Ask most people you perceive to have had a successful career, and the importance of networking will feature pretty heavily. You’ll hear advice about making time to go for coffees, attending events, and sending follow-up messages. While none of that is wrong, it often misses a more important point.
A strong network isn’t just about knowing people. It’s about being known for something valuable.
One of the most powerful but overlooked strategies is increasing your surface area for luck. Luck is rarely random. More often, it’s what happens when preparation meets opportunity and crucially, when enough people know what you stand for, so that when the right moment comes, you’re front of mind. Increasing your surface area for luck is one of the most powerful but overlooked strategies.
If you’re not visible, you’re not considered. If you’re not considered, you’re not chosen.
Increasing your surface area for luck means being consistently findable, credible, and relevant. It means putting yourself in the right rooms, sharing your insights openly, showing up even when there’s no immediate reward. It’s about being part of the ecosystem where conversations happen, decisions are made, and opportunities are shaped.
At MCO Performance, our ethos is to drive positive action and inspire those around us to do the same. The same principle applies here. By leaning into more opportunities — speaking at events, mentoring future leaders, creating content that genuinely adds value, you give yourself more chances to be seen, trusted, and recommended.
Over a year before we launched our own business, Marie-Claire and I co-delivered a keynote at the Women in Business Voices of Leadership Conference to a packed room in the Galgorm Hotel. Why? Because we were given a great opportunity to talk about the high-performing team we were proud to have built. Did it result in immediate business opportunities? No.
However, some of those same connections we made almost three years ago have gone on to become clients of MCO Performance as well as providing us with thoughtful and considered feedback in the early days of putting our pitch together.
Building a strong surface area isn’t about vanity metrics or chasing connections for the sake of it. (Or for the sake of a glass of semi-warm House White) It’s about playing a longer, more strategic game in which you become the person people think of when they hear about a challenge you are uniquely placed to solve.
You can’t always control when the opportunity will arise. But you can absolutely make it easier for opportunities to find you.
There’s a crucial caveat here. Networks open doors, but they don’t guarantee that you’ll be invited to walk through them. You still have to be so good that they can’t ignore you or better still they come looking for you!
It’s not enough to be known. You need to be excellent.
The most successful leaders and businesses aren’t just those with the biggest networks. They’re the ones who have combined visibility with undeniable credibility. They have done the work to become exceptional at what they do, and they continue to invest in their growth.
Building a network without building substance is like buying a beautiful car with no engine. It might look impressive from the outside, but it’s not going to get you very far.
Sustained growth happens when you are consistently seen as someone who adds value, not noise. Someone who delivers results, not excuses. Someone who earns trust, not just attention.
This applies just as much within your own business as it does externally. If you’re a founder or a leader trying to attract top talent, you need more than just a compelling job description — you need a ‘why’ that people want to be part of. If you’re operating a client-facing company, you need to offer more than promises — you need proof.
At MCO Performance, we often work with businesses who are experts in their respective fields but don’t see themselves as skilled networkers. Then, when we break it down, they realise they not only have a much bigger and much more untapped network than they initially recognised. Taking stock and thinking critically about your prospects, supplier or even your family members could be the keys to success. Just make sure that if the opportunity arises, you’re ready to take action.
If you’re looking to execute your strategy whilst building a network that will take your business to the next level, schedule a call with us to find out more.
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