Steve Pavlina, in his blog Personal Development for Smart People, is currently penning a series of blog posts entitled “How to Network With Busy People.”  His advice (emphasis mine)?

Be discerning:

I look for shared values. I seek out people who are happy, growth-oriented, open-minded, self-actualizing, and willing to try new things. People who are unhappy, inflexible, immature, or highly judgmental don’t make good friends or contacts for me.

Define a simple heuristic (i.e. a rule) for the kinds of people you want to network with. This will save you a lot of time and frustration.

Years ago I networked with people I figured I had to tolerate because they seemed like high-value contacts. That approach gave me a lot of headaches. These days I’d never add someone to my Rolodex unless I actually liked them as a person. I don’t do business with anyone I wouldn’t want to hang out with on the basis of friendship. This may sound limiting, but it’s actually incredibly freeing. It ensures that running my business is more fun and rewarding than it would otherwise be. I know when I wake up each morning that I’ll be spending some time that day connecting with friends.

Be trustworthy and cooperative:

Don’t network with people you don’t feel you can trust. If you get a bad intuitive feeling, bow out gracefully. Dodging a bad connection is at least as important as forming a good one.

In business people talk about each other — a lot.  If you aren’t trustworthy, word gets around.

…  A cooperative mindset is much more powerful than a competitive mindset in business networking.

…  When people know you’re a cooperative team player, even in a world that seems competitive at first glance, they’re more likely to want to work with you and to refer others to you.

And these are just the gems from his latest post!

Of course, articulating the kind of people with whom you want to network has a couple of prerequisites:

1. What is your networking goal?
2. Can you trust your gut?
3. Do you listen to it?

Remember:  takers suck, and positive networking isn’t about, “What Can These People Do For Me?”  It’s more about, “What Can We Achieve Together?”  To Pavlina’s point, if you don’t trust someone and/or if your goals do not intersect with theirs, there’s probably not a lot that you can achieve with someone.  Best to shake hands, perhaps refer them on to someone with whom their goals are more aligned, and move it along.

If this snip intrigues you, you should check out Steve Pavlina’s “How to Network With Busy People” at “Personal Development For Smart People” by clicking here. [via]