According to the cliché, it's not what you know, but who you know, that matters. Like all clichés, this one overstates the case while also containing a measure of truth. No one has escaped the experience of seeing a colleague awarded a plum assignment or hearing from an old friend about yet another promotion and musing that such success has more to do with connections than abilities. These frustrating experiences can lead people to take extreme attitudes toward networking, however. Some dismiss

more »

... it as a game for selfpromoters and opt out of the activity altogether. Others, meanwhile, peruse one self-help book after another in search for the quick-fix "secrets" to a power network.