A colleague of mine is considering a new position.  How did this person get this new position?

It wasn’t about resumes, networking, or any of the usual things.  It was all about a past relationship and a mutual trust shared by my colleague and this other person.

When we “network” we build weak and vague acquaintances.  Assuming that weak and vague knowledge of one other results in a job, what kind of position do you think it might be?

On the other hand, once you’ve gone to war with somebody and built something–together–you’ve got a relationship that will stand the test of time.  That’s what will result in new opportunities that don’t involve spending a lot of time and resources sending out resumes, going on interviews and “networking.”

What are you building today, with other people, that will help make you the linchpin for another opportunity in the future?