Stop calling it “networking”. It’s just relationship building.

“Networking” has become one of those words that makes everyone cringe. It sounds corporate, forced, and painfully transactional — a room full of people pretending to like each other while waiting for their turn to talk about themselves.

But real networking, the kind that actually matters, isn’t networking at all. It’s relationship building.

The difference is intent.

Networking is about extraction. What can I get from you? A lead, a referral, an intro, a client. It’s short-term thinking dressed up as connection.
Relationship building is about contribution. What can I give, how can I help, and how can we both win over time? It’s slower, but it compounds.

Most people never get this. They treat every connection like a transaction. They post on LinkedIn with “engagement strategies” that read like scripts. They measure success in comments and follows instead of trust and influence.

It’s easy to spot. You can feel it when someone only reaches out when they need something. You can feel it when their first message is a pitch. And you can definitely feel it when they don’t care who you are beyond what you can do for them.

The best relationships in business don’t start in strategy documents. They start in curiosity. Curiosity grounded in actually giving a shit about the person’s world. They grow from conversations that aren’t forced. They’re built on small, consistent moments — a comment, a message, a shared idea — not on networking tactics or funnels.

The problem is that networking has been industrialised. People think it’s something you can automate, scale, or outsource. You can’t. You can’t build genuine trust through a CRM. You can’t systemise warmth. And you can’t fake interest for long before people notice.

The strongest networks are full of people who actually like each other. Who’ve helped each other when there wasn’t anything to gain. Who’ve shared opportunities, contacts, advice, and encouragement without expecting a return.

That’s how you build leverage that lasts.

If you want a better network, stop chasing numbers and start showing up for people. Comment with something thoughtful. Introduce people who should know each other. Be reliable. Follow up. It’s not complicated — it just takes time, attention, and consistency.

The goal isn’t to meet more people. It’s to build relationships that mean something.

Stop calling it networking. It’s just relationship building.