Davos: The "Mother Node" of Networking

By Darcy Rezac
January 21, 2004, Davos, Switzerland

Davos, Switzerland

Two thousand participants from around the world gathered early this week at what is arguably the best networking venue in the world — the 34^th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF).

In a recent edition, Wired magazine coined a new term for networking greats: "Hyper-connected network nodes," an apt description of more than a handful of the participants and contributors here.

Presidents and prime ministers, diplomats and academics, artists, scientists, theologians, Nobel Prize winners, philosophers, journalists, heads of non-governmental organizations, social entrepreneurs and young global leaders for tomorrow comprise about half of the delegates. The other half are CEOs of the world’s leading and emerging enterprises, including Bill Gates, George Soros, Carly Fiorina, Michael Dell and Steve Forbes.

Important issues and rich content, brilliant resource people, fully engaged participants, all in a Disney-like remote Swiss mountain setting, are some of the magical ingredients for a remarkable exercise in positive networking.

Rezac (right) with trade lawyer Barry Appleton at 2004 WEF Annual Meeting in Davos

And, it works well because everyone feels that they have permission to network. Delegates strike up conversations with complete strangers in elevators, restaurants, on buses, in lineups — and there are plenty of those. This permission-to-network ethos is something most of us rarely — if ever — experience anywhere else. It ensures that everyone participates. This is a powerful secret of the gathering’s longstanding success and is key to keeping people coming back for more, year after year.

That’s Davos. It’s a workout, intellectually and physically. The delegates from Canada and B.C., including Prime Minister Paul Martin, Quebec Premier Jean Charest, trade lawyer Barry Appleton, HSBC’s Jeff Dowle (this year’s chairman of The Vancouver Board of Trade), Hydro’s Bob Elton, UBC’s Dean Dan Muzyka, YVR’s Graham Clarke, London Drug’s Brandt Louie, Alpha Technologies’ Fred Kaiser, TCG’s Allan Skidmore, IAT’s Rick Turner and B.C.’s Andrew Wilkinson, have their work cut out for them.

Board of Trade chairman Jeff Dowle at Davos

Two hundred and thirty formal sessions are jammed into five very intense days — everything from sustainable development and global economics to health care, terrorism and cultural ethics. The sessions are non-stop: breakfasts, plenaries, seminars, working lunches and dinners, and country-hosted receptions.

And if you still haven’t gotten enough, don’t worry — there’s a couple hours left before you crash to go to a 10 p.m. to midnight "nightcap" session with Bill Clinton (a Davos favourite) or financier George Soros, to name only two possibilities.

Yes, Davos is an "über-networking" marathon. But interestingly enough, the term "networking" is rarely used in the Congress Hall; it may be that people are too busy doing it, or perhaps it is too pedestrian a term for the high-altitude crowd.

Be that as it may, it is what it is; according to Alan Friedman of The Wall Street Journal, "No matter who shows up and what the formal agenda calls for, important issues get a hearing because of the way prime ministers, CEOs, central bankers and many others network in an informal environment … it is often one big coffee break set in an alpine ski resort."

WEF founder Klaus Schwab gave me his description of what happens at Davos. He refers to it as "bonding, binding and building … community." First you make a connection — bond. Next you establish a relationship —bind. Then, you build on that, with the goal of building community.

This fits closely with my philosophy of positive networking — it is not about asking for an order or writing a contract, it’s about establishing a relationship and "discovering what you can do for someone else." At this level, it’s about "what you can do for others" — maybe for the whole world!

Asked by a newcomer, "What have you concluded after attending ten annual meetings here?" My answer was easy. Being a long-time student of the craft, I answered, "There is no doubt whatsoever: Davos is the mother node of networking."

Darcy Rezac is managing director of The Vancouver Board of Trade and an author and lecturer on positive networking.

Read Darcy Rezac's article, Paul Martin's Davos debut 

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