Working together is not something that’s new to progressive minds. Without collaboration, many of the innovations and advancements we enjoy today would have never happened. It’s the ideal way to open your eyes, shift your perspective and reach a goal that you might not have known it even existed! Being able to create powerful, meaningful relationships is an art. And if you want to go far, you should master it.
Let’s start with the basics. Practice your social skills and use politeness to your advantage since you will soon discover that there are two ways of saying things. The one that leaves a scar and the one that makes a mark. Step outside of your comfort zone and out of what you would normally consider being ‘your group’. Networking is not about making friends, is about creating alliances that are beneficial for both parties.
Let’s reference history as a proving point:
Humanity, since its early days, or since we’ve come to record its evolution, was all about networking, creating alliances on every field and joining together to achieve the best possible outcomes. Take the Parthenon, for example. It was visualized by Periklis, but would it be as dominant and as exceptional as it is if he hadn’t trusted his architects, Iktinos and Kallikratis or if the genius that was Phidias, the sculptor, hadn’t been recruited to make on Periklis’ dream construction possible? During the Renaissance, producing art was above all, the result of cooperative efforts. The ‘bottheghe’, what the Italians called the artists’ shops back then, were operated by individuals that had a profound individual expertise, discussed ideas, solved problems and as a team was responsible for the final creation.
You don’t have to go that back to discover partnerships that created magic. You wouldn’t be able to ‘google’ anything if a Russian and an American, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, were still on ‘cold’ terms.
Democracy, as we experience today would have collapsed ages ago without putting to practice the theory of political coalitions. In fact, most of the world’s governments are a result of post-election party settlements and compromises.
Television may have taken many more decades to perfect if Lee de Forest and Arthur Korn didn’t join forces and shared their knowledge to make a practical design based on Constantin Persky’s paper.
And that’s just a handful. Many scientific, technological, political and sociological breakthroughs are the products of teamwork. If you want to go far, find your partners in your innovative “crime”. Those minds that operate on the same frequency that you do. Listen to ideas that are exciting and innovative, meet professionals and experts, their advice can only make you better, so you’ll turn something good into something exceptional. Hey! You can have fish and you can have chips, separately and still have two pleasant meals. But it’s not the same as having fish & chips, is it?
At the end of the day, like fish and chips, we work better, together!