Have you ever heard of Eton?

It’s a fancy-pants private school here in the UK. It’s where all the politicians, lords, ladies and even some royalty send their teenage boys to get an education. In fact, a grand total of 20 of our Prime Ministers went to Eton – that’s around 40%!

Now, as you can imagine, it’s a pretty good school. And at a cost of £46,000 per year you’d expect it to be!

Grades are high, with 94% achieving grades A-A* in their GCSEs and there’s no shortage of clubs, societies and opportunities provided to them. It looks a bit like something out of Harry Potter too… But the stellar education isn’t the only reason people send their young men to Eton.

What’s the other reason? 

Connections.

You see, these people understand something really important. Your network matters. The people you know, build relationships with and connect with can have a huge impact on your future. Many a business deal, political partnership and fruitful opportunity has come from the connections people made during their time at Eton. Want to be best buddies with a future Prime Minister? Want connections in the banking world? Eton is your answer.

Now, most people don’t get to go to Eton. But we can all learn something from them just the same.

Whatever line of work you’re in, who you know matters. Build your network, make connections and culture positive relationships with the right people, and see how your world changes. That’s one of the reasons why I travel as much as I do. Sure, I love to travel for fun – especially following the footie. I’ve got some great trips lined up with the Villa – Amsterdam, Warsaw, Bosnia… But much of my travel is for work.

In just a few short weeks, I’ll be hopping on a plane to Bali where I’ll be attending the Atlas and ALFA annual conferences. I’ll meet people, catch up with old acquaintances and continue to build those connections. Then I’m off to China to meet with a potential new client before heading home. But it will all be worth it. Because who you know in business really does matter.

So how about you?

What do you do to get yourself out there in front of the right people? How do you build connections with those who have the power to take you to the next level?

I’d love to hear your stories…