Why the Right Network Matters

Success has a strange way of changing the value of your time. Early in a career, meeting as many people as possible can be useful. Every introduction is potentially valuable, and a large network can create opportunities that would otherwise be difficult to find. As businesses grow and responsibilities increase, however, the equation changes. The problem is rarely finding someone to speak to. It is finding someone worth speaking to.

That is particularly true for people who operate internationally.

A founder in Dubai may have investors in London, suppliers in Europe, clients in Asia and a family office relationship in Switzerland. A property investor may be looking at opportunities across three different markets at the same time. A collector may have relationships with dealers, auction houses and specialists in several countries.

Their network may already be extensive.

What it often lacks is cohesion.

The value of a private network is therefore not measured by how many contacts it contains. It is measured by how relevant those contacts are when a particular opportunity, problem or introduction arises.

That is one of the principles behind The Black Book.

We are less interested in putting hundreds of people into the same database than we are in understanding who should actually know one another. A private dinner of twelve carefully selected people can produce more meaningful conversations than a networking event with several hundred attendees.

There is also something important about meeting people outside the usual professional setting.

Relationships develop differently over dinner, during travel or while sharing an experience than they do across a conference table. People become easier to understand when there is no presentation, pitch or agenda between them.

Sometimes the most valuable outcome is a business relationship.

Sometimes it is simply finding someone you would never otherwise have met.

The strongest networks tend to have both.

The Black Book exists to make those connections easier to find, while keeping the network small enough that the people within it remain relevant to one another.

Because ultimately, the value of knowing more people is limited.

The value of knowing the right people is not.