How do you manage contacts?

I have been speaking lately on the importance of networking and helping clarify some misconceptions around networking. Most of us have heard "It's not WHAT you know, it's WHO you know." What you know obviously IS important. I don't think anyone wants a Doctor who was hired to do heart surgery because they knew the hospital administrator but didn't finish medical school. But they might have been hired because someone in their network mentioned there was a position open that they did not know about.

LinkedIn is a great way to find connections, but it isn't ideal for helping you maintain those connections. The biggest reason is that other than an occasional "Congratulate Jim for their new job." message, there is no reminder follow-up. Something like a reminder "You haven't commented on or messaged Jim in 270 days." would be a good reminder.

What do I use to manage my contacts? I'm glad you asked. I have a database on my laptop that I have been enhancing for many years. I keep track of important events in the life of my network so I know when their wedding anniversary is and when their birthday is for many in my network. I may not always send a card, but when I talk to them, I will try to ask about it and congratulate them for another year.

I am going to be giving a talk about networking this Friday at the Arizona Oracle Users Group (AZORA) and there are still a few seats left. I will be giving a demo of my database at the event, so if you are interested and in the Phoenix area, you are welcome to attend this free event. Sign up for this talk at the link. If you can't make it, I will be putting more information about my contact manager here in this blog soon so stay tuned,

In the meantime, if you are interested in my upcoming book, you can get on the mailing list for Surviving Business Travel here.

#networkingDBA #networking

A Taste of things to come

A bit of this and a bit of that

Yes, I will talk about food sometimes, but no, this is not going to be another food blog.

Yes, I will talk about airline frequent flyer programs and other loyalty programs, but this is not going to be a travel hacking blog.

Many people have heard a few stories from my travel and said, "you should write about that."  I realized that some of the lessons I learned to get the most out of business travel might be useful to other business travelers so I am starting this blog.  

Please send me an email or leave a comment here to let me know what you would like to know more about.

For now, a teaser.  Do you know what this food is?  If you do, then you probably know what part of the world it is from, so post a comment below.  If not, stay tuned for a future post to find out.