Author: mobinah-ahmad

A recent conversation with a friend has led me into thinking about the difference between networks and friendships, and whether the two need to be mutually exclusive. I thought about people who only keep friends who they can ‘use’ as part of their network, and whether that was a bad thing.  How do we make decisions on who we choose to be around socially? Those who are kind or perhaps entertaining to us? Or is it those who are popular, well connected and can boost us up in advancing our personal and professional goals?   Both require meeting people, finding common interests and...

I found myself sitting at a round table full of people I knew of but can’t really say I know well enough. Whilst they engaged in the kind of small talk which I find deplorable: “What do you do?”, “Where are you from?”, “Where do you live?” and the pointless questions we ask one another to judge based on superficial information,  I noticed something. No one was asking me those questions. I couldn’t figure out if it was a good thing or a bad thing. It’s good in the sense that I’m not having the same boring conversations over...