We all have more personal and professional resources at our fingertips than we can imagine. I am not naturally good at networking, but I suspect the advantage that great networkers have is that they are simply better able to see and tap into these resources.

I recently attended a training program that really underscored this idea for me. There were six table groups with about five people at each table. For one of the activities, each table was given a large, hypothetical, community issue to solve. As an example, one group was told that they were trying to offer low cost health screenings at a community health fair; another group was trying to create transportation solutions for a low income area. There were six different groups all trying to solve overwhelmingly huge problems.

Everyone then mingled throughout the room asking people from other groups what they could do to help. Amazingly, EVERY SINGLE PERSON had a skill, access to resources, or knew someone who could help. Although the situations were hypothetical, the resources and solutions weren’t.

The point of the exercise was to demonstrate the sheer volume of resources available in a community and I was blown away by it. Normally, if you went around and asked a bunch of relative strangers what they could do to help, you’d get little response and few ideas. So what made this activity different?

First, the focus was on gathering all ideas, big and small, and no ideas were dismissed. Also, we weren’t looking for a solution, only asking what the others could contribute (and a lot of times their contribution was to offer to connect them with someone else). Finally, no one said, “I can’t help.” The expectation was to think of some way, no matter how small or unorthodox, to help. This generated a ton of good ideas that would not have been otherwise considered.

If that magic can happen with a group of strangers, how powerful would it be with people you know? We’ve all done this to some extent, but I wonder what would happen if we really leveraged it? What if you took a problem you were working on and directly asked everyone you know what they could offer to help? (Posting it on Facebook or Twitter is not directly asking. Emailing is not directly asking. I mean to have a one-on-one in-person or over the phone conversation where they have to give you an answer right then.)

This is really leveraging the six degrees of separation. We don’t have to go too far out in our network to find someone who would be a great resource whether we are trying to find a job, buy a car, hire a personal trainer, find great day care, locate investment property, etc.

I’m becoming convinced that there are few problems bigger than the people we already know. The only thing we need to do is ask.

I’ve got networking on the brain lately. I’ve been coming across some great postings on networking at the same time I had a very “small world” experience.

There is a lot of misunderstanding about networking. People often think of it as schmoozing or being insincere. Or they approach it as a one-time event rather than an ongoing process or developing relationships. Or they get in a bind and figure they better go network.

It’s hard to quickly network as a last-ditch effort to get a job, expand your business, recruit new applicants, or find more clients. By then it’s generally too late. At that point, you’re not networking, you’re selling. Nothing wrong with that but it’s a different activity with a different goal and different tactics. As Harvey MacKay says, “Dig your well before you’re thirsty.”

Tim Mushey inspired this post with a post he did last week engaging the conversation and interacting with people wherever you are. Us humans are really good at overcomplicating things and making things far more difficult than they need to be. Networking can truly be as simple as saying “hello”, giving a friendly smile, or introducing yourself. Being inclusive and making others feel welcome isn’t hard to do, but so few do it that it is an easy way to set ourselves apart.

The thing about networking and building relationships is that you never know where it is going to lead. Sometimes they go nowhere, sometimes they become crucial, and sometimes they lead to other relationships and unexpected outcomes.

If we are all truly separated from each other by six relationships or less then it really is a very small, interconnected world. No matter how far removed you think you are, you really aren’t. I was reminded of this over the weekend.

I live in a smaller city about two hours from a major metropolis. Most weekends I mountain bike on a local set of trails in the middle of town. It’s a great trail system, but is a labyrinth through the woods and can be very confusing if you don’t know the way. I always like to say hi to the other cyclists as I go by. If I see them looking at a map or talking about directions, I’ll stop and chat. If they are from out of town or new to the trails, I’ll generally recommend directions or invite them to follow along.

Two weekends ago, I came across a fellow named Colin who had come into town the night before from the big city to attend a wedding and brought his bike along to get a ride in. (More small world: I believe both he and my boss attended the same wedding, though they don’t know each other.) He asked where a specific trail was and I offered to show him the way. We ended  up riding together and at the end of the ride I gave him my card and told him to call if he was every back this way looking to go for another ride.

Last weekend, I ended up riding with a couple of guys from the big city. Call them Tom and Doug. Similar story. They were in town with their families and had brought their bikes along. They asked about directions when we came across each other on the trail and they ended up tagging along. They offered to return the favor by showing me some of the trails up in the city the next time I was that way.

As luck would have it, the next day my aunt and uncle who live several states away texted to let me know that they were going to be in the big city over the weekend for a trade show. I decided to take Tom and Doug up on their offer and get in a bike ride while in town to visit with them my relatives.

So, I’m waiting at the trailhead for Doug and notice a guy pulling into the parking with a familiar looking bike strapped to his car. When he gets out, I recognize him as Colin, the guy I rode with two weeks prior! Keep in mind this early Saturday morning, two hours from my house, in an area of well over five million people. The odds of bumping into each other ever again are low enough, but the odds of showing up at the same trailhead for a ride at the same time?! Apparently much better than I would have ever guessed.

It would have been so easy (and perfectly acceptable) if I had passed  them by and not said anything. Instead I had several great rides, got to see new trails, and potentially have a few more friends. It’s a fun small-world story, but it’s also a reminder to be polite, friendly, inclusive. It costs almost nothing yet you never know when you’ll see the person again or where that connection will lead. It is so easy to cocoon ourselves from other people these days and so important to make sure we don’t.