Many writers on business networking, including myself, have extensively discussed the Law of Reciprocity. This concept is one of the fundamental building blocks of the business networking philosophy.
The idea is that if you give or find business for someone else, they will, in turn, give or find business for you. It is a transactional process where mutual benefit is expected.
However, let’s introduce some reality: it doesn’t always work as we hope. The first part happens—you find a referral for someone else—but then, nothing happens in return.
Many networkers become disillusioned when they invest time and effort in finding referrals for others and receive little or nothing in return, or feel deflated by the lesser value of the referrals they do receive.
I hear it all the time; a member confided in me that they feel they give so much but get little in return and don’t know why they bother. They see giving referrals as a means to an end, not an end in itself.
I want to suggest something hard, something radical: what if we all find referrals for each other, not because we hope to get something in return, but simply because we can?
John Lennon said, “Imagine...”
Imagine how liberating it would be if we gave just because we could, with no thought of reward. The act of giving or finding a referral would be its own reward, without any expectation of a future return.
The same applies to Recon and one-on-one meetings. Visit people to learn how you can help them, not so they feel obliged to return the visit, but because it makes you better equipped to help them and potentially find them a referral.
Your challenge is to embrace the desire to give without the expectation of receiving. Shift your mindset from the “Law of Reciprocity” to the “Law of Just Giving”—simply giving for the sake of giving.