Last month, I made a New Year's commitment to make 10 (networking) introductions per day. Yep, that's right, 10. After announcing my intention, I immediately received a barrage of emails from folks who were simply incredulous. "How in heaven's name do you have the time to do that?" "How in heaven's name do you know that many people?" ("Heaven" was actually mentioned more than once.)
So in the hope of shedding some light on my methodology (some might say madness), I have decided to share my tips:
I set a quantitative goal; in my case, 10. But that doesn't have to be your goal, not at all. The important thing is to have a goal and to stick to it. No excuses; just do it. You know that you can. (Hint: As with all goals, you should set one that is a wee bit of a stretch but can definitely be achieved if you work at it.)
I'm incredibly proactive and by adopting that model, I am better able to make a higher volume of introductions. I don't wait for low hanging networking fruit ("Hey Adrian, do you know someone who can…"). Rather, I look for connections that might have longer-term value and don't necessarily equate to an immediate piece of business.
