Not my downvote, but I think the important takeaway is for those who have extreme networking as the primary focus, lunch & dinner meetings are just one of the

Not my downvote, but I think the important takeaway is for those who have extreme networking as the primary focus, lunch & dinner meetings are just one of the things that should not fail to be exploited. Like anything else there are only so many meal dates you can make, and no matter how hard you try they will not all come true, so you need to put it into accurate perspective how to take action. Simply one of the best ways to bond with a variety of associates is through common love of good food and service at your favorite restaurants. It can be a serious advantage when you're born & raised for this. OTOH I had an exponential growth phase with a marketer who did not like the fancy food & drink but catered to sports-loving clients with game tickets, plus discreetly for our most lucrative client a generous season package with extra seats for whoever they wanted since we actually went to only a few of the games ourselves. All compliments of Our Co. which everybody ended up knowing since discretion was of course not fully maintained. Occasional clients became regulars and everyone wanted to "move up in the rankings". Anyway, top networkers and persuasive salespeople have always had the most unfair advantage when that is basically their entire focus compared to their other highly successful peers. But it's not a good idea to let any persuasiveness get the best of an organization. Once a goal is established, the networkers should be working purely in service to the creative, engineering, and technical executives. Not the other way around.