My (New) Third Very Simple Rule of Networking

I recently wrote a post on My Two Very Simple Rules for Networking. They are:

1) Meet one new person in my area of interest every month, or significantly deepen an existing relationship.

2) Do something nice for someone in my network every week.

Based on the comments from LinkedIn readers, I am adding a third rule:

3) Make sure that I am spending time with professionals who are different from me.

At an extreme, if my network is made up solely of female financial services professionals of my generation, who all hail from the south, I will likely feel very comfortable with them. And I will likely enjoy my time with them. And I will no doubt learn from them.

But at some point, this will become an echo chamber of similar-enough experiences and perspectives.

Some of my most meaningful new connections over the past few years have been with professionals from different industries and different parts of the country from me. And my most valuable may have been with entrepreneurs who are a couple of decades younger than me, who possess a significantly different perspective.

Research shows that we are all most comfortable networking with (and working with) people who are like us. But just as the most successful management teams bring complementary strengths to the table, so the most meaningful professional networks do as well….even if it takes a bit more effort.

Thanks, SOB readers.

Sallie Krawcheck