From My Inbox: Unlock The Room

Ah, the perennial question: how to get in the right networking room, to make the right connections.

And this question was raised more in the form of a statement ("But I don't know the right people") as I took a walk & talk meeting recently in Central Park...the burst of perennials in the park powerfully reminding me: transformation requires cycles — not just chance.

🗝️ The right connection isn’t magic.

🗝️ It’s one smart question — directed to the right person — with the right timing.

Back to my Central Park conversation - my friend was stuck. Not ungrateful for the clients and listings she has — just ready for deals with more zeroes. “But I don’t know the right people,” she said.

Except… she did.

Within minutes, she described the exact kind of clients she wanted — and casually named someone in her network who already had them. Bingo. That was the right connection.

What my friend was missing wasn’t access. It was realizing she had the connection she needed.

When I pointed this out, my friend paused...

She realized she had the absolutely f'g ideal connection for her networking question.

With the "right" person to question identified, our walk continued, and we turned to strategizing the right networking ask as well as the timing of her ask.

The right connection is the person who has the answer you need - or is a step in the right direction towards reaching that answer.

Now all this musing on "knowing the right people" isn’t just about sourcing friends to do favors for us.

It’s about structural leverage - such as this network leveraging pro-tip for startup founders + their advisory board members reveals (pulled directly from The Fourth Effect's newsletter):

For Founders & Advisors: The Power of Network-Driven Business Development - "The best BD relationships are built on access, not just advice."

For startups, a great advisor isn’t just a sounding board—they open doors that would otherwise take years to unlock. Prioritizing network strength over knowledge accelerates sales, builds credibility, and drives real revenue.

For advisors, true impact isn’t just about offering strategic guidance; it’s about leveraging your relationships to create tangible value. Aligning incentives through performance-based equity ensures both sides benefit—startups get traction, and advisors get rewarded for real impact.

When both sides think this way, BD advising moves from theoretical to transformational.

Your next breakthrough isn’t miles away. It’s one precise ask — to someone already in your orbit.

A networking reflection for you this week: What question are you not asking — and who already holds the answer? Where are you frustrating your efforts by overlooking sources of support? What one question would help you unlock the next right step towards your goals?

✅ Source the right question to ask the right person with the help of this Unlock the Room worksheet.

🚀🚀🚀 3x Entrepreneur, investor and business growth expert Lauren Maillian definitely asked the right question of the right network in a recent newsletter to her community. The topic was her 90-day business growth and brand power accelerator. Rather than seeking feedback from those who were participating, she sent a survey around to those who were not. Brilliant.

The Build Your Dream Network Refresher: Devon Brook's networked journey to landing a board seat (p.115-120) illustrates how "showing up with the right ask, directed to the right person" unlocks opportunity. Build Your Dream Network constantly urges readers to clarify intent before the first networking outreach.

More to read and explore:

💡 Women Are Avoiding AI. Will Their Careers Suffer? (Working Knowledge)

💡 Networking pathways essential to increase women’s representation in leadership (Your Story)

💡 Fermanagh baker on making her business rise to the top (The Impartial Reporter)