“In winter the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives” Ned Stark, Game of Thrones
As a bit of a fan of G.O.T, I also enjoy many of the one liners we hear throughout the show. One of those that rings true for many small business owners is this quote which is part of a discussion between Arya, and Sansa . Ned’s daughters are on the balcony in Winterfell where they recall one of their father’s favourite sayings.
“In winter the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives.”
One of the challenges I see for some business owners who are invested in Relationship marketing is that they sometimes get impatient with their results and start to blame their network. I will focus on one part of this here for the sake of this article. Some people start to believe their network is not of a high enough level high or drive compared to themselves and so the individual leaves the network to search out a higher level of individual/group.
Now it is worth while pointing out here that “Networking up” is a great idea. To start to surround oneself with people who are more successful and move in higher circles is a great strategy for improving one’s own network and results.
In my experience, though this should be tempered by also maintaining at least some of your networks/relationships with people who share the same passions, challenges and are either the same level as yourself or slightly higher.
People who are in a zone slightly outside of ours will have had the same experiences and will often be in a better position to help, assist and empathize as well as connect.
It is possible to over reach in choosing a higher network. And choosing only higher level networks E.g. If a small business owner of 1 or 2 years in business decides to start trying to network with CEOS of corporates with multi million dollar turn overs and hundreds of staff, they may find that not only will those CEOS not understand his challenges ( after all most CEO”s have jobs and have never started a small business. And different skills set and strategy is required at different stages of a businesses development.
Metaphorically, our business owner has tried to jump too far up the ladder, and they fall, rather than a few steps that challenge them and can be achieved.
Economy’s are always going through cycles, and when the economy takes a down turn or is in “winter”, then we need to be around a pack that cares for its members and fights to survive together. If we push too far alone, then we may leave our pack while chasing a faster one and end up in no man’s land alone. The secret is to find the right pack that wants to push with you and improves its joint ability by the resource such as training or recruiting members that add skills and resources. We can either join this network or build our own unified network.
I am not saying do not network with networks of CEOS for examples I am suggesting we do not completely leave those networks we also need for the other areas of business. We should all be in at least 3 active and varied networks, and this balance and variety will allow us to push ourselves and also be secure.
Be a lead wolf and push the pack, just don’t forget about them.