Powerful Lesson from a Networking Guru

Dr. George C. Fraser is a Networking Guru.

He is the Chairman & CEO of FraserNet, a company he founded almost 30 years ago with the vision to lead a global networking movement that brings together diverse human resources to increase opportunities for people of African descent.

He is considered by many to be a POWERFUL voice of wisdom for African Americans and is one of the foremost authorities on economic development, networking and building effective relationships. While George’s accomplishments are significant, his beginnings were very humble.

He taught me, "Network to Give & NOT to Get."

This phrase means that when you build professional or social connections, your primary mindset should be contributing value to others rather than seeking immediate personal benefit.

In practical terms:

𝐆𝐢𝐯𝐞: Offer help, knowledge, introductions, support, or encouragement.

𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐭: Don’t approach networking solely to ask for favors, jobs, sales, or advantages.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭:

• Genuine relationships are built on 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲, not transactions.

• When you consistently help others, opportunities often come back to you 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 over time.

• People are more likely to remember and support someone who was helpful without strings attached.

𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞:

• Instead of saying, “𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐣𝐨𝐛?”

• You might say, “𝐈 𝐬𝐚𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐗, 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩.”

In short, the phrase encourages a 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠-𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦, 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩-𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠, where giving comes first and receiving is a byproduct, not the goal.