Dedicated to the memory of Dr Euan Magennis. The gentleman and scholar who helped me escape my professional comfort zone.

In your network, the quality of each connection (nay, relationship), matters as much as the quantity.

If you learn to network for networking’s sake, you might just learn to signal that you’re only in a conversation to get something out of it. You never really listen, and instead wait until it’s your turn to verbalise the next line of your resumé. You’re being anything but genuine, and the other person knows it.

The return you get on valuing one meaningful conversation over ten surface-level engagements is so much more than you can ever plan for. A decade from now, you’ll be glad you found a quiet corner to chat with one person away from the rabble of the room.

Consider how to get better at asking open questions rather than rehearsing answers to questions you want to be asked.

In order to be interesting, you must first be interested.

Personally, I will be forever grateful for a single connection made in 2008 that still positively impacts my life in 2024. Thank-you, Euan.

How can you value the quality over the quantity of your network?

Listen to the full podcast episode here or wherever you listen to podcasts. Just search “reid_indeed”.