🎤 Quotable Quote
“You're really only one or two connections from maybe, quite possibly, the best connection of your career.”
— Katie Regan
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🎧 This Week’s Guest: Katie Regan
Let's start with a confession.
We loved this book.
Katie Regan's Intention: You Already Know Everyone You Need to Network is one of those books where we kept finding ourselves nodding, underlining, and occasionally wondering if Katie had been snooping around our own notes.
Katie is the founder and CEO of Kirkpatrick Group, a strategic communications firm where 100% of new business comes through intentional networking and referrals. But she wasn't born at a networking event wearing a name tag and carrying business cards.
She simply figured out early that relationships matter.
Her side hustle grew into nearly half of her annual income before she finally made the leap from corporate America into entrepreneurship. And the network she had intentionally built along the way helped make it possible.
Which brings us to Katie's big idea:
You probably don't need to meet more people.
You need to pay more attention to the people you already know.
💥 Leadership Rule of the Week
Be a builder.
Katie divides people into two camps.
Builders are curious. They make introductions. They respond when someone reaches out. They look for opportunities to help.
And if they're busy?
They don't disappear. They say, "I can't do it right now, but let's find another time."
That's networking at its best.
Not collecting LinkedIn connections.
Not walking into a room thinking, "What can these people do for me?"
It's building genuine relationships and being willing to invest in other people.
And here's the good news for all the introverts reading this:
Curiosity and listening are superpowers.
Katie's advice is to own who you are. If networking makes you nervous, say so. Bring questions. Prepare ahead of time. Be genuinely interested in the person sitting across from you.
You don't need to become the loudest person in the room.
You just need to be yourself in the room.
💡 Other Topics We Loved!
• Why networking is much simpler than we've made it
• How your friend's parents might be some of the most valuable people in your network
• Why consistency matters more than constantly adding new connections
• How introverts can turn curiosity and listening into networking superpowers
• Why your personal brand starts with being comfortable with who you actually are
• The importance of creating a diverse personal board of directors
• Why mentorship should never be a one-way street
• How networking can help at every stage of your career, from landing your first job to making a complete career pivot
One idea especially hit home for us.
Katie recommends creating a personal board of directors.
Sound familiar?
Some should know you incredibly well. Some should have a completely different perspective. Some might be decades older or younger. And some might not even realize they've been appointed to your board.
The important part is trust.
These are people invested in your growth who can challenge your thinking, offer perspective, and help you see things you can't see yourself.
But there's a catch.
You should be invested in them, too.
Even a 22-year-old mentee has something to teach a 70-year-old mentor.
The best relationships aren't transactions.
They're exchanges.
📺 Learn More
📖 Pick up Intention: You Already Know Everyone You Need to Network on Amazon, Walmart, Barnes & Noble, or Bookshop.org.
🎁 Want the special-edition hardcover with some goodies? Visit kirkpat.com.
💼 Connect with Katie K. Regan on LinkedIn or Instagram.
📧 You can even email her at intention@kirkpat.com.
And based on our conversation, she actually means it when she says she wants to hear from you.
More leadership musings
🍪 Biscuits with the Boss:
Grab a piece of paper and write down five people you haven't talked to in at least a year.
Now pick one.
Send them a message.
No ask.
No agenda.
No pitch.
Just:
"Hey, I was thinking about you. How are you doing?"
That's it.
Because maybe networking doesn't need to feel like networking at all.
Maybe it's just being intentional about relationships that already matter.
📖 Beard's Collection
Regan, Katie. Intention: You Already Know Everyone You Need to Network.
Yes, we're recommending the book written by this week's guest.
But we're not doing it just because she was nice enough to come on the podcast.
We genuinely loved this book.
Katie takes networking, something that can feel forced, transactional, and downright terrifying to some of us, and turns it into something refreshingly human.
It's practical. It's approachable. And it's filled with specific ways to identify, strengthen, and actually use the network you already have.
Whether you're looking for your first job, chasing a promotion, considering a career pivot, or helping a young adult figure out what's next, put this one on the list.
🌎 This week in Here - There - Every F’ing where
Nick has caught Ted right out of the gate as it dropped! (Broken ankle and all! He needs a physio ;) iykyk)
You know darn well where we were this week! Watching Season 4! (Marnie's husband grabbed this photo at 5:55 am when he walked downstairs).
Believe!
Nick & Marnie
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