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STOP Networking. Start Clustering | Loren Greiff
The old idea of “networking” is collecting connections, going wide, showing up everywhere is dead.
Everyone is visible. Everyone is accessible.
And when everyone blends in, no one stands out.
What the market rewards now isn’t reach. It’s resonance.
The tight, intentional circles where trust moves faster than volume and where opportunity spreads long before the job posting ever appears.
If you’ve been trying to meet more people instead of the right people, you’re playing the wrong game.
The real problem with traditional networking
Your network might be huge… but it’s flat.
People know you, but they don’t think of you. You’re a name in a feed, not a person in their mental roster.
Clusters flip that completely.
Clusters are purposely small, high-trust groups where your story doesn’t need a 15-minute explanation.
People understand you, advocate for you, and amplify you ... organically.
In this episode:
• Why traditional networking is losing power in the digital age
• The rise of micro-communities and why they outperform a huge network
• What sociologists discovered decades ago about “weak ties” and why it matters more today
• The difference between visibility and resonance (and why resonance wins)
• The hidden math: why referrals drive almost 40% of hires with less than 10% of the volume
• A step-by-step process to build your own cluster from scratch
• Why generosity is your strongest currency in a curated network
A real before/after transformation
Before:
An executive with thousands of connections but no traction. Their visibility was high, but their resonance was low. No one truly understood their value.
Then:
They shifted focus from audience size to relationship depth — identifying 8–10 people who shared goals, challenged their thinking, and naturally advocated for them.
After:
Their “network” became a power circle.
Referrals increased, opportunities accelerated, and they moved from pushing their story out to having opportunities pulled toward them.
That’s the compounding force of a cluster:
Small, intentional, and exponentially more effective than a wide but disconnected network.
Timestamps
(0:00) – The truth about job security
(0:56) – Why most executives stay too long
(1:20) – The myth that “visibility is enough”
(2:00) – The death of the generic network
(3:05) – What a cluster actually is
(4:06) – “Weak ties” and how opportunity really spreads
(5:16) – Why the 30-Day Blast exists
(6:13) – How micro-communities create built-in trust
(7:07) – How to identify your future cluster
(8:02) – The referral math that changes everything
(9:07) – Final takeaways: Small is big
The takeaway
Stop collecting contacts.
Start collecting believers.
Your next opportunity won’t come from a crowded feed — it’ll come from a curated circle that sees your potential long before the rest of the world catches on.
Small is big.
Clusters beat networks.
Build the group that amplifies you next.
Connect with Loren
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorengreiff/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/portfoliorocket/
Subscribe to Career Blast in a Half
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast/career-blast-in-a-half/id1670977528
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3b3kSamj8RbTNNgOg5E5oi
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpGM7j8croBkkZ4bLqN7DOQ/
About Career Blast in a Half
A third of your life is spent working.
Career Blast in a Half is your weekly 30-minute hit of simple, powerful, and practical career acceleration — built for executives over 40 who want smarter moves, faster wins, and work that finally feels aligned.
Work with Loren
Join the 30-Day BLAST Program: https://www.portfoliorocket.com/our-programs
View all episodes
By Loren GreiffThe old idea of “networking” is collecting connections, going wide, showing up everywhere is dead.
Everyone is visible. Everyone is accessible.
And when everyone blends in, no one stands out.
What the market rewards now isn’t reach. It’s resonance.
The tight, intentional circles where trust moves faster than volume and where opportunity spreads long before the job posting ever appears.
If you’ve been trying to meet more people instead of the right people, you’re playing the wrong game.
The real problem with traditional networking
Your network might be huge… but it’s flat.
People know you, but they don’t think of you. You’re a name in a feed, not a person in their mental roster.
Clusters flip that completely.
Clusters are purposely small, high-trust groups where your story doesn’t need a 15-minute explanation.
People understand you, advocate for you, and amplify you ... organically.
In this episode:
• Why traditional networking is losing power in the digital age
• The rise of micro-communities and why they outperform a huge network
• What sociologists discovered decades ago about “weak ties” and why it matters more today
• The difference between visibility and resonance (and why resonance wins)
• The hidden math: why referrals drive almost 40% of hires with less than 10% of the volume
• A step-by-step process to build your own cluster from scratch
• Why generosity is your strongest currency in a curated network
A real before/after transformation
Before:
An executive with thousands of connections but no traction. Their visibility was high, but their resonance was low. No one truly understood their value.
Then:
They shifted focus from audience size to relationship depth — identifying 8–10 people who shared goals, challenged their thinking, and naturally advocated for them.
After:
Their “network” became a power circle.
Referrals increased, opportunities accelerated, and they moved from pushing their story out to having opportunities pulled toward them.
That’s the compounding force of a cluster:
Small, intentional, and exponentially more effective than a wide but disconnected network.
Timestamps
(0:00) – The truth about job security
(0:56) – Why most executives stay too long
(1:20) – The myth that “visibility is enough”
(2:00) – The death of the generic network
(3:05) – What a cluster actually is
(4:06) – “Weak ties” and how opportunity really spreads
(5:16) – Why the 30-Day Blast exists
(6:13) – How micro-communities create built-in trust
(7:07) – How to identify your future cluster
(8:02) – The referral math that changes everything
(9:07) – Final takeaways: Small is big
The takeaway
Stop collecting contacts.
Start collecting believers.
Your next opportunity won’t come from a crowded feed — it’ll come from a curated circle that sees your potential long before the rest of the world catches on.
Small is big.
Clusters beat networks.
Build the group that amplifies you next.
Connect with Loren
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorengreiff/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/portfoliorocket/
Subscribe to Career Blast in a Half
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast/career-blast-in-a-half/id1670977528
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3b3kSamj8RbTNNgOg5E5oi
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpGM7j8croBkkZ4bLqN7DOQ/
About Career Blast in a Half
A third of your life is spent working.
Career Blast in a Half is your weekly 30-minute hit of simple, powerful, and practical career acceleration — built for executives over 40 who want smarter moves, faster wins, and work that finally feels aligned.
Work with Loren
Join the 30-Day BLAST Program: https://www.portfoliorocket.com/our-programs