It used to be that fortune favors the prepared mind. While still true, the networked mind is now the most prepared. It is from here that you will be ready to take on anything that comes your way- because if you don’t know how to do it, it won’t be hard for you to find someone who does.
Today, access is more important than ownership- access to knowledge and access to the minds of others.
Power comes from sharing information, not withholding it. Now more than ever, change has become the constant. Information loses value so quickly that what you know at any point in time could be obsolete only moments later.With globalization comes more competition and what gives you the competitive advantage today could be worthless tomorrow.
In the information age, success has become more about effectiveness than efficiency. The ability to get the right things done is now of far greater importance than the ability to just do things right. It’s no longer about what you know. It’s about how quickly you can find and learn the next new and right things. Finding, understanding, and applying these things the quickest requires a network- there is far too much information available to compete alone.
To create such a network you simply need to share what you feel, how you see something, or any new things you learn or experience. Spark some real conversation. Make yourself known in a community and develop a few close relationships that will give you the feedback, perspective, and input that are essential for effective decision making. Share your opinion and be eager to learn from any argument that may take place. The goal of an argument is not victory, it’s progress. So grow, and share how you did it. For every one person you offend by opening up, 3 more will be ready to have your back. Give your knowledge and your passion freely and soon you will have access to all the knowledge and passion around. By creating and growing with an ever larger and more talented network, you begin to receive information faster and understand it more deeply though the ever increasing amount of perspective brought to the table. And on that note…