The Importance of Networks

When you come up with a new idea for a project, whether it's for work, as a side hustle, or just something to do around the house, what's the first thing you do? Usually, you will start to work out what you need to do to get the job done - start putting together a to-do list. For large projects that to-do list won't be for getting the job done, there will be a significant to-do list generated just to get the project started. Sadly, this is where most projects stop. With an ever growing, ever more daunting to-do list. A list that no matter how much you work on it never gets any smaller. Energy drops off. Enthusiasm wanes. Projects stall.

For some projects, even putting together the to-do list to get started is too daunting a job. It's so much easier to carry on with life as usual, forever putting it off and dreaming of how much better things will be once you can get started. I have worked with some people whose ideas have sat idle for decades because they just couldn't get started. In working with people whose ideas are stuck I have found that there is usually a way to get things unstuck and moving again. It's nothing to do with them. They don't need more motivation or drive or skills or willpower. They have plenty of that. What they need is a network.

When we start on a new project and build our to-do list it's usually exactly that - our to-do list, a list of things that we need to do to get things rolling. It's a long and daunting list and the way we put it together, it’s a very solitary activity that we are signing up for. Us working by ourselves to shape up this project so that we can share it with others.

Whenever we are presented with a long list of stuff we need to do by ourselves with no one else involved, it's really easy to lose interest. Even for the most dedicated introvert who might look at a huge list of solitary work and feel elated at not having to speak to anyone else for months, it's really hard. Even with the most iron self discipline it's easy to get distracted. To move off onto things with a more immediate payoff. Get pulled into our day jobs. Or spiral down rabbit holes solving problems that don’t need to be solved yet.

Humans are basically just not good at working alone on big things that have a long term payoff. This is where networks come in. The thing that has unblocked more projects than any other thing I have ever done is helping people to ask a different question - not what I need to do but who I need to work with. Building a network of people around you is the best thing you can do. Even elite athletes, who are the most dedicated and iron willed people, don't do it alone. They have a network of coaches, dieticians, psychologists and so on to help them.

In the early stages it may be someone whose judgement you trust that you can bounce ideas off. Just having a second (or third or more) perspective helps refine ideas and prevents getting stuck in rabbit holes. Just the thought that you are meeting up with them on Friday to discuss the mind map you have put together means you have a distinct goal to aim for. Having other people involved turns a big, long term project into a set of smaller, short term goals. Goals that are bite sized and achievable. It gives you feedback quickly which helps keep things on the right track. If nothing else, explaining your idea to someone else helps get it organised in your own head. What was a jumble of ideas becomes organised and coherent.

As ideas get refined and things start to take shape it may be people with specific skills who can give you information or advice. That problem that you have been stuck on for months might be the work of minutes for someone with the right skills. New skills also bring new perspectives. Things that you might not have ever considered might be obvious to someone else.

"But I can't afford to hire a team to work on this" you are thinking. That's OK. You don't have to hire anyone. Not yet anyway. What about your partner? Can you bounce ideas off them? The people you hang out with on the weekend? The people you get along with at work? Your extended family?

When it comes to people with specific skills, you will be amazed at the number pf people you know who have the skills you need. You will also be amazed at how many of them will be prepared to help you with your idea and won’t want any payment except maybe for you to buy the beers. There are colleagues you work with, ex-colleagues you keep in touch with, people in your extended circle. All you need to do is ask. Just put out a call. You will never know that your child's best friend's father is an expert at the thing you need unless you get out and ask.

In these days of social media, asking is easy. Use your Facebook profile, your WhatsApp groups and your Linkedin profile. If you don't know anyone directly, it's almost certain that someone you know will know someone. You can easily and quickly put together a group of people who can help you bring your idea to life.

The first thing you do when looking at a new idea is to think about who you will work with. Build that network of people who can hep you, then start to think about to-do lists. I am working with someone now who has achieved more in the last 2 months than in the last 10 years because they have built a network to work with. The turning point, where 10 years of stop/start solitary work started to take off and grow rapidly, was when we asked "who can you work with". Within 10 minutes we had a list of people they could sound out for advice and it grew quickly from there.

So, put aside your to-do lists for now and start thinking about your network. Who do you need on the journey with you? Whether it's just shouting encouragement from the sidelines, giving good advice or getting in and working with you. Build your network first and keep it growing as the project grows.