Page 163 - The Drucker Lectures

144 [ The Drucker Lectures

You also don’t lose touch with the people with whom you’ve
worked. And it’s not just sending a Christmas card. And, by the
way, don’t send that canned Christmas card—the Xeroxed one
that begins, “It’s been a very eventful year for the Jonas family.
Our grandchild got his first tooth . . .” Don’t send that one.
But when you’re in Tacoma, pick up the telephone and call
that fellow who has been transferred there and say, “Joe, I’m in
town. I don’t know whether I have enough time to get together
with you. But I just wanted to say hello and find out how you’re
doing.” Keep the network.
In the first place, you may need it. During the last three years,
an enormous number of people have been forced to find another
job. Maybe you’ve been with the same big company for 26 years.
You’ve never had to write your résumé. One more promotion and
suddenly, at age 49, you’re out. It’s traumatic and painful.
And we’ve had study after study on what makes the difference
between those who were able to find a new job relatively easy and
those who couldn’t. What kind of experience and expertise you
have makes a lot of difference. But when it comes to people of
the same age, with the same expertise and the same background,
the ones who do well are the ones who know where they belong.
They know their strengths, know their performance, and can
position themselves. The other difference for those who do well
is that they have a network. They’ve never lost touch.
These are not close friends, but they are people who know
you and whom you know. And again and again, when one of
them gets that letter or telephone call, he calls right back and
says, “Gregory, I think have a job that might interest you. Do
you mind if I talk to my friend Joe down the street about it?”
And two weeks later you have an interview with Joe.
Again and again, this is a balance between how you pres-
ent yourself—not bragging about yourself but knowing yourself.
And knowing how to maneuver yourself, which is what a net-