#152 - The 50X Multiplier

Last week was a rollercoaster, folks. 🎢

The trip to Bali was full of highs: unwinding in great weather, and exploring new experiences with the fam. Metal work. Yoga. Surfing. Scuba diving. Bali Belly. 😳

For the uninitiated, Bali Belly is a fun, alliterative term for food poisoning. And on the last day of our break, my son and I both got it, full-on. After a long trip back to Singapore, which was not, in fact, far away, we spent the weekend on our backs, made a visit to the emergency room for some hydration -- and then bounced back strong on Monday. Phew. 🙏

But as I lay prone over the weekend, unable to keep down breakfast, watch Netflix -- or do any of the post-holiday work I was behind on -- I needed to decide what to do about the live meetings I had scheduled for Monday and Tuesday.

For one, I didn't know if I'd recoup in time to make them. But even if I did, I'd be leaving for New York to see my parents on Wednesday. So should I nuke the meetings to get some "real work" done before I leave? If not, who's going to prep for the client call on Wednesday morning? Who'll push ahead my sorely needed website upgrade? Oh, and by the way -- who's gonna write the newsletter that has to ship on Friday?! 🙃

Canceling my meetings would let me get more done in a two-day week, and allow me to leave Singapore less hair-on-fire. Plus, I had the excuse: I was out of town last week, and sick and out of commission over the weekend. So, what to do? 🤔

Connections, not calls

On paper, canceling was the rational choice: short week, tight deadlines, valid excuse. But the "meetings" weren't Zoom calls. They were people I wanted to see and meet. Two lunches with long-time friends. Two meetups with TalentStories readers who now belong to the TalentStories WhatsApp community. A coffee with an alum from my university who had moved to Singapore as a trailing spouse -- three weeks ago! -- and was now after a job.

There was also a pair of first-time IRL meetings with two Australians, both of whom happened to be visiting Singapore this week. One I know from an online community: he's a data analyst by day, but like me, loves to write about work, and geek out on navigating modern careers. 🙌 The other was someone I'd nearly hired into Netflix four years ago. We've stayed in touch ever since, but have never had the chance to meet, because Covid was raging back then.

The real tradeoff ⚖️

The truth is, I wasn’t deciding between “meetings” and “real work.” I was deciding between what kind of week I wanted to have -- and maybe, what kind of work-life I’m trying to build.

Traditionally, I've been a strong networker. Building relationships has never felt forced to me, so I've invested time and energy in them, and I've enjoyed the personal and professional benefits.

But over the past few years, I've gotten lazy. I get out and about less than I used to. I over-rely on text check-ins and voice notes. And I haven't put as much as I should into forging new relationships, either.

But I realize this has been the worst possible time to become worse at networking. As someone who transitioned from a traditional, offline corporate role into a more online, entrepreneurial one -- and as a solopreneur especially -- I need more of what networking offers -- connection, support and leverage -- not less.

My career pivot aside, there's also a macro trend we're all subject to, which makes networking more important than ever: as the cost and friction of unimaginable levels of intelligence goes to zero, the value of our human networks goes exponential in the other direction.

Tyler Cowen vs. Naval Ravikant

​Tyler Cowen is an economist, but he's also an author, podcaster, and cultural observer with a gift for connecting diverse ideas. These days, he talks a lot about why he's doing more public appearances, and doubling down on his network.

​Below, he uses "social networks" to refer to peer and professional networks (not Facebook and Twitter). He explains that in the age of AI:

For Cowen, AI amplifies productivity, and he uses it all the time. But the real leverage still lies with people. And as machines get smarter, human networks become force multipliers too:

This resonates with me. Both the value of networking, and the idea that it's becoming more valuable, not less. Which is why I've always found this, from investor-entrepreneur Naval Ravikant, so puzzling:

"Puzzling" is too kind. This is simplistic, privileged, bordering-on-terrible advice. Yes, I appreciate the idea of bringing value to your network. But Naval's quote ignores how value is recognized in the first place. People don’t magically discover your value because you’re quietly focused on being excellent. They discover it because you show up, build trust, show competence -- and make the effort to stay connected.

Connection wins

By Sunday night, the fog of food poisoning was finally starting to lift -- and I decided to take the meetings. Every one of them, on Monday and Tuesday.

Tyler and Naval's takes were influential, but it wasn't just those voices that swung my decision. It was the unique blend of people I'd be meeting. It was wanting to lean into the promise of the get togethers: connection and reconnection; new and remixed ideas; learning and reflection; the connection and nourishment I know I need.

It was also a conscious choice to force my work around the relationships, not the other way around. Did that mean my mid-week departure was a bit more hectic than I'd have liked? Yes. Did I wind up spending more time writing this issue on the plane than I'd have liked? Also, yes.

But I also left those two days feeling "full" -- inspired, and energized. Not just by the conversations, but by the reminder that these moments are the work. In a world where we’re all swimming in tools, information, and AI-powered productivity, showing up -- really showing up -- for other people might be the most underrated investment we can make.

Thanks for reading -- and have a great end of the week! 🙏

Aki

P.S. You'll notice I tweaked the structure of the newsletter this week, integrating the "Stories" into one piece, instead of splitting them out after an intro. I'll continue to play around with the format, and would love your feedback as I do -- reply and let me know what you think of this one!