Which network are you tapping into?

Networks.

We all have been obsessed with building networks. Because someone told us to do so. Someone told us that networks are useful for getting leads, receiving advice, and whatnot.

But what if your network does the opposite - it confuses you more than giving you clarity!

Aditya Agrawal, founder of Dawailelo.com (now acquired by 1mg), faced this while pondering over what next after his engineering. He reached out to his college alumni, a set of people mostly on the same track. A network that he recently built, and hence was on the top of his mind. And, no prize for guessing, he received the same piece of advice from everyone.

He, in a moment of wisdom, decided to approach his school friends, who over the years would have followed different tracks. A network that was built long ago. And there, as he claims, he got some clarity!

Here is what happened, as we see it.

A network is never static. Its various nodes - the people - keep on moving, mostly in the directions that would enhance the diversity of the network. If you plot this movement on the time-axis, here is how it will look.

As you can now visualise, your recent networks have people who mostly have access to the same information as you, and hence are mostly on the same tracks. As these people, or nodes, keep on moving in their lives, exploring other options, they start moving in diverse directions. And so, you will see most of the diversity in the old networks. Hence, you can expect more answers to your questions from those networks. Old is gold 🙂

Actionable insights for becoming ‘confidently confused’

As a human, our inherent tendency is to tap into our recent networks since they are on top of our mind. But consciously avoid them, and reach out to your old networks in times of confusion. These could be your mohalla network where you grew up, your school network, your college network or your first job network, depending upon where you are in your life. 

Not to mention the joy your old friend will have upon seeing your call. And when you call him or her, don't forget to mention about us 😉

Signing Off,

Aarti & Ashutosh

Confidently Confused