Networking Lessons in the Movie "Dirty Dancing"

Stephanie Norell, the Marketing Director for North by Northwest’s Boise office, has written an article titled Movie B-School: Dirty Dancing and Dirty Networking. (B-School = Business School)

Norell compares various kinds of business networking as depicted in the movie Dirty Dancing.

.... The term “dirty networking” refers to both the idea that you are using people by pretending to befriend them in hopes of selling to them, and to this study that shows some people feel physically dirty after networking events. It’s all a bit icky, and would turn anyone off to the idea of meeting people in a professional capacity.

The term for networking with the purpose of advancing your career by using those relationships is called “instrumental networking”, and I want to shower just from thinking about it. I once knew someone who befriended a man solely because they knew that man was married to someone they wanted to do business with. ....

I optimistically call for us to all ... create a better business network full of kind and honest relationships instead of being used.

I love this movie [Dirty Dancing], but it’s just full of people using one another.

Norell writes that Baby Houseman used "dirty networking" when she helped Billy Kostecki carry a watermelon into the employees' party.

Baby uses the opportunity to help Johnny’s cousin [Billy] carry watermelons to the back house so that she can meet her newfound crush, Johnny Castle (Patty Cakes, as I like to call him). She carries a watermelon, and soon after she gets to meet Patty Cakes, she ditches the cousin and goes for the guy she really wants.

On the other hand, Baby used "clean networking" when she offers to substitute for Penny Johnson's Sheldrake performance.

By agreeing to help with the big dance at the Sheldrake, Baby honestly wants to aid in Penny’s availability to…(tip-toeing here) make big decisions, despite the way Penny treats her. Although it does mean she’ll get to spend time with her favorite dance instructor, she is earnest in her motivations of helping Penny, whom she ultimately admires.

As other examples of "dirty networking", Norell points to Robbie Gould and Neil Kellerman.

Robbie is a sleazebag. A gross sleazeball, who woos Baby’s sister Lisa, so he can get to their father. Robbie wines and dines both Lisa and her parents, pretending to be a class act deserving of college tuition from the Housemans. He is not worthy, and he’s a jerk.

Also DIRTY, and in the same vein, is Max’s grandson (let’s be honest, no one remembers his name) tries to make Baby his girl, because she’ll look good on his arm.

Norell concludes with the following wise advice about networking.

The best type of networking develops from treating the people you meet in a business setting the way you would any potential new friend: Listen to what they’re saying, Be there with them, respond thoughtfully, and make an effort to keep the relationship going. Networking is really about making friends, and if you can say you’re a good friend, you’ll likely do a great job with business relationships, too.

Putting baby in the corner equates to (in networking terms) not respecting her enough to actually listen and get to know her … it means branding her as Baby from Dirty Dancing Studios, who is a great lead for you.

When you’re out there in the networking world, don’t let anyone put you in a corner … you are Miss Frances Houseman, and if you want to be more than __ who works at __, then get on stage and show ‘em you can dance.

Having some Swayze arm candy doesn’t hurt your case either.