Networking — The Ripple Effect — Summary of the Finale event

"Effective networking isn’t a result of luck — it requires hard work and persistence!” — The former professional football player, Lewis Howes said. While I believe I have networked well in the last couple of years, built and nurtured connections, I still am in awe of so many women out there who can be termed as “Super networkers”. That’s the reason I never miss out attending any event where one of the speakers happens to be from my “Super networkers” list, all the more not to miss it out when the topic is “Networking — The ripple effect”. Congratulations to Lean In WiTI for having combined this topic with another interesting topic on Networks — not networks of people, but networks of computers, servers, and other devices!

For those of you who may not have been able to attend this event, here are some of the key takeaways(and re-affirmations for me) from Arpita Ganesh’s talk. Arpita Ganesh is well known as the “Indian Bra lady” in the lingerie circles. The Founder of Buttercups Intimates Pvt. Ltd., Arpita Ganesh’s talk was lively, filled with experience sharing and left each of us with key learning that a woman must keep in mind, be it in her personal life or her professional life(whether you are in a job or an entrepreneur). So, here goes the list: -

• Ask, and you shall receive — Linda Babcock in her book “Women don’t ask” observes that many male graduates were teaching their courses and most female students were assigned as assistants. And she concludes that “More men ask. The women just don’t ask”. Arpita Ganesh has been different as she started “asking” right from the days when she was in college. She found her course boring and instead of attending classes, she wanted to be in the hot seat(or rather the hot kitchen) and work at the hotel and only go back to the Hotel Management Institute where she was studying, writing exams. Though it sounded peculiar in the beginning, she was allowed to do so. And her learning in those years has strengthened her basics and made her successful in her first jobs at the Taj hotels. The skill of asking continued when she started her own advertising company, and she did not shy away from asking people to bring their brands to her company for their marketing campaigns. It did not matter to her that this was an entirely new company, and she was in a completely different field from what she did in the past. Ask she did, and orders started coming in.
• Get out of your comfort zone — Arpita could have stayed put in the advertising firm as it was doing exceptionally well. But, it was not to be. She was getting very comfortable in that space, and that made her uncomfortable, and she made her next move, which is what has earned her the title of “The Indian Bra Lady”. As someone has said, Great things don’t happen in comfort zones. So, when your time comes, when the opportunity knocks on your door, take the leap. Face and embrace the unknown.

IN THE END, WE ONLY REGRET THE CHANCES WE DIDN’T TAKE.

• Build and nurture networks and help others and it will help you when you need it — Arpita narrated many stories of how people that she knew and didn’t know but was connected over LinkedIn helped her in her entrepreneurial journey. In fact, she cannot imagine a life without LinkedIn. And, it’s not as if she only connects with people who she thinks can and will help her, but connects with people whom she can help. Right there during the event, she had a request from someone, and she made a couple of phone calls to remote places and ensured the offer was taken care. The story of how she launched her crowdfunding campaign by requesting Sneha Iype of Nirvana films to help her do the movie tells us that if one is convinced about her idea and product, others will come forward to support it. Most people use LinkedIn to remain connected with people that they have worked with in the past, but the important message that she left us with was to use it to connect with people that you don’t know. Nurture those connections by remaining in contact and trying to help them whenever they are in need or if you believe you have something to offer to them. And when you need some help, they will come forward to assist you in whatever way they can. It works and Arpita and the story of Buttercups starting from the idea of being where it is today is a living example of how networking is essential in everyone’s personal and professional lives.

Lean In’s Theory of Change is to help women come together to learn from each other and achieve their goals. Lean in Circles do precisely that, and I urge every woman to be part of a circle that she identifies with Women in Technology in India is a much-required circle, and by bringing in such speakers and topics in addition to core Technology topics, Lean in Women in Tech India a.k.a Lean In WiTI is helping women get the confidence to surge ahead.

Join the Lean In Women in Tech India network here.

About the Author:

Neeraja Ganesh decided to switch her career after 25 years in the IT field, to work in the space of gender diversity in 2018! While she mentored women working in her company during her IT days, the experience of mentoring women outside of a corporate setup, confirmed her belief that much needs to be done to show the path to women in our country who have the innate talent but lack the knowledge of where to find help in terms of mentoring, coaching, networking and, more importantly, understanding that these are important elements in one’s professional growth. She now heads the JobsForHer Foundation which has been setup to bridge the gender gaps in the country.