your reference group.
By Brian Tracy

We live in a society and, as a member of that society it's likely that every change in your life is strongly influenced by other people in some way. The courses you take in school that shape your career are often at the instigation of a friend or counselor. The books you read, the tapes you listen to, and the seminars you attend are almost invariably the result of a suggestion from someone you respect. The occupation you select, the job you take, and the key steps in your career are largely determined by the people you meet and talk to at those critical decision points in your life.

In fact, at every crossroad in your life, there is usually someone standing there pointing you in one direction or another. According to the law of probabilities, the greater number of people you know who can help you at any given time, the more likely it is that you will know the right person at the right time and place to give you the help you need to move ahead more rapidly in your life. The more people you know, the more doors of opportunity will open to you and the more sound advice you will get when making important decisions that shape your life.

David McLelland of Harvard did a 25-year research study of the factors that contribute most to success. He found that, holding constant for age, education, occupation, and opportunities, the single most important factor in career success is your "reference group." Your reference group is made up of the people with whom you habitually associate and identify. These are the people you live, work, and interact with outside of work. You identify with these people and consider yourself one of them. They consider you one of them, as well.

When you develop a positive reference group, you begin to become a member of the in-crowd at your level of business. The starting point in this process is to develop a deliberate and systematic approach to networking throughout your career.

People like to do business with people they know. They like to socialize and interact with people with whom they are familiar. And they like to recommend people they trust. Fully 85 percent of the best jobs in America are filled as the result of a third-party recommendation. The best networkers are never unemployed for long.

One of the biggest mistakes people make when they begin networking is scattering their time and energy indiscriminately, and spending their time with people who can be of no help at all. Even if they attend organization meetings, they often end up associating with people who are neither particularly ambitious nor well-connected.

When you network, you must be perfectly selfish. You want to become all you can over the course of your career. You want to rise as far as you can. Any success you could ever desire will require the active involvement and help of lots of other people. Focus your energies and attention on meeting the people who can help you; the only way you can do this is by staying away from the people who cannot help you at all.

When you network, your aim is to meet people who are going places in their lives. You want to meet people who are ahead of you in their careers and in their organizations. You want to meet people you can look up to. You want to meet people who can be friends, guides, and mentors. You want to think ahead and meet people who can help you move into your ideal future more readily. For this reason, you must sort people into categories: helpful vs. non-helpful, ambitious vs. non-ambitious, going somewhere vs. going nowhere. Remember, your choice of a reference group in your networking will determine the success of the process.

Next month: Building Your Network—Part II looks at establishing reference groups.

About Brian Tracy:

Brian Tracy is one of the top sales experts and trainers in the world. He has taught more than 2,000,000 sales people in 46 countries. He is the president of Brian Tracy University of Sales and Entrepreneurship online, and committed to teaching ambitious individuals how to rapidly increase their sales, income, and profits. For a free one-hour CD on "21 Great Ways to Become a Sales Superstar," click here.