Working Wounded: Make Time to Network

July 21, 2006 — -- Dear WOUNDED: I've got a to-do list a mile long. How do you find time to network when you have so much to do?

ANSWER: I was an early fan of the New York Mets in the bad old days when it was one of the worst baseball teams of all time. I'll never forget the time a player hit a home run but was called out for failing to touch first base. When the manager started to complain he was told that the player had also missed touching second base. Ouch.

Unfortunately, many of us are like that baseball player today. We fail to touch base with our key contacts at work. Sure, we're all busy, but maintaining a network can save us all time over the long haul. I've included some tips on how to stay in touch below. For more, check out "Never Eat Alone" by Ferrazzi and Raz (Currency, 2005).

Are you willing to make the commitment to build a network? I believe that a network is an investment. In my experience, every ounce of energy I've put into keeping in touch with people has paid off many times over. But don't just take my word for it -- talk to the most effective people where you work, and you'll probably discover that their network is the key to their success.

Who should be in your network? Think about the most effective people -- people you trust and people who've been there for you in the past. That includes co-workers, bosses, vendors, customers, friends. Be sure that your network doesn't look just like you, and be sure to include people who aren't the same sex, race, job function, company. The more diversity the better.

Do you stay in touch different in ways? According to Ferrazzi and Raz, research shows it's more effective when you stay in touch in different ways. E-mail, phone calls, face-to-face. Relying just on e-mail is dangerous these days, so you've got to look for excuses to actually talk to people.

Do you find an excuse for regular contact? Almost anyone can collect business cards. The challenge is to find good excuses to stay in touch with people. My favorite strategy for staying in touch is to write down things that people are interested in on the back of their cards. Then when I come across an article on innovation, fly fishing or quality control, I can send it to them. This is a great way to stay in touch with people.

Maintaining a secondary relationship requires two or three pings a year. Each of us has a front burner of people whom we talk to regularly and a back burner of people whom we haven't talked to in a while. Seek to keep the key members on your network on the front burner by contacting them at least a couple of times a year.

Who knows what home runs lie in your contacts if you only take the time to touch all your bases …

We'd like to hear your strategy for staying in touch with your network. I'll give an autographed copy of "Working Wounded: Advice that adds insight to injury" (Warner, 2000) to the best submission. Send your entry, name and address via: http://workingwounded.com or via e-mail: bob@workingwounded.com. Entries must be received by Wednesday Aug. 2.

Here are the results from a recent workingwounded.com/ABCNews.com online ballot:

What is your strategy for a colleague who acts like your boss?

• Listen and learn, 12 percent
• Challenge and put down, 22.5 percent
• Avoid and tune out, 65.4 percent

Our winning strategy for dealing with a bossy coworker comes from J.C. in Los Angeles, Calif.:

"I actually listened to the little boss and thanked them for their advice. You could tell that they were totally startled by my respect for what they had to offer. Now this person is a big help to me; they've offered me a lot of insight about my job and the company. My strategy is that I'll always listen to anyone who can help me to do a better job."

Home work…How workers feel about working from their home

• 59 percent think splitting their time between the office and home is the ideal
• 23 percent of the work force works from home or has the option
• 22 percent of entrepreneurs accomplish work-related tasks during their commutes
• 11 percent of all workers accomplish work-related tasks during their commutes
• 10 percent believe virtual meetings get more done

From: Hudson

Bob Rosner is a best-selling author, speaker and internationally syndicated columnist. His newest best-seller, "Gray Matters: The Workplace Survival Guide" (Wiley, 2004), is a business comic book that trades cynicism for solutions. Ask Bob a question: bob@workingwounded.com or http://graymattersbook.com.

This work is the opinion of the columnist and in no way reflects the opinion of ABC News.