TJ Guttormsen (Gutt-orm-sen) is a public speaker specializing in communication, confidence, and self-esteem.
Originally from Norway, he relocated to the U.S. in 2017, where he has since grown his career, reaching hundreds of thousands of people across the world through his talks, workshops, and online courses.
Company: TJ Guttormsen
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company.
TJ Guttormsen: I grew up in Norway, where I earned my Master’s degree in pedagogy and launched my career as a public speaker and corporate trainer in 2009.
During my time there, I gave talks to businesses and organizations of all sizes and led workshops all over the country for teams and individuals alike. I also had my own segment on a national radio show, wrote a column for Norway’s biggest online newspaper, and published two books.
In 2017, I relocated to the U.S. to live with the woman who is now my wife. In many ways, the move forced me to start my career over from scratch, this time focusing on an international audience.
Since then, I’ve had the honor of working with people from all over the world to help them get more out of their communication and improve their confidence. I’ve also entered into an amazing collaboration with LinkedIn Learning, which licenses online courses that I’ve created exclusively for their platform.
My online courses have had over half a million enrollments in total, averaging a little over 12,000 per month, and aside from giving talks, my favorite part of my job is reading and answering the feedback and questions I receive from my students.
How has the significance of networking evolved over the past decades?
TJ Guttormsen: Networking has always been an incredibly important tool in a professional’s toolbelt—and it is becoming even more so every year.
We know, for example, that in the early 2000s, between 70% and 80% of hiring happened through networks—a number that has climbed to over 85% in recent years.
However, the biggest shift in the world of networking hasn’t been in the value it offers but in how it should be done to maximize its effectiveness.
Digital tools have significantly increased the size and reach of people’s networks and have become the predominant way for many to build professional relationships. This is in stark contrast to twenty years ago, when as many as 85% of deals were made face-to-face.
This digital networking strategy comes at a cost, however, as studies show that in-person interactions create up to 40% higher levels of trust than their online counterparts.
This means that today, a hybrid approach is the best strategy for maximizing the value of our networking efforts.
By combining online and offline networking, we can take advantage of the reach and efficiency that networking technologies offer while also fostering the genuine connections and trust that in-person interactions create.
We must keep in mind, though, that this still reduces the time available for in-person interactions, making it more important than ever for networkers to master the skills needed to build genuine rapport in a limited amount of time.
Those who master this hybrid approach and excel at building trust and rapport in person can now leverage far larger networks than ever before.
Can you share a personal story where one networking interaction led to unexpected doors opening, and how it highlights the ripple effect of networking?
TJ Guttormsen: A few years ago, I met a former editor of The Wall Street Journal who attended a conference where I spoke. While chatting with him, he told me that he had found great success in the online course industry and was convinced that I would do very well if I turned my content into online courses.
I didn’t immediately act on it since my schedule was pretty full at the time, but after a few months, I reached out to him to learn more about how he had achieved his success. This led to him teaching me his entire strategy, which greatly helped me get my first online courses off the ground successfully.
We kept in touch, and when the pandemic hit and in-person talks and workshops were no longer an option, I reached out to him again to get his thoughts on where I should consider publishing more online courses. He then introduced me to his network within LinkedIn Learning, which, after reviewing my résumé and the feedback on my existing online courses, started licensing courses from me.
Not only did this help me keep my business thriving throughout the pandemic, but it has also given me the honor of sharing my content with over half a million people—and counting—since.
What are some common networking mistakes people make, and how can they pivot to turn potential missteps into learning experiences?
TJ Guttormsen: My personal pet peeve is when people pitch their products or services in the initial conversation. To me, this is not networking but a poorly executed sales attempt.
By moving too quickly to something transactional, the whole relationship is cheapened. People who do this are likely to break trust and burn a lot of bridges, making themselves or their employer look bad.
The second mistake that drives me a little crazy is a lack of genuine curiosity and interest in the other person.
The problem with both of these mistakes seems to be that many would-be networkers are too focused on themselves—what they want to offer, how they’ll demonstrate value, and so on. They are not nearly interested enough in genuinely getting to know the other person and finding where interests, goals, or values overlap.
Networking should be thought of more as making friends than building transactional relationships. The initial focus shouldn’t be on the monetary value the other person could bring but rather on whether we’re compatible as friends or collaborators.
Once we have mutual trust and genuinely understand each other’s strengths, weaknesses, goals, and needs, it becomes easy to see how we can create transactional win-wins—and the trust needed to make that happen will already be in place.
My number one piece of advice for people who make these mistakes is to cultivate curiosity. Start by asking yourself what you’re genuinely interested in learning about the people you meet—not so you can make money off of them, but so you can add people to your network whom you genuinely enjoy connecting with, even if no money, services, or products ever exchange hands.
The kicker is that these networks also tend to create the highest monetary payoff in the long term since they last for years. And even when there aren’t any direct deals to be made within them, they often lead to indirect opportunities thanks to referrals and a strong reputation.
How do you see the future of networking evolving with the rise of AI, VR, and other technologies?
TJ Guttormsen: I’m very optimistic about the impact that emerging technologies will have on networking over the coming years.
Whether it’s XR helping us replicate the feeling of in-person networking across continents or AI helping us eliminate language and culture barriers, create mutually beneficial relationships more easily, keep track of information, and so on, the opportunities are nearly endless.
Because of that, I believe it will be critical for anyone who relies on networking to be flexible, eager to learn, and willing to experiment.
The unpredictability of the mass adoption of new technologies makes it hard to predict exactly how the future of networking will look. But I like to imagine that XR will let me virtually sit down for a chat with a colleague in Norway in the morning, visit the office of a client in Los Angeles at lunch, and be at a meet-and-greet in Australia in the evening—all with more or less the same feel and trust-building presence that in-person networking provides today.
And while I’m XR-hopping, my personal AI keeps an eye on my day-to-day tasks, gives me little reminders of the who, what, and hows that help me network, and collaborates with my contacts’ AIs to take shared notes, populate our to-do lists, and schedule the plans we make.
Used correctly, I truly believe that future technologies can merge the benefits of offline and online networking and amplify both the reach and trust we seek in our professional relationships.
