Blog · Myths to bust
The Networking Strategy
Three wrong ideas have circulated for years, even among professionals. One is false, one is true but for the opposite reason people think, and one is an excuse. It's worth pulling them apart.
Published 11 November 2021 · revised 16 August 2026
First myth
"It isn't a science"
In the popular imagination, networking sits among the subjects that can't be measured. Part of the reason is concrete: almost none of the business marketing courses out there say a word about how to build a referral network.
Not because it's impossible, but because for a long time nobody knew how to do it repeatably — and because business culture, on this point, has stayed cautious.
What happened in the meantime
The method became a discipline with a Founding Charter, a glossary and six laws, and its results are measured and published — even when they're not flattering.
That's not enough to make it a hard science. It's enough to set it apart from an opinion.
Second myth
"It's risky"
This one is true. But the risk isn't where people look for it — and this is exactly where the 2021 article had already got it right.
How it was put back then
"When you refer someone, it's as if you hand over a piece of your reputation. If they do good work, your credibility gains from it; if they do a poor job, your reputation comes out worse."
And that's why referrals are only exchanged within solid relationships: because the risk is real, and nobody takes it on for a stranger.
What it's called today
Sixth law, the Law of Referred Risk: in every referral, the one taking the risk isn't the person being referred — it's the one making the referral. It's the youngest of the six, and it didn't correct an existing law — it named a principle nobody had written down yet.
Everything else follows from there: whoever makes the introduction is called a Connector, not a tipster, and their reliability is measured over time instead of self-declared (Fifth law).
Third myth
"It's not for everyone"
You'd supposedly need to be outgoing, good at public speaking, comfortable in a room full of strangers. It's the usual "I'm no good at it" story, and it doesn't hold up as an excuse: none of those skills are innate, and all of them can be trained.
Speaking in front of a hundred people is intimidating, and that's normal. There are simple remedies — prepare an outline, talk only about what you truly know — and they work for any other obstacle too.
A note that wasn't there in 2021
The myth is false, and the excuse behind it is sometimes legitimate: networking as we usually understand it — evening events, personal initiative, ease in a crowd — rewards one specific type of person.
The answer isn't to tell everyone to change who they are. It's to build a system where a useful introduction can come from a declared profile instead of from the ability to work a room.
The first step
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