At lunch today with a colleague and friend, Bob and I talked about a variety of professional and personal topics. Being that we have known each for a while, some of the personal topics, were, well...definitely personal. I laughed so hard at one little story that a good number of people around us stopped their conversations to look. I shrank a little in my seat to avoid being noticed (doubt it).

One thing I thought to share was the concept of "Planned Randomness." It came out of our discussion about networking at the right events. The only way to know if an organization's event is right for you is to do your homework.

- Ask friends and colleagues
- Do an Internet search on the organization's name
- Examine the website. Are the benefits clearly explained?
- Review the LinkedIn profile. Determine if this is the organization you want to be associated with
- Look at the the Facebook pages. Are there a lot of followers and activity on the site?
- Read the Tweets. Are these the types of messages you like?
- Do research on key members. Are these the types of people you would like to network with and building relationships with?

Now that you know the event is right for you, you can make serendipity happen. You'll be at the right event with the right people sharing and learning. This is how I met Bob some three years ago...