Do you have a network of professional Quality?

Many of us have been growing a LinkedIn network for a few years. I was not an early adopter of LinkedIn and joined reluctantly when a friend suggested I “had to.” (I forget why that was at the time, but it was probably baloney.)  Now I’m a LinkedIn fan.  But it’s not because of LinkedIn’s app or features.  I believe those of us who use LinkedIn daily intuitively feel that our network has Quality, and using LinkedIn reinforces the sense that we’ve made good judgments about our connections and therefore about our own lives.  It’s that sense of being connected to a Quality community that feeds LinkedIn’s following. 

Some people think Quality is a purely subjective measure of value. I believe instead the word Quality captures something most people can intuitively sense and instinctively appreciate. Quality is easy to find in Nature.  It’s not so easy to find among human beings. So perusing a news feed from a network of individuals of Quality triggers a slight but meaningful rush of comfort and pride.  If you think I’m over-analyzing, consider the people in your network who got there “by accident.” The people you’d really rather not have in your network because, at a fundamental level, they degrade the Quality of your network.  I say don’t feel guilty about those feelings. Because Quality is real.

The other thing about a network of Quality people is that it reveals a network of Quality services and products. Chances are, Quality individuals who have real influence within their companies are going to make it more likely that their companies deliver Quality to their customers. A lot of stuff can get in the way, for sure, but a Quality network connection is as good a starting point as any in your search for Quality business partners and solutions.

Do you admire the Quality of the company you keep on LinkedIn?  Does the same apply to Facebook or other social networks?  How selective should we be when it comes to building a professional network?

P.S. If I’ve struck a chord here, you would enjoy reading (or rereading) Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.