Networking is the need of the hour, not good the academic record in the present era
Here we are talking about respect due to good academic record. But every time it is not possible for a person who is having good academic to get respect or fame. It depends person to person. A person with good academic record will get respect from other person if that person understands the hard work, consistency, dedication behind this good academic record. But a person who is not academically bright but consistent performer in extracurricular will not give that much respect to that person what he deserves. Here we are talking about two students, Ankit and Kenneth. Ankit is having good networking skill and believes that he will benefit from this skill. And Kenneth who believes that one should never ignore academics and theoretical knowledge. In my opinion, benefits of networking are more than that of good academic record.
In present era, particularly in corporate field ,networking is the essential thing without which it is very difficult to decide what to do and where to go because you get different ideas from different people. And after that you choose the best idea from available sources. Good networking skill means you have a skill of making friend without any difficulty. It means that you are very social and exchange ideas with other people. Actually this skill is the need of the hour. Through networking, you get innovative ideas which are generated from out of the box thinking. And theoretical knowledge creates border and bounds you to think under this boundary. So if you are good at academics, it does not mean that you are better than those people who are having good network but poor academics. A person with poor academic record but great networking skill can survive but vice-versa is not true. Everybody is talking about new ideas and those ideas cannot come to you by reading books only. The importance of good academics cannot be ignored completely but networking skill is always better than good academics.
Doing big things like performing on stage or getting a black belt in Karate will definitely add some value to your skill set but it does not mean that it is necessary. A good network means a better source of idea but good theoretical knowledge means obsolete idea. Theoretical knowledge limits ones thinking. When you make contacts then you get solutions for different problems and you can easily apply those solutions when you go through the same problems. So, good networking skill always leads to success but theoretical knowledge may or may not.
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Formally an entry for the InsideIIM B School Debate
College: MBA(IB), Dept. of Commerce, Delhi School of Economics
Team Mate: Keshav Sharma
Team Name: Acumen
Article I am refuting:
http://insideiim.com/you-will-always-be-respected-for-your-good-academic-record-kenneth-serrao-at-insideiim-open-house-1/