Dated: October 27, 2015
Press Release
A Talk on “YOUR NETWORK IS YOUR NET WORTH”
Career Development Center-IM|Sciences in continuation of the lecture series which has been
initiated in collaboration with notables belonging to Industry and public sphere has organized a
session on the topic of “YOUR NETWORK IS YOUR NET WORTH.” Mr. Athar Imran
Nawaz, who is currently serving as Chief Executive Officer at Sybrid Pvt Ltd- A Lakson Group
Company delivered the talk. Students of IM|Sciences belonging to different programs such as
MBA, BBA, BSc Economics and BSc Social Sciences have attended the session.
Mr. Athar Imran- a distinguished business executive with sixteen years of experience in the top
levels of corporate sector discussed the concept of Networking with the students. The following
were some of the critical points of the talk:
Silos are our comfort zones where we do what we like. We stay in familiar surroundings. We
meet with whom we are comfortable with. We do things that make us secure. This is typically
our default behavior.
The problem is that while comfort zone is very comforting, it is not where progress happens. All
smart people proactively get uncomfortable as soon as they start getting comfortable. That is
what leads to growth, however you define it.
One comfort zone is to only meet with people we want or have to meet. This is typically four sets
– family, friends, people with similar interests and co-workers. We make all efforts to stay within
this ‘network’ and filter out the rest. What can be worse than talking to that monster creature
called a ‘stranger.
Well, what can be worse, is that you stay within your ‘limited network’. Your net worth is your
network, and that does not improve. One can argue that it actually depreciates with time. It is like
reading the same books again and again. You are constrained with the constraints of your
network.
You can guess where I am getting to. You need to get uncomfortable. You need to proactively,
deliberately and consciously expand the set of people of people you know. You need to reach
wider. It is like picking up new – and different – books to read. The benefits are immense: you
grow as a person, your capacity to do more increases, you become more ‘worthy’.
One caveat is that your network is not just a function of how many people you know, but more
importantly of how diverse a set of a people you know. Think of groups of similar people as
clusters – a cluster of software engineers, a cluster of marketing folks, a cluster of academics, a
cluster of people who love cars and dogs. The default way of growing your network may be just
getting to know more people in your own clusters. Software engineers getting to know more
software engineers. Marketing folks connecting with more marketing folks. People loving cars
and dogs talking to others loving cars and dogs. It’s like reading more books of the same type.
The problem statement remains the same – you are still in comfort zone, its just a
bigger comfort zone.
A key component of the net worth of your network really is how many you know across
these clusters. Are you standing alone at an island, or do you have bridges to other islands? If
you are a software programmer, do you know bankers, people who sell cars, someone who can
get you a plane ticket quickly when you are desperate for it, someone who is CEO of a software
firm and is not your boss, someone in the investor cluster who can give a reference.
While this diversity defines the breadth of your network, equally, if not more important, is
the depth or quality of your network.
As a matter of fact, I do not like the term ‘network’. It somehow sounds mechanical. The
connotations can be misleading – you just need to know people. It can mean just having them on
your LinkedIn or Facebook. The term that matters is relationships. That is what defines the
depth or quality of your connection. That is the reason LinkedIn does not show you exact
number of your connections once it increases past 500. It is not a numbers game.
Relationship is a two-way street. You have to provide value to someone before you expect
anything. You need to know about the other person before telling her about yourself. You need
to know what matters to them before you start telling them what matters to you. Relationships
are funny – you help yourself by helping others. It is not a sales pitch. You give and then it
comes back to you manifold.
At the end of the session Director IM|Sciences Dr. Muhammad Mohsin Khan acknowledged
Mr. Athar contributions for the career growth and personal development of the students. The
Director presented souvenir to the honorable guest.