Good Things Take Time — Including Business Relationships

The most successful networkers understand from the very beginning that networking, like training for a marathon, gets results over time. Prepare well and plan for long-term success.

Networking should be thought of as a long-term strategy and not as a “get-rich-quick” strategy. Yes, there have been and always will be some quick wins (even a blind squirrel can find a nut); however, the most successful networkers we know have arguably achieved consistent success year over year by networking with a long-term mindset.

In the world of professional relationships and business growth, networking plays a pivotal role. I have witnessed first-hand the transformative power it holds. Networking is not merely a sprint to collect business cards and make quick connections; rather, it requires patience, perseverance and the cultivation of genuine relationships.

Patience and long-term vision certainly help as we are better off delaying our success rather than speeding our failure.

It takes time to develop a network of trusted individuals who believe in your mission and are willing to support you. Like a marathon runner, there will be times when progress seems slow and the finish line feels distant. However, by staying committed, consistent and focused, networking will yield invaluable rewards that a sprint can never provide.

Networking necessitates dedication, perseverance and the cultivation of authentic relationships built on trust and credibility. By understanding that networking is a long-term endeavor, we can appreciate the true power it holds in creating opportunities, fostering collaborations and ultimately achieving professional success. So, let us lace up our networking shoes, embrace the marathon and forge lasting connections that will propel us forward on our journey to success.

Many years ago, a friend of mine, Emory Cowan, shared a powerful and humorous story about patience. When he was a young man, he bought some peaches at a farmer’s market in Atlanta. They were the famous Georgia peaches grown in orchards in the Fort Valley Region and renowned for their sweet, juicy taste as well as their amazing aroma. He took a bushel of them home with visions of peach pies and cobblers dancing in his head. He ate some immediately, but most of them simply sat out on the kitchen counter.

One morning, he was awakened by the aroma of peaches filling the house. He knew that something would have to be done with them soon, or they would spoil. Wine, he thought! Why not make some peach wine? He knew that his parents, who lived 15 miles away, had an old ceramic Crockpot and an old family recipe for fermenting wine from the peach fruit.

He picked up the Crockpot, cleaned it, and on the way home, bought cheesecloth for the top along with yeast and sugar for the ingredients. By the time he got home, his excitement over this project was so great that he could almost taste the wine as he cut up the peaches, added sugar and yeast and closed the top with the cheesecloth.

But the process of making wine was slow, and he was impatient. With the crock pot safely stashed in the cool basement, he drove home from work each day with growing excitement. On several occasions, he would go to the basement and smell the brew and give it a little taste — but it just wasn’t ready. As the days went by, he became more intent on having the wine ready for consumption. But it was not happening fast enough for him. So, one afternoon, frustrated that it was taking so long, he carried the pot to the kitchen, determined to speed up the process of fermentation. He removed the contents, used a blender to further emulsify the peaches and added more sugar and yeast.

Satisfied and content, he returned the Crockpot to the basement and waited for less than a week to taste the batch again. Excitedly, he went back down to the basement and sampled the brew. He shared that when he tasted it, he knew that it was absolutely the best batch of peach vinegar he’d ever had!

He went on to say that his vinegar-making triumph became a life-shaping parable for him. Whenever he was tempted to rush the process of forming relationships, whether in business, a networking group or in his personal life, he was reminded that some things just take time to happen.

He said that relationships require time, energy, persistence and most of all — patience. Disappointment is totally related to expectation; too often, the expectation is unrealistic. When it comes to networking and building relationships, it is better to delay success than to accelerate failure.

This article is based on content from Dr. Misner’s book, Networking is a Marathon, not a Sprint – co-authored by Phil Berg and Bharat Daga.

The most successful networkers understand from the very beginning that networking, like training for a marathon, gets results over time. Prepare well and plan for long-term success.

Networking should be thought of as a long-term strategy and not as a “get-rich-quick” strategy. Yes, there have been and always will be some quick wins (even a blind squirrel can find a nut); however, the most successful networkers we know have arguably achieved consistent success year over year by networking with a long-term mindset.

In the world of professional relationships and business growth, networking plays a pivotal role. I have witnessed first-hand the transformative power it holds. Networking is not merely a sprint to collect business cards and make quick connections; rather, it requires patience, perseverance and the cultivation of genuine relationships.