How to party your way to a promotion

I know a guy who knows a woman who works in finance and has achieved unreasonable success early in her career by throwing dinner parties.

She's a foodie, you know. And everyone loves great food.

Even Hedge Fund managers.

(Especially Hedge Fund managers.)

She goes to the best restaurants and posts about them on her Instagram. People in finance follow her because they want to be in the know regarding those restaurants.

Oh, and because they want to be invited to her dinner parties, of course.

So, what's up with those dinner parties?

Well, she gets some of the best chefs in town to come to her home and cook for a small group of people – all in finance, of course.

She became the great connector and has the personal phone number of some of the largest fund managers in the country by simply giving them a reason to be around her (and creating some hype and scarcity around her dinner parties, of course).

Obviously, she's also good at her job… But she's in sales, so having everyone's phone number and being associated with great moments and great food doesn't hurt at all.

If you're an introvert, this might sound like hell…

… But if you're an extrovert, this is a dream job!

In fact, she's not the only one who's figured this out.

Two readers of this newsletter shared similar tips.

Fellow reader Karol says:

And so does fellow reader Flavio:

("Team Learning" is consulting speak for the internal kick-off in a consulting project, btw.)

What's nice about throwing these events is that it gives you an excuse to get to know people who'd be hard to reach, and it positions you at the center of a vibrant social situation.

And after having seen other people using this strategy for a while, I think there are three "rules" for it:

Rule #1: Make it cool and special.

Yes, you could organize a happy hour.

But that's trivial…

A dinner party with the best chefs in town, though? That's special.

Or, as I've seen a McKinsey consultant do once, a go-kart league with bi-monthly races and a barbecue afterward? That's also cool.

You're going to be associated with these events, so make them well-organized (to not give everyone the impression you're sloppy) and make them sound like something people want to be a part of.

Rule #2: Make it social and accessible.

Especially if you want to use this for networking, you want your events to be accessible for people of all ages.

You want the senior executives to be able (and to want) to join.

It doesn't need to be for everyone. Maybe you want to organize a run, and not everyone runs. That's fine. But make it a 10K, not a whole marathon. (Some) 55-year-olds can run 10K, but very few can run a whole marathon.

Also, it's gotta be social. You want people to be able to talk and get to know each other. To go beyond the small talk.

Rule #3: Make it recurrent.

It's nice to throw one event, but you won't party your way to a promotion by doing just one.

Instead, you want to make it recurrent. You want it to become "a thing" that people ask about in the office. Even in the industry.

Making it recurrent makes it grow beyond the early adopters. Some people will join in the 3rd, 4th, even the 10th time. You want that.

The "finance foodie" I shared earlier didn't start with Hedge Fund managers. She started with her friends. But her events were so good that she then did it with clients. And then with her clients' friends. With people she met in conferences.

And there you have it: the blueprint to partying your way to a promotion.

Most people won't do any of this.

Of the ones who do, few will execute it well.

And if you're one of the few who pull it off?

Well, it's a great way to work smarter.

-Bruno