My networking program, The Growth Table, kicked off this past week with its inaugural month. I had fourteen people who signed up to start doing monthly networking with strangers, in an environment that I curate.
The program is quite simple. People sign up with a one-time fee for the year, and each month I send them an invite to meet a small group of new people. No matter how you slice it, I've found a way to take the stress out of networking by leveraging a group of people who are ready and willing to connect.
Although it was only one day of meetings, the feedback was so positive. I received numerous text messages from people thanking me for setting up the program and for their gratefulness to connect with someone new.
The learnings were simple: anytime you have the chance to connect with a new human in a curated and safe environment, you are going to come away with a learning that sticks. Networking always wins. Meeting new people levels you up and gives you an opportunity to rethink your goals, your benchmarks, and your progress.
Every conversation expands your perspective, even when it doesn't expand your contact list. The value is not always in who they know, but in what they help you see differently about yourself. Isolation shrinks ambition; proximity expands it.
The point of this article is to challenge you to think about your surroundings. Who are you connected with? Who is challenging you? Who is leveling you up? Take stock of your contact list, and if you need help, consider ways to improve it.
At the end of the day, this is less about networking and more about intention. Careers do not stall because people lack talent; they stall because people slowly shrink their world and convince themselves they are fine doing it alone. The question worth sitting with is whether your current surroundings are helping you move forward, or quietly keeping you exactly where you are.