Even Einstein Needed Help

I get to work in/for a very interesting industry.  The tech sector is full of people that are willing to take entrepreneurial risks to create exciting companies that often make the world a better place.  This only works because we have so many intelligent people willing to do the hard work to bring concepts to market.

It takes all kinds of people for our members to be successful but it's no secret that our industry has a higher percentage of what are often called geeks.  As with any moniker for a group of people, there are some common personality traits expected.  Some of them are true and others are not.  (I love this Venn diagram to explain geeks, nerds and dweebs) 

From what I have seen, techpreneurs and their teams are often very bright, creative and independent but not typically extraverts or social butterflies.  That said, VIATeC events are almost always bursting at the seams thanks to all the "geeks" that have come out to network.  The VIATeC Awards had almost 500 dinner guests, Our web site launch party had over 200 and Island Tech was nearly 2,000. (Don't miss the upcoming Golf Tournament).

Of course, credit goes to VIATeC's staff and board for building the right kind of event but it must be recognized that a whole lot of geeks have recognized that there is a benefit to them and their company by getting out there and chatting with like-minded people, telling their story and hearing what others are working on.

Networking is a simple activity that opens doors and eyes to contacts and concepts.  While it does not come naturally to many of our members they understand why they should do it.  The next level in this thinking is peer support and mentoring.

I just saw the movie Einstein and Eddington which shows how Einstein worked with a peer to prove the General Theory of Relativity.  According to the film, Einstein had many questions about Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation but suggested no way to prove his theory was accurate over Newton's.  However, an English peer scientist had discovered his work and suggested that if Einstein could use his theory to correctly predict the orbit of Mercury he would have the proof…Newton's Law had always missed Mercury's orbit by a very small fraction.  In the end, this peer relationship led to great discovery and shows that even the greatest minds thrive with peer support and mentorship.

Now that you are convinced you should seek peer support check out VIATeC's current Peer Round Tables.  If you don't see what you are looking for then send us a note and we will work with you to explore the feasibility of creating a new round table for you and your peers.