I’ve read the Gladwell article but not article titled Rainmaking. I enjoyed the Gladwell article and found it very provocative. I will check out yours.

I’ve read the Gladwell article but not article titled Rainmaking. I enjoyed the Gladwell article and found it very provocative. I will check out yours.

“When you get home if you’re not too exhausted shoot off quick e-mails to the top three people. The speed of your follow through will separate you from the all the other people they gave their business cards to. Develop a boilerplate email to speed up the process but also make sure to personalize all your emails. You’ll get a much a higher response rate. If you can come up a with small request to ask of someone that can increase response rate as well.”

I agree that follow up is important but I think you are better served to consider who else you can introduce the person to that is relevant to their journey/vector and to provide pointers to relevant information. I think it’s better to be helpful initially instead of asking for help unless it’s to follow through on an offer that they made to you verbally as you were getting acquainted.

I have been heavily influenced by “Rainmaking” by Ford Harding and “6 degrees of Lois Weisberg” by Malcolm Gladwell http://www.gladwell.com/1999/1999_01_11_a_weisberg.htm They are two good sources of information on networking.

There are two measures of social capital: centrality or closure, which is the extent to which you are at the core of a large network, and brokerage, which is your ability to span “structural holes” in a network or otherwise disparate people who might never meet. Ronald Burt has written a lot on structural holes and brokerage that is worth reading.

It seems to me you are focused on closer or being at the center of a large network. I think there is much less competition–and much more value–in being a broker: someone who spans a variety of disparate networks and can connect folks who might otherwise never meet or collaborate. I leave you with three thoughts that I elaborate on in http://www.skmurphy.com/blog/2009/02/18/three-things-ive-learned-about-networking/

1. Good questions sell.
2. Listening sells.
3. Networking is helping other people: carry more than your own card and connect folks who will benefit from talking to each other.

“When you get home if you’re not too exhausted shoot off quick e-mails to the top three people. The speed of your follow through will separate you from the all the other people they gave their business cards to. Develop a boilerplate email to speed up the process but also make sure to personalize all your emails. You’ll get a much a higher response rate. If you can come up a with small request to ask of someone that can increase response rate as well.”

I agree that follow up is important but I think you are better served to consider who else you can introduce the person to that is relevant to their journey/vector and to provide pointers to relevant information. I think it’s better to be helpful initially instead of asking for help unless it’s to follow through on an offer that they made to you verbally as you were getting acquainted.

I have been heavily influenced by “Rainmaking” by Ford Harding and “6 degrees of Lois Weisberg” by Malcolm Gladwell http://www.gladwell.com/1999/1999_01_11_a_weisberg.htm They are two good sources of information on networking.

There are two measures of social capital: centrality or closure, which is the extent to which you are at the core of a large network, and brokerage, which is your ability to span “structural holes” in a network or otherwise disparate people who might never meet. Ronald Burt has written a lot on structural holes and brokerage that is worth reading.

It seems to me you are focused on closer or being at the center of a large network. I think there is much less competition–and much more value–in being a broker: someone who spans a variety of disparate networks and can connect folks who might otherwise never meet or collaborate. I leave you with three thoughts that I elaborate on in http://www.skmurphy.com/blog/2009/02/18/three-things-ive-learned-about-networking/

1. Good questions sell.
2. Listening sells.
3. Networking is helping other people: carry more than your own card and connect folks who will benefit from talking to each other.

But you gotta break that habit before you go to college max, you can’t write papers or enter discussions using the internet logic that you know something just because you think it’s the case, regardless of facts or experience- hell, you can’t use that kind of logic ANYWHERE outside of the internet! (except politics, of course, where “its true because I say so” apparently applies)

I think PeerReview’s point that blogging has no accountability is a good one, and that situation tends to breeds bad habits you should be aware of. This is why I’m trying to hold you accountable, Max

But you gotta break that habit before you go to college max, you can’t write papers or enter discussions using the internet logic that you know something just because you think it’s the case, regardless of facts or experience- hell, you can’t use that kind of logic ANYWHERE outside of the internet! (except politics, of course, where “its true because I say so” apparently applies)

I think PeerReview’s point that blogging has no accountability is a good one, and that situation tends to breeds bad habits you should be aware of. This is why I’m trying to hold you accountable, Max