Friday, January 27, 2006

Follow Up

I don't know that I have ever met someone 100% secure with themselves. Everyone feels insecure at times, and in this age of email and voicemail, it is easy to doubt yourself when you leave 10 messages, send 8 emails and never hear back from anyone. This ease of connection is also the reason that so many people do not respond all the time. It is simply overwhelming unless you have a personal assistant to filter out everything. Here is a new rule for you, that you may choose to follow: If someone is worth contacting once, they are worth contacting once every 3 months. They will tell you to stop calling if they really do not want to talk to you. More than likely, they get your message and just do not have the time in that instant to reply. If they are like me, they probably have good intentions but sometimes forget to answer an email or voice mail. I often cannot get from our bathroom to my office without getting 3 new things to do, one of which I will forget by the time I sit down. Then I remember them in bed at night. Following up with people you want to get to know just makes sense. You will find people actually thank you, because they were meaning to get back to you but kept pushing it off. Try it today. Go back to your emails you sent three months ago and follow up with three of those people you have not talked to lately. I am fairly sure you will get a pleasant surprise.