A number of years ago I was invited to lecture at an oilfield in Kazakhstan and it was an amazing experience.My visit was part of the onshore field’s disaster planning strategy, and I was charged with mapping out the crisis media element of the exercise. To cut a long story short, I worked closely with the senior management team, and we talked endlessly about Public Relations and the need to build up ‘brownie points’ in advance of any pending crisis. If the proverbial ‘brown stuff’ hit the fan, what type of people / organisation would the media find if they came knocking at your door? Would they have read enough about you, in the past, to know that you were a professional, caring organisation, focused on problem solving and committed to your staff? Or, would they see their visit as a golden opportunity to kick the shit out of you because you had a public record of being a bad employers, a complete ‘taker’ and a money grabbing opportunist? Networking is no different. It’s all about building up ’emotional capital’. In the same way that the media will be more forgiving of a beleaguered organisation that has a reputation for ‘doing the right thing, so people tend to do business with those they have an emotional relationship with. When did you last walk into a room and do a sizeable chunk of business with a complete stranger? Rarely I can assure you.However, if you meet someone several times, buy them a coffee and establish a relationship, then you are more likely to work together. So, start building your emotional capital otherwise you will always be known as the hard sell merchant that people try and avoid when they see you in the room!