Something happened at our first Collaboration Series that I’ve been thinking about ever since.
Women who didn’t know each other started talking.
Someone discovered another woman’s business. An introduction happened. A conversation moved somewhere completely unexpected.
None of it was planned.
And honestly, that may have been one of my favorite parts of the night.
Because we spend a lot of time thinking about networking in terms of who we should know.
Who has the experience?
Who has the connection?
Who could open a door?
Those relationships matter. Of course they do.
But lately, I’m much more interested in another question:
Who should know each other?
Sometimes the most valuable thing we can offer someone isn’t advice, mentorship or an opportunity.
It’s simply:
You two need to meet.
And the further along we get in our careers and communities, the more powerful that becomes.
Over time, we collect more than experience.
We collect people.
People whose work we trust.
People whose ideas interest us.
People who are building something.
People who know things we don’t.
People we’d happily recommend when their name comes up.
And that network becomes valuable—not only because of what it can do for us, but because of what we can do with it.
An introduction can become an idea.
An opportunity.
A client.
A collaboration.
A friendship.
Or absolutely nothing.
And that’s okay too.
Not every connection needs an outcome attached to it. Sometimes you simply recognize that two interesting people should know each other and make that happen.
I’ve done this throughout my career without thinking much about it. But I’m starting to realize it’s one of the things I want to be much more intentional about with The Other Women.
Not simply bringing women together.
Connecting women who might be able to do something together.
There’s a difference.
And I think there’s an opportunity for all of us to do more of it.
So this week, think of two women you know who should know each other.
Introduce them.
No elaborate explanation. No agenda. No expectation that something has to come from it.
Just:
I know both of you, and I think you should know each other.
Then let them take it from there.
Because maybe one of the most valuable things about building a strong network isn’t simply knowing the right people.
It’s knowing when the right people should know each other.
XO,
Cleo
