PMcrunch

Networking, to me, is a fun thing to do. Over time I have gotten to meet many people, many different situations — and I love learning about what people do, how they think, what they have experienced, and what their perspective is. However, what I’ve also found is that the approach that you take to networking can bring about very different results from another approach. Let’s take a look at this topic.

Intra-networking and Inter-networking

I don’t know if the word actually exists, but intra-networking would seem to me to be networking within. This is the type of thing that, if you are in some sort of an organization, that you would network with people inside that organization. Inter-networking, by contrast, would be networking outside of that organization. Well, the reality of it is that probably all networking is intra-networking or inter-networking because we are always within some common organization.

For example, you may network within your company and meet lots of people, but your company is made up of actually many sub-organizations. You may network within your department; and when you go outside of your department, are you inter-networking or intra-networking? This goes to say that if you are networking within your organization you are intra-networking, whereas if you are networking within the project management community, like, let’s say, through involvement with a PMI chapter, you are inter-networking. But, then again, you are networking within the project management profession and within the broader PMI organization. In any case, the idea is that we need to do networking inside of where we are and outside of where we are. It’s the only way to get connected and stay connected.

Benefits of Intra-networking and Inter-networking

I have found that networking is sometimes purposeful and sometimes purposeless. Of course, I try to avoid purposeless networking — at least in my mind. I like to go into a situation with some sort of an objective or reason for why I am there. That, at least, sets a tone and can shape the kinds of conversations that we can have. On the other hand, it is good to let things flow and to speak to people about whatever comes up. Purposefulness and direction play a role and we all want to talk to people that matter to us in certain ways. However, on the other hand, many times we don’t know what we might discover until we actually do open up ourselves, as well as take an interest in someone else and find out what’s inside.

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John Reiling, PMP
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