Always Eat Alone

I cringed when I read about Never Eat Alone. Eating alone is one of my favorite things to do. That being said, I also recognize how it stifles the creation of, and the fostering of networks.

Years ago I took a DiSC analysis workshop and I was paired up with all the other "S's" in the class. Our challenge was to communicate to the rest of the teams what it means to be an S (S = Supportive). The first thing we all identified about ourselves was that we all ate alone. Curt when for long walks. Joe liked to shut his door and recharge. Will liked to go shopping, usually at a bookstore. I would go to the gym for a workout. I've always thought it was funny that this was the defining characteristic of our S group. 

That being said, the rationale behind the book Never Eat Alone has merit. Since then, since having identified that I need to network more since I don't eat out with others, I force myself outside my comfort zone to either eat with prospective clients or to find ways to network more. 

I look back on my career and it's true. . . . none of my career opportunities (well except the very first) came about due to my degree. All of them came from networking and work that I performed. Networking was key in many of the more high profile career moves. I recognize that this is the case and recognize too that my lack of willingness to never eat alone hurts those opportunities so I find other ways. A sequel to Never Eat Alone should be "Learn how to Golf" (another skill I lack).