Leveraging Proximity as a Performance Strategy

Sometimes when you’re building something new, it consumes your thinking.

That’s the place I’ve found myself in this season of building CVP.

As an entrepreneur, when there isn’t a clear playbook forward, you lean into your assumptions. There’s real value in the process of figuring things out and validating as you go.

But if you’re not careful, your voice and thoughts can become an echo chamber. At that point, your perspective becomes a limiting factor in your growth and scalability—instead of the competitive edge it started as. You have to find ways to get out into the world—test your assumptions and hear others’ to recalibrate.

After a year of building in the dark, I’ve recently committed to attending more events to do just that.

Last week, I went to a Private Equity Summit in New York, hosted by Jim Neesen and The Connor Group.

The experience was phenomenal—an idea-testing ground. And attending as a participant instead of preparing to speak allowed me to absorb the experience on a different level.

Here are a few of the universal takeaways from the room:

The Room Spoke Louder Than the Resumes

The guest list included some of the biggest names in the industry—Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Cantor Fitzgerald, Bluestone Equity Partners, and Apollo Global Management.

As an emerging fund manager, it reminded me of being a rookie again in New Orleans with the Saints.

You walk in fully confident in your ability to go toe to toe with anybody—but humble enough to learn and borrow from everybody.

What stood out wasn’t the logos on the name tags. It was the language in the conversations.

In a room like that, you quickly realize you’re not just witnessing success. You’re witnessing a system—one built around a single principle: strategic proximity.

The most powerful people in the room weren’t performing. They were processing—together.

No one was trying to dominate the conversation. They were calibrating with clarity, discipline, and sharp, data-informed intuition.

That’s the real benefit of new rooms: It’s not always about who you meet—it’s how they make you think outside your normal box.

More Than a List of Contacts

We often treat networking like a numbers game—accumulating recognizable names in our contact lists.

But without intention, you’ll confuse access with alignment.

Your network is not just your environment. It’s your operating system.

A strategic network shapes how you:

• See opportunities

• Make decisions

• Recover from setbacks

• Stay accountable to who you’re becoming

High performers know that in high-trust, high-performance networks, proximity doesn’t come with pressure. It comes with presence.

The Three People You Need

A strategic network isn’t about having more people around you. It’s about having the right roles filled.

Here are three key roles to start with:

Start Listening Before the Invite

One of the biggest myths about proximity is that you need to wait for access. But here’s the truth:

Proximity is designed—long before it’s granted.

You can build your own “room” before anyone else invites you into theirs:

• Follow thinkers who stretch your lens

• Join communities where real conversations happen (even online)

• Reconnect with people who ask better questions—not just offer quick fixes

When you find yourself stuck, ask yourself: if my future self were in a room today, what conversations would they be having?

Now go find one of those conversations.

Elevation > Enablement

Comfort zones often disguise themselves as support systems.

When you're trying to differentiate between relationships that offer comfort vs. those that offer growth, ask yourself:

• Are these people helping me clarify the next level—or just validating the current one?

• When I leave a conversation, do I feel sharper—or just seen?

• Is this relationship built on familiarity—or elevation?

That’s the power of building your own strategic network. It gives you space to think deeply, execute clearly, and grow consistently.

Build the Room Before You Need It

If you’re in a season of transition, reinvention, or building something new, you don’t just need support. You need strategy.

Here’s a quick Self-Scouting exercise to identify gaps in your network that might be holding back your growth:

Strategic Network Audit

1. Identify your core five. Who are the people you talk to most about work, decisions, or life strategy?

2. Score each one.

   • Do they enable complacency—or challenge you to grow?

   • Do they hold you to who you were—or align with who you’re becoming?

3. Fill one gap. Seek out someone who reflects the version of you you’re stepping into—and intentionally build proximity to them.

You don’t need to overhaul your circle overnight. You just need to upgrade it over time.

Because the next chapter of your performance isn’t just about talent—it’s about proximity to your vision.

Closing Thoughts

Every summit, boardroom, mastermind, and networking event has one thing in common:

The most valuable outcomes rarely come from the content. They come from the conversations.

It’s not just who is in the room. It’s what they see that you don’t. It’s how they help you think differently—before you act.

You don’t need more people in your corner. You need the right people—for the right season. So don’t just go out and network randomly. Build a system of relationships that elevate your execution.

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