Early start, but I've promised a member of the audience, at tonights launch event, that I won't mention going to the gym. The truth is today I didn't go to the gym, instead I had a breakfast meeting with Andy at 0730. So I replaced the workout with egg, bacon and beans and enough tea to sink a small coastal craft with a crew of four!

I've mentioned the work ethic and good character of Andy many times but you know his commitment, compassion and devotion to the development of ipatter has to be seen to be believed. One of life's genuine nice guys, how lucky am I to count him amongst my friends. 

After the meeting it was off to the office to tie up all the admin and preparation for the event tonight. Once again, the back office boys did a great job in getting all the logistics sorted out, while I changed the slides and the script for the umpteenth time. At 1630 it was time to head off to the venue. 

The fun started as soon as we arrived. I went to the front desk and noted that the event was being promoted as another networking organisation, when we asked for the room, we were told there was no booking for us. Even though I knew we were at the right place, just for an instant I questioned myself on our arrangements. All was well and we were soon in the room setting up. Ed looked a little shocked when I took my trousers off to change into my suit, who knows what went through his mind!

The event was well attended and the support we got from our local business community was fantastic. I'm confident some great connections were made. Not sure how many Red Bull's Nik had but he was on fire tonight! Emily told us she would take him for a walk before bed and that would settle him down.

It was a great evening, everyone involved made it a great success. Once home I even got pulled into a Facebook conversation about Ed and his braces. On a serious note he did a great job and I hope we can build on tonight and continue to give all those businesses some great value.

My tips for the day:

While networking is on our mind after tonight, I can't help but think the old adage "it's not what you know, it's who you know" is truer than ever in todays high pressure business life. The question is how do you know who to network with? Here are three types of network you might sometimes overlook:

Personal support - Form relationships with people who help you get back on track after a bad day. These may be friends or colleagues with whom you can just be yourself.

Purpose - Include in your network leaders and clients who can validate your work, and family members and stakeholders who remind you that your work has a broader meaning.

Work/Life balance - Seek out people who will hold you accountable for activities that improve your physical health, mental engagement, or spiritual well-being.