Welcome to Brazen Careerist!

I find that in my industry there is a certain amount of business banter that must occur prior to being able to make a genuine business connection. As a mental aid for networking functions, I've come up with this idea of a "credibility threshold" (that I illustrate using a nerdy graph: http://bit.ly/hnP9xP) that I feel must be reached before valuable networking can occur. Does this happen in your industry? Do you have to prove you're worth listening to before you can network effectively?

It doesn’t matter how enthusiastic your intentions are, passion with no expertise just isn’t going to gain you the credibility you need to inspire others. http://craftingcontext.ca/2010/04/13/and-what-does-the-liver-do/.