Business networking: breaking down walls to create bridges

18 November 2019

The importance of Networking is one of the most commonly used concepts to describe the opportunities of fluid and at the same time fragmented labor market like the present one.

In reality, the creation of a network of contacts is a natural inclination already detected by Aristotle, who in the 4th century BC talks about men as social animals, and he comes back to life with the advent of social media and the evaluation of their multiple potentials in the professional sphere. Will Kintish, author of the book “Business Networking. The Survival Guide”, argues that networking means any action that anyone does every day, with the intent of building useful relationships in every area of ​​everyday life. But it is in the field of work that the right networking can open unexpected paths.

“Business networking has advantages that are not always immediately grasped – confirms Andrea Lipparini, Professor of Innovation Management at the University of Bologna and Director Executive MBA in BBS – The construction of the network leads to confronting one’s doubts, to ask questions, to confront people and environments that are also very different from those to which we are accustomed. The ambition of the best managerial training programs, such as those of BBS, is to train professionals who know how to create bridges, with the awareness of their own limits, curious and hungry for knowledge and with the will to improve thanks to the comparison with others”.

But what does it mean to do business networking in 2019? Cultivating professional relationships, even in transversal contexts, is often associated with the mere search for a job, but in reality the concept goes much further, because it allows us to deepen knowledge, confront ourselves with different ideas and approaches, even before opening doors and finding new outlets.

“If we reflect on our stronger relationships, the people we can really count on – continues Sara Valentini, Associate Dean Alumni of BBS – we often find friends, former classmates, or people we met during school years, spent at university, attending graduate schools, masters, MBAs, executive courses. The contacts acquired during the years of study are precious and represent a continuous source of growth both for the institutions that deal with education, and above all for the individuals who have invested a significant part of their time in these institutions, a precious network that it must always be kept alive, as we do at BBS, where our Alumni Community is active on many events and projects”.

Networking improves your mind-set, forcing you to get out of the comfort zone to look around, keeping up with the latest trends and developing the ability to anticipate them. For Roberto Grandi, Scientific Director of the Master New Media and Marketing Communication “for example, dealing with the practical cases of those who have already experienced a specific work situation allows us to develop a different approach that tests, smooths skills, defines our professionalism and makes us more perceptive in seizing new opportunities”.

Business networking is therefore a great multiplier of opportunities, able to go beyond the confines of classrooms to accompany every professional in his or her daily life.



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