One of the great things about networking is that there is no statute of limitations on it. You can reach out to people you've lost touch with, no matter how much time has passed.
Not long ago, I went to speak at a convention. I couldn't figure out where the event planner had found my name. Turns out she had heard me speak at an event -- in 1990! Both she and I have had lots of changes in our lives since then. When she was looking for a speaker, she figured, "I liked what she had to say then, how bad could she be now?"
While there is no statute of limitations for networking, the reverse is also true. Just because you met someone once, you needn't keep that person in your network forever.
Cull the Crowd
Lots of us get into networking and amass contacts at a rapid clip. Later, we look at the business cards and the online profiles of our network contacts and wonder, "Who the heck are these people?"
It's a good thing to prune your network now and then, so that it's a true network and not just a collection of names attached to business cards you were handed once upon a time.
Networks require some level of cultivation and maintenance. Do you have time and energy to consider as part of your network people you really don't know?
Request to Disconnect
You can disconnect from other folks' networks, too. You can unsubscribe from their newsletters and opt out of their group email blasts. The next time you receive one of those unsolicited "here's-all-the-news-about-me" email messages, you can write back to the sender (don't "reply all") and say, "Thank you so much for the updates, but I can't keep up and would appreciate being removed from the distribution list." That's all there is to it. There's nothing mean or unfriendly about pruning your network and managing your inbox.
It's the same way with your business card files, your Outlook contacts, and any other contacts you keep track of. It's the same way with your Christmas card list. If you haven't had contact in years, do you want to keep sending people pictures of your cats? Do these people really want to receive them? If they do, they will let you know.
Pruning our rosebushes them healthy -- why not our circles of friends, too?
Liz Ryan is a 25-year HR veteran, former Fortune 500 VP and an internationally recognized expert on careers and the new millennium workplace. She is the author of "Happy About Online Networking," a popular speaker on workplace and work/life topics, and the leader of the global Ask Liz Ryan online community. Contact Liz at liz@asklizryan.com.
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