“I don’t get business networking.  It’s just a bunch of people in a room passing out their business cards and only wanting to talk about their business.  They don’t want to help me.”  Someone told me that the other day.  She hadn’t found a lot of success with her networking.  I wonder why…?

I talk a lot about networking karma when I’m working with professionals on improving their networking skills.  It’s a complete misappropriation of the word karma, but everyone gets what I mean.  In its most direct form: If you help people get what they want, they will help you get what you want.

It’s not just a warm and fuzzy, feel-good idea.  It’s practical, real-world advice.  The success of your networking rests on the strength of your network.  The strength of your network rests on the strength of your relationships.  The strength of your relationships stems from interpersonal engagement, and that is based on shared interests, trust and mutual support.

I actually find this very comforting, because it means that to be successful, all I have to do is go help other people be successful.  When I tell this to others, their heads go up and down like a bobble-head doll.  Yet almost everyone I’ve talked to who struggles with professional networking is just waiting for others to help them first. 

If you really get this idea of networking karma, and you’re sitting there wondering how you can build your career, stop!  Take the next five minutes and figure out ways you can help the people you know be successful in their careers.  Because…

What goes around, comes around.