Arguably, the greatest asset I own after 30 years in the insurance industry is my network. My network was built over decades of engagements. To be clear, all of those engagements were face to face. I didn’t build any of those relationships via Zoom.

More specifically, I built that network while at myriad local, regional, national and global industry events—RIMS, CIAB, ABA, along with a series of company-sponsored events, incentive-based gatherings and on-location training sessions. There were meetings, dinners, cups of coffee, golf and plenty of time in conference rooms.

There was a seasonality to these events. They marked the passage of time.

That network served me quite well over those 30 years. I was a better advocate for my clients, and I was a more effective recruiter of talent because of that network. My network was key to my promotions and career progression.

I was able to build Bristlecone Partners (my current operation) as a result of my network. My network gave me the courage to venture out on my own because I knew I could count on that network to support me and value what I could do to bring value to their businesses.

They say insurance is a relationship business. There’s no doubt about that assertion.

Over the course of my career, I often spoke to younger generations entering our industry. I offered them my wisdom on the keys to a successful career. Among my top three points was always the importance of building and nurturing your network.

This is where I bring in COVID-19 and connect it to the event industry and your ability to build a career-enhancing network. The live event industry is, in many ways, the industry epicenter of this crisis, just as New York City is the geographic epicenter.

For now, there are no more in-person events. When will there be in-person events? If there are in-person events, will there be as many? Will they be as big? Will people travel on planes to get to them? And, without these events for the foreseeable future, what does that do to an industry that was undeniably built on trusted relationships forged through a steady cadence of face-to-face engagements over many years?

To further consider all of this, I reached out to Janet Dell, the chief growth officer at Freeman Company. Freeman is a giant in the event industry, with 7,000-plus employees in 90-plus locations and over $3 billion in annual sales. Freeman is the clear market leader in cutting-edge and high-impact live event design and delivery. To date, the event industry has lost in excess of one million jobs and could lose as much as $300 billion if events are not allowed to resume in 2020, according to a GoLiveTogether study based on data from the Events Industry Council and the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR). Those are staggering numbers.

I also know Dell as one of my great teachers and a former colleague (when we both worked at Marsh). I learned different things from different people, but Dell’s clear value was educating me on how to modernize our legacy-obsessed industry. She helped me understand how technology could be embraced to reimagine expectations and amplify outcomes. Sales didn’t have to grow at 3 percent a year; they could grow at 10 percent a year if we deployed a technology-led winning strategy. And, we could improve the productivity of every salesperson, while also bringing more value to clients.

Given Dell’s knowledge of the insurance and live event industry, I knew she would offer helpful insights on the path forward for events in the insurance industry. She initially talked to me about her ongoing effort to study rebound patterns from prior crises. She and I debated the relevance of anything that has ever happened before this crisis as instructive planning for the next few months. We dug into 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, the 2008 financial crisis and other industry impacting events, but nothing really seems to be overly useful as a point of comparison.

Dell outlined for me a series of concentric circles. She sees events trying to become virtual, but she believes the lack of a truly effective substitute for physical presence will create a drive to a new type of in-person gathering. She sees the initial concentric circle being small. The first in-person events will be accessible by car and will not require an overnight stay in a hotel. The next circle may be a bit bigger—still accessible by car, but events may include a night or two in a hotel. You get the idea, bigger circles over time.

What makes the circles bigger?

People may simply get comfortable with the tradeoff—meaning the value of the in-person engagement exceeds the risk they perceive. How does that happen? Dell walked me through a reimagined live event where people arrive via newly established airline, lodging and dining protocols to an event that has secured cancellation insurance to protect the sponsor. As government is considering its role regarding an insurance response to the pandemic, this presents an opportunity to the underwriting community to demonstrate its creativity and the role this industry often plays in getting business back in the game. To protect the attendee, she initially envisions less attended events where enhanced protocols in distancing and testing create a level of comfort for some. Then, with cures and vaccines, along with everything else she outlines, we begin to see more large-scale live events. Dell makes it clear that the road back may require a few detours and take time—but it will come back in a reimagined manner.

Let me bring us back to networks. Does all of this suggest we wait until live events are back to build our network? Absolutely not. There is way too much at stake. While live industry events make network building much easier, we must find new ways to build and nurture a network that will amplify the value we bring to clients and positively influence the trajectory of our careers. Here are some ideas:

Handwritten notes. Remember handwritten notes? There is nothing that speaks to your professionalism and thoughtfulness more than a handwritten note. I can appreciate the challenges of personal stationary and old school stamps. For me, I use an app called Felt. I use my Apple pen to hand write personal notes to my network. The customized card, with my actual handwriting, arrives in a physical envelope with an actual stamp! It could not be any easier.

Phone calls. Phone calls are the new handwritten notes! Make some calls. You don’t need an agenda, and it’s perfectly fine if the calls last five minutes. It’s all about a quality touch. These calls can be made to current members of your network or to prospective members. Consider calling someone that you don’t know who would be a valuable person to know—maybe an expert in InsurTech, data or China—and tell them why you are calling. You’ll have their attention. You could also connect with them via LinkedIn and send them a message to get started. Be sure to ask how you could help them as well.

Author original content. When was the last time you sat down and wrote something that was all yours? I see a lot of links to articles attached to a somewhat uninteresting sentence. Raise the bar. Spend some time alone with your beliefs. What do you believe? Share those beliefs with others. It’s not about being right or wrong; it’s about having a reasoned point of view. People will be drawn to you. You will position yourself as a valuable member of a network.

Advances in technology, in concert with this crisis, can lead us to lessen the priority of network building. Don’t make that mistake. It’s critical to escape the natural echo chambers that we build for ourselves. We need new ideas and new perspectives. Knowledge rules going forward, and nothing will position you to learn more than a world-class network, hand built by you. This kind of craftsmanship is increasingly rare and has never been more valuable.