I would say no.
But I also don't think the opposite of no is necessarily yes.
The more I think about it, the more I feel like we use the word "networking" to describe too many different things.
If I reach out to someone because I want advice, a job, an introduction, investment, a partnership, or something specific from that conversation, is that really networking?
I think that's just a meeting.
There is already a reason for the two of us to talk. Maybe the agenda isn't written down, but there is still an agenda.
Networking, to me, is something a little different.
It's putting yourself in places where you might meet people you otherwise wouldn't.
You don't necessarily know who you're going to meet. You don't know what will come out of the conversation. And ideally, you're not trying to force every interaction into some kind of outcome.
But I don't think that means it should be completely random either.
This is probably the part I've been thinking about the most.
You don't need a goal, but you probably need a direction.
A goal would be something like:
I need to meet someone who can help me get into this company.
That's pretty transactional. Again, nothing wrong with it. But that's a meeting you should probably go make happen.
Direction is different.
Maybe you're becoming more interested in AI. Or coffee. Or design. Or investing. Or whatever world you're naturally being pulled toward.
You don't know exactly what you're looking for yet. You just know you want to spend more time around the people, ideas, and problems in that world.
Then networking starts to make more sense.
You're not trying to extract something from every person you meet. You're increasing your exposure to a direction you're already curious about.
I think that's an important distinction.
Because otherwise, networking can easily become another thing we're told we're supposed to do.
Go to more events.
Take more coffees.
Meet more people.
Make more connections.
Then eventually we start asking how to optimize all of it. Which event should I attend? Which person is worth meeting? How many coffees should I take?
That's where I think we sometimes start one step too late.
Sometimes the highest-leverage productivity decision is not doing something faster. It's deciding not to do it at all.
You don't need to network just because networking is supposedly good for your career.
But I also don't think you should optimize your life so aggressively that you remove all the randomness from it.
I still believe a lot in serendipity.
Some of the most interesting people I've met, ideas I've come across, or opportunities I've discovered were not things I could have planned for beforehand.
That's almost the definition of serendipity. You can't search for something you don't yet know exists.
So maybe the better question isn't:
Do I need to network?
Maybe it's:
What kind of world do I want to spend more time around?
You don't need to know exactly where it leads.
Just have enough direction to choose the room.
Then leave some room for the room to surprise you.