Thom Singer wrote about Sekou Andrews, a speaker that is rising in fame. Here’s a quote from Sekou that is really quite profound:
“Take me off your Rolodex and put me in your calendar”
Wow.
Too often we collect names, phone numbers, and business cards, and say we are networking.
But are we ever working on the relationship?
It reminds me of the part in Never Eat Alone where Keith Ferrazzi talks about the importance of knowing how strong a relationship is with the person you have on your list (Roladex, JibberJobber contacts list, etc.).
Just because you have an email address doesn’t mean you have a relationship!
Keep track of the strength of the relationship, and then communicate with that person! Perhaps even put them in your calendar….
This is one of the things I love about birthday reminders, like we can get in JibberJobber: the ability to “Ping Constantly.”
Who doesn’t love a greeting around their birthday?
I agree. Many times we feel like we are imposing, or we don’t have a legit reason to contact someone… birthdays are excellent reasons to simply reach out… there are others, but we somehow need to get over the “I don’t have a reason to say ‘hi'” and just do it 🙂