Diversify Your Network To Reduce Career Risk

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Author: Palms

It's very safe and warm to be in a group that's "just us." It's easy to focus on the things that you share and not the things that separate you. Like a group of expatriates living in Paris, you can rely on the external things you have in common to serve as your bond.

And if you think that kind of safe-and-warm choosing of people is going to work for your long-term career goals, think again.

Limiting yourself to relationships with people who are like you, who see the world in the same way you do, is one of the most dangerous things you can do in your career. It's smooth and wonderful, it feels great, it's congenial, it's collegial, it's reassuring. It's all of those things until the day you walk off the edge of a cliff that no one in your crowd even noticed was there.

The problem is that when everyone around you sees the world the same way, you collectively narrow your scope of vision. It's like looking through a telescope at a building several miles away. You might have a very clear view of that building -- in fact, you might have the clearest view of anybody in town -- but what about everything else that's outside your narrow focal point? What about the trees? The bridges? The other buildings? You'll miss them because you have no peripheral vision.

People who are like you see the same opportunities that you see, and they handle problems the same way that you do. People who are not like you bring new opportunities, new ways to solve problems, new perspectives on handling relationships and creating new business. The very fact of their difference is what makes them valuable to you.

Look outside your own area of familiar comfort when you bring people into your inner circle and build a personal board of directors. Look for people of the opposite sex, other races, other class backgrounds, people with different cultural identities and political affiliations, styles, attitudes, and even, to a limited extent, values.

Tips on Diversifying

Invest in a high risk "stock." Look, it may well be that new person who needs a hand will never be in a position to be helpful to you in any way. There is no guarantee that if you spend time with someone who has nothing going for him but a dream, you will feel glad you did it later. His dreams may not come true. Or, as soon as his dreams come true, he may dump you quicker than an aging Hollywood actor loses his first wife. It happens.

On the other hand, the strange-looking soul from down the hall could have a great idea for the project that you can't crack.

Invest in another sector. A common career trap is spending all your time with people who do exactly the same thing you do, right now. That works really well until the time comes that you want or need to do something else.

Find a few people who are really good at a skill you "minor" in. It may be that you are working as an attorney, but that you love dance. Combine your volunteer work with the desire to get closer to people who know about dance. You'll learn more and have more options when the day comes that you decide one more acquisition, and you'll turn into a pumpkin.

Invest internationally. One of the best ways to understand the limits of your own cultural perspective is to see a problem through the eyes of someone from another culture. That's why travel is so wonderful, of course.

But it's also one of the wonderful things about the workplace, where you can have people from very different backgrounds all working toward the same goal -- but from their own perspectives and biases. Aggressively seek out those who come at things from a different background than yours. These are invaluable relationships, tremendously educational, and worth significant investment.

Invest in different maturities. At any point in your life, it's easy to fall into an age ghetto. All your work buddies are young people who like to have a beer after work, or everyone you know has had enough of the daily grind and spends a lot of time calculating whether their pension will afford them a lifestyle that doesn't involve involuntary simplicity.

Force yourself out of your age range. If you're just entering the labor force, invest in one or two people whom you suspect are talking about retirement. The payoffs are that you have someone to ask about cultural references you'd be clueless about otherwise. A classic example of this kind of investing is mentoring.

The people you invest in may not be able to give you back anything today, other then their respect and energy. Someday, though, when they're in their prime and you're not, a decision to help someone on an entry-level rung could turn out to have a phenomenal payoff. If you're a young buck, remember there's a reason why that veteran lost half an antler. Knowing how it happened could save yours.