Managerial Networking Events

For 3-years I’ve hosted a no-BS, invite-only dinner for leaders to break bread and build relationships. Most networking events suck. For real. They’re awful. Forced small talk, sales pitches, and rooms full of people who just want to talk about themselves. Nobody actually connects. Nobody actually learns anything. That’s why I started hosting invite-only dinners for marketing, design, product, and tech leaders. No sponsors. No awkward icebreakers. Just real conversations over good food. If you want to do the same, here’s how. Step 1: Personally Invite People (No Automation, No AI) If you can’t take the time to text, DM, or email someone yourself, don’t do this. No mass invites, no event software. Keep it personal, keep it human. Step 2: Pay for It. No Sponsors. No Sales Pitch. If you try to monetize this, you’ve already lost. People can smell an agenda a mile away. The best way to make this work? Make it not about business. Just bring people together and let things happen organically. Step 3: Get a Private Room. No Cameras. No Recording. Public restaurants are too loud. Private spaces create real conversations. No one should be filtering what they say because they think it’ll end up on LinkedIn. Make it exclusive, keep it off the record. Step 4: Let People Order What They Want Catering sounds good in theory. In reality, you’ll get it wrong. Someone’s keto, someone’s gluten-free, someone just wants fries. Let people order for themselves and avoid the headache. Step 5: Keep It Small 10-15 people max. Anything bigger turns into a networking event, and that’s not what this is. Keep it intimate so people can actually connect. Step 6: Be the Connector Your job isn’t just hosting. It’s matchmaking. At the end of dinner, tell everyone: “Find someone here you want to grab coffee with. If you need an excuse, blame me.” Make it easy for people to stay in touch. Step 7: No Branding. No Name Tags. No Corporate Vibes. This isn’t a “leadership roundtable” or some LinkedIn influencer’s personal brand play. It’s just a dinner. Keep it low-key. Step 8: Focus on Stories, Not Titles No elevator pitches. No bragging. The best conversations come from real stories.. especially failures. The more honest, the better. Step 9: Do It Again (But Keep It Small) If it works, do it again. Rotate in new faces, keep the guest list fresh, and never let it turn into a sales funnel. No automation. No scaling. No BS. Just real people, having real conversations, over real food. Onward & upward! 🤘

How could I build a career if I couldn't even handle a "simple" networking event? Twenty years later, I'm CHRO. And I still hate networking events. But I cracked the code. Traditional networking assumes collecting 50 business cards equals success. For introverts? One deep conversation beats 50 shallow hellos. Quality over quantity isn't just our preference. It's our superpower. So I built my own system. ——————————————— → The 100-Point Energy Budget Every event, you start with 100 energy points: • Random small talk: -15 • Meaningful conversation: -5 • Pretending to laugh at bad jokes: -20 • Finding a fellow introvert: +10 • Strategic "email break": +5 Hit 20 points? Leave. That's not quitting. It's resource management. ——————————————— → The 3-Deep Rule While extroverts collect 50 cards, I build 3 real connections. They get names. I get allies. They get LinkedIn adds. I get coffee meetings. They get forgotten. I get remembered. One meaningful conversation > 50 forgettable handshakes. Tell people you're "gathering insights for research." Now it's an interview, not small talk. Arrive 15 minutes early. Quieter room, better conversations. ——————————————— → The Opener That Works "I'm testing a theory that admitting you're an introvert at networking events creates better connections. You're participant seven." People lean in. They want in on your experiment. Ask what matters: "What problem are you tackling right now?" "If you weren't here, what would you rather be doing?" ——————————————— → The Lighthouse Strategy Don't circulate. Plant yourself somewhere visible. Let people come to you. Or volunteer at check-in for 30 minutes. Meet everyone, defined role, then disappear. Set 45-minute alarms. Energy check. Below 5? Bathroom break. ——————————————— → Permission Granted You can officially: • Leave after 52 minutes • Eat lunch alone at conferences • Say "I need to recharge" • Build your network through LinkedIn • Skip events that don't serve you My biggest deals came from 1-on-1 coffees, not cocktail parties. My best hires came from deep conversations, not speed networking. ——————————————— → The Truth Successful introverted executives didn't learn to act like extroverts. They learned to network like strategists. My record? 12-minute holiday party appearance. Two conversations. Both mattered. Still got promoted. Once had my assistant call with an "urgent client matter" 45 minutes into a dinner. The client was my cat. Zero regrets. Your quiet nature isn't a bug — it's an executive feature. Your energy management isn't high maintenance — it's self-leadership. The revolution isn't about becoming louder. It's about quiet leaders writing the rules. From a comfortable distance. Through screens or deep connection. Like the evolved professionals we are. ♻️ Share to save an introvert from networking hell 📩 Get my Networking Energy Toolkit → https://lnkd.in/dfhfHWe5

Most people think networking ends when they leave the room. Wrong. That's actually when it starts. You can have 20 great conversations at an event. But if you don't follow through in the next 48 hours? Those connections go cold. Here's what I do right after every networking event (and what I tell my clients to do): 1. Connect on LinkedIn with a personalized message. Don't just hit "Connect." Reference your actual conversation. "Hey [Name], loved talking about your transition into product management. Let's stay connected." Takes 30 seconds. Makes you memorable. 2. Look at their 2nd-degree connections. Sometimes the real opportunity isn't the person you met — it's who they know. Scroll through their network. See anyone interesting? Ask for an intro later once you've built rapport. 3. Write a post thanking the host. Public gratitude does two things: - Strengthens your relationship with the organizer - Shows your network you're actively building connections Plus, people who attended will engage. More visibility for you. 4. Find your next networking opportunity immediately. Don't wait weeks to "network again." Momentum matters. Book the next event while your confidence is high. 5. Audit what worked (and what didn't). Were you confident during the handshake? Did your elevator pitch land or did you fumble? Did you freeze when someone asked what you do? Write it down. Fix it before the next one. And here's the wildcard tip most people miss: Network everywhere. The daycare drop-off. The gym. The coffee shop. You never know who works at your dream company until you start conversations.

Our team has had the privilege of building The People Collective over the past two years. We've now hosted more than 70 events and have had the opportunity to meet hundreds of HR leaders across Chicago, Wisconsin, and Indianapolis. This is the first time I've helped build a professional community from the ground up, and it's been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. Beyond the friendships and business opportunities that have come from it, I've found myself paying attention to how people network, why they do it, and what separates those who seem to get the most value from it. A few observations that have stuck with me: - Networking compounds. Just like investing, the best returns come from consistently showing up before you need the outcome. The people who have the strongest networks didn’t build them during a job search—they built them over years. - Your next opportunity rarely comes from your closest contacts. It often comes from someone one or two degrees away who remembers meeting you at a breakfast six months ago. - People underestimate how memorable simply showing up is. Attend three or four events a year consistently, ask thoughtful questions, and people begin associating you with your profession and your expertise. - Titles don’t matter as much as curiosity. The executives who get the most out of networking aren’t always the loudest people in the room. They’re asking questions, listening, and learning. - Most people only network when they need something. The individuals with the strongest networks and professional brands make it a priority to invest a small percentage of their time in networking consistently. - The market moves faster than headlines. Before trends show up in reports, they’re often being discussed in conversations between peers. - Isolation is expensive. Leaders who stay inside their own company bubble often think their challenges are unique. After talking with peers, they realize everyone is working through similar issues. - Communities outperform one-off events. People become more authentic after seeing the same faces multiple times. Trust builds over repeated interactions. - Everyone has something to offer. Even someone early in their career can introduce two people, share an idea, or provide a different perspective. - The strongest leaders are continuous learners. Many attend events not because they’re looking for a job, but because they genuinely want to become better leaders. One thing I've become convinced of is that networking isn't about collecting business cards or asking for favors. It's about investing in relationships long before you need them. The people who consistently show up, stay curious, help others, and build genuine connections almost always seem to create more opportunities—for themselves and for the people around them. #hr #humanresources #CHRO

Hosting 2 exec dinners back to back reminded me that you don’t need a DJ booth and branded tumblers to build pipeline. You need proximity. It's 2025 and there's still this lingering belief that the bigger the event, the bigger the impact. The logo wall, the glitzy booth, the team dinner that cost more than a quarter’s marketing budget. IMO conferences are great for visibility, but they’re terrible for real conversations. You scan 300 badges. You remember 3 faces. And the best interaction you had? A random intro in the hotel bar. That’s not so much a strategy as it is simply gambling with your marketing budget. IMO the best way to do this is to go small, which ironically, will allow you to win big. We’re talking: 1. Executive roundtables with 20-30 handpicked guests (like the ones Sales Assembly does every month). 2. Working sessions tailored to a real, shared problem. 3. Dinners where the customer does 90% of the talking. 4. Field events where every attendee is pre-qualified and mapped to pipeline. Why it works: - You control the guest list. No wasted conversations. - You control the environment. No distractions. - You control the follow up. No getting buried in a sea of booth emails. These aren’t “networking events.” They’re high-trust conversion machines. Because when the room is small, the stakes get higher, the conversations get deeper, and the pipeline gets real. If you want to win business, don’t just go where everyone is. Go where real conversations happen. Or create those environments yourself. Thanks as always to Nooks, Capchase, and TigerEye for their continued partnership in creating these types of environments, including this one last night in Salt Lake City!

I used to drop $1,000 on big conferences, thinking that’s where all the action was happening. Now? Game-changing events > calendar fillers. Turns out, the best convos were always happening at small side events. Recently at TechWeek, I managed to get into a tiny, highly curated event for a Series B+ audience and it was so worth the hustle. This wasn’t a “buy ticket, show up” kind of event. It was more like: find the organizers → reach out directly → dig up mutual intros → prep a killer intro blurb → earn your spot Because even the best pitch means nothing if you’re in the wrong room. Here’s how I decide where to go now, and don’t waste my time (or budget) there: → Research the audience first Check last year’s attendees. Look at the speaker companies. If your ICP isn’t there, don’t go. → Prioritize curated over open-door Events with RSVP forms and shortlists are gold. They take more effort to get into, but the quality of conversation is 10x higher. → Hunt for the small stuff and side events I’ll skip the 2,000-person conference for a 20-person breakfast any day. No booths, no noise — just real people and real context. → Use event curation newsletters I love Supermomos newsletters for finding quality events. Way better than scrolling Eventbrite or Luma for hours. → Don’t stack your day One meaningful event > three mediocre ones. You’ll actually have energy to follow up. Result: I stopped collecting just LinkedIn connections and started landing real leads. And I couldn’t have pulled it off without my assistant — from outreach, to prep, to managing all the behind-the-scenes ops. Great networking starts with choosing the right rooms. And remember: not all events are created equal. Some open doors. Some just fill your calendar. What’s your approach to event strategy?

Are you just attending events or actually connecting? The last few weeks I have been at conferences and events, trying to do one thing well: connect with people, not just collect badges. That is the real trade off: Busy vs present. Visible vs relationship builder. A few things become obvious: 1) Depth beats volume You do not need to meet everyone. You need to have a few real conversations that can continue after event. Ask: “What are you actually trying to solve this quarter?” Then listen. People remember who cared about their context, not their title. 2) Serendipity needs structure Yes, chance encounters matter. But you increase your luck by being intentional. Choose 2-3 sessions where your ideal peers will be. Arrive early. Stay a bit after. One good hallway conversation, tied to a shared session, is worth far more than 20 rushed introductions. 3)Follow up is the real event The conference is just the opening scene, not the whole story. Capture one specific detail from each conversation: a challenge, a book mentioned, a share interest. Use that as anchor when you reach out later. That is how you turn a fleeting chat into an ongoing relationship. Connection at events is not networking as performance. It’s is curiosity, focus, and continuity. P.S.: Next time you walk into an event, what one behavior will you change to move from “met many” to “really connect with a few”? #BusinessNetworking, #EventStrategy, #B2BMarketing, #RelationshipBuilding, #ProfessionalGrowth, #RefreshWithRyza André Miasake, Lenny Joseph, Mike Wilding, Krishan (Kris) Mehta, P.E.

It’s fall, and you know what that means: It’s networking season! Many people shy away from networking events because they can be uncomfortable. I understand that - it's normal to feel out of place when you don’t know anyone. But what if you had a strategy to turn every event into a meaningful opportunity? Let me share two simple but effective strategies I use to feel more comfortable and maximize my time at large gatherings: My first tip? Always have a question ready. When you’re at a networking event, people will react positively when you approach them. Everyone’s there to network, right? You can go up to someone and ask something easy like, “What are you most excited about right now?” or “Tell me about you.” These questions open the door to deeper conversations that  take you beyond small talk. When they answer you can pick out something to hook onto to bring the conversation to a deeper level. . The second tip? Have a follow-up plan. As you talk, think about ways you can contribute to the person’s life—a relevant article, podcast, or even a LinkedIn connection. By offering something valuable, you create a natural follow-up that helps maintain the relationship. These strategies help you get value from the event. Networking isn’t just about adding more contacts—it’s about building connections that matter. It’s the difference between feeling like you’re just passing out business cards and walking away with relationships that last. Networking events may be contrived, but with practice they can help you achieve your goals. What’s your go-to strategy for making meaningful connections at networking events? #networking  #strategy  #communication