Aristotle's friendships of utility, pleasure and virtue; there's room for all three, but aim most of your energy at virtue friendships with good people.
The idea
In the Nicomachean Ethics, written around 350 BCE, Aristotle named three kinds of friendship, and they map neatly onto a modern network:
Utility: you're in it because you each get something. Leads, industry gossip, a referral.
Pleasure: they're fun to be around. The coworker or conference buddy you kill time with.
Virtue: good people who wish good things for each other for the other person's sake. They inspire you, root for you, make you a better professional and human, and you're eager to return it.
Aristotle believed the third kind lasts, because it rests on character.
How to do it
Think back to your last coffee (or tea) meeting. Were they a bit of sunshine on your calendar? Someone you swap leads with? Someone you truly care about, who cares about you?
Keep the utility and pleasure relationships. There's a time and place for all of them.
Let your intuition steer more of your attention toward the "good people." The more you do, the more everything else falls into place.
Example
As CEO, there were plenty of people I met with just to share leads and industry news, and that was it. Plenty of conference buddies too, good for hanging out and killing time together. Whenever this idea surfaces in my notes, it forces me to reflect on which relationships I'm putting my attention to. (Also, I drink matcha, so for me it's never really a coffee meeting.)
Generative vs. Transactional Relationships: Transactional relationships end when the exchange does. Generative ones are long-term, uneven and keep creating new value, so they deserve your tracking and care.
Connection Over Value: Choose who to stay close to by who you genuinely like, not who seems important, because liking is what makes you actually reach out.
Your Network Is Your North Star: The people around you expand or shrink what you believe is possible, at work and at home, so choose them on purpose and keep a small growth circle close.
Depth Over Breadth: A network's strength is how many people would form a human chain around you when you're down, so go deeper with the people you already know.