If the word networking brings to mind handshakes during conferences or hours on the links, it’s time for a reset. Common interests can create opportunities for people to come together and talk shop, regardless of industry. So if making small talk over boring luncheons or Zoom gatherings isn’t your cup of tea, it might be time to rethink how and where you’re making connections.
These professionals are purposefully combining their business and other interests to take the “work” out of networking:
In the air
Serial entrepreneur Peter Shankman, author of Faster Than Normal: Turbocharge Your Focus, Productivity, and Success With Secrets of the ADHD Brain, discovered his love of skydiving after organizing Webdive 2000 more than two decades ago. The PR firm he owned at the time took 165 dot-com CEOs skydiving in one day.
“My agency got tons of press and, of course, I got addicted to jumping,” Shankman says. “I’ve taken several clients and prospective clients jumping over the years. They’ve all loved it, because it’s not something you’ll do if you’re not totally psyched about doing it from the start.”
