Casting the Net

You have a quite a good network, your advisory board that you built when you were starting SOA. So I'm wondering, what strategies do you use to build and strengthen your network for SOA?

When I think about network, I think about relationships, and it really comes to the one-on-one relationships that you have to have, and I see it as a two-way street. Whenever I'm building in my network, I'm not thinking about what can I get out of this individual, but rather how can I add value to their lives, as well as how can they add value to mine. So I would say that at the core of building my network, it has been very intentional and it hasn't been superficial in a way where I'm just meeting people, I'm bringing them in because I need them, or rather I always understand how I can support them and help them advance their own goals. So this definitely has taken a lot of time given that I started this when I was 19, and having those one-on-one conversations, having those coffee chats, but always following up, always staying true to myself, again, and how I want to show up in these conversations, and then, again, mentioned earlier is making everyone feel part of coming along on this journey. Because I'll be the first one to say that although I founded SOA, SOA is here where it is now because of my network, because of people that are in there, because of my team, because of the mentors that we have. And so it's so important to make everyone feel as if they've contributed because it's the truth. SOA would be nothing without its amazing community.