Reminder to Self: Networking is a Must

Okay, I normally don’t network. I’d rather be at home, in my pajamas with either a good book or my laptop. And networking itself has a bad rap. But I do believe that people can bring joy to our work and help us to connect each of us to interesting, good work. Given that context, networking is a must.
As a reminder to myself as well as my colleagues out there:
– Carry business cards. Ideally on yourself at all times. Gym, shopping, work, playdates, etc. Conferences, especially.
– Remember to give them to people.
– Be the first to reach out and shake a hand and state your name. Give out your business card to people to stay in touch. If they don’t give them yours, ask for one.
– Learn about people and discover what you can do for them. Help people for no other reason than to help them.
– When someone asks you to lead something as a volunteer, remember it’s a huge compliment and then do it as well as you would a professional pursuit you WERE getting paid for.
– Ask questions / research and talk about things that matter.
– Be a good (read: reliable, trustworthy and prompt) person in followup.
– Be a person who gets things done. Create good value with people, and they’ll remember that.
– Get organized. Carry a moleskin book, a treo whatever. Keep track of commitments.
– Networking is a contact sport. You need to stay in touch with people regularly. Do it from your heart, call people, write them, drop them cards, whatever. If you’re in a business, have a newsletter that goes out once a quarter to remind people you remember them.
– Make sure you have at least 1 consistent way of staying in touch with people.
– Keep people in mind. Just this morning, I did another referral to a colleague. I could have taken the business at my company, but I thought it was better served with a colleague. I haven’t seen her in months but I keep her in mind as I do another 1,000 people regularly.
(Some sections of this were a reminder from Darcy Rezac, who just wrote Work the Pond. It was a reader’s digest kind of book, but Guy Kawasaki plugged it in his blog and I fell for it. What can I say, I’m vulnerable to Guy’s influencer role in the Valley.)